Subject:
Treasurer and economic management.
E&OE...
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning, any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Three senior journalists are saying that Mr Costello told them that he wanted to go out and destroy your leadership, what's your response to that?
PRIME MINISTER:
My response is that Mr Costello and I have a wonderful, harmonious, professional relationship. There was a dinner two-and-a half years ago and I guess some of the subjects discussed at that dinner have centred around one job. Since then Mr Costello and I have seen the creation of 350,000 new jobs for Australians and that's what really matters. And I can tell all of you that Mr Costello and I will continue to work together in very close professional harmony. We're working together very closely to ensure that the Government is very strongly competitive in, and is successful in, the coming election campaign.
JOURNALIST:
Whose versions of events do you believe?
PRIME MINISTER:
Can I say in relation to the dinner or dinners or whatever, I wasn't there, I don't know what was discussed, I can only say though that I have always found in my dealings with him, Mr Costello, to be an honest and forthright man and I trust Mr Costello. He's an ambitious man, there's nothing wrong with ambition. I mean why are we pretending that there's something odd about ambition? I'm ambitious, people in the Labor Party are ambitious, Mr Rudd spent a fair amount of time being ambitious in the second half of last year, so let's be a bit adult about all of this. The critical thing to the public is whether Mr Costello and I deliver and in 11-and-a half years we've delivered the lowest level of unemployment in 33 years, we've delivered a very strong economy and we've talked this morning about a number of issues, including this, and I'm sorry to disappoint some of you, we're still working together very, very closely and I suggest you focus on the output of the partnership rather than fevered interpretations of aspects of it.
JOURNALIST:
But Mr Howard how can the voters be confident that if you win again this partnership will continue as productively seeing it's quite clear Mr Costello doesn't feel all that much loyalty to you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Michelle, the public pays on results and the results of the partnership between Howard and Costello have been the lowest unemployment figures in 33 years, a very strong economy and much lower interest rates than the Labor Party delivered. The public is very smart, the public sees through the fever of the Canberra beltway and actually looks at results and the results of the Howard-Costello partnership are a very strong economy and a team that is better able to lead the Australian economy through some of the international storms that are now gathering. And this capacity will become more important in the minds of the public in the weeks and months ahead.
JOURNALIST:
You were present when you asked the Treasurer for a statement of support, what was the consideration.....
PRIME MINISTER:
What statement?
JOURNALIST:
Well the statement that he says that you asked him to make in 2006 that he would continue as Treasurer through.....
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh I'm sorry, I thought you were referring to this morning.
JOURNALIST:
What was the consideration for that promise?
PRIME MINISTER:
The consideration?
JOURNALIST:
Indeed.
PRIME MINISTER:
There was no consideration. I've indicated all along, if you're using consideration in the contractual legal sense, are you?
JOURNALIST:
I am.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, thought you were. What happened in 2006 was that I canvassed extensively my colleagues about the leadership issue and as I indicated publicly my colleagues expressed an overwhelming view that they wanted to retain the partnership of me as Prime Minister and Mr Costello as Treasurer. And I discussed that matter and before I made my statement I indicated to Mr Costello that I intended to remain as leader of the Party because that's what the Party overwhelmingly wanted, but it also overwhelmingly wanted him to continue as Treasurer, and I asked him to continue as Treasurer and that was all that was involved. And I remember the day very well, I was in Innisfail, in Far North Queensland, and I spoke to him on the phone and he indicated that after consideration, because we'd spoken the day earlier, he would continue. Now you have to understand that what matters to the public is what we deliver for them. The public is interested in jobs and interest rates and prosperity, they're not interested in what might be discussed over a very pleasant dinner in Canberra. I mean there's nothing wrong with people having pleasant dinners in Canberra and many of you I've had dinners with and you're very pleasant company, and I like you all, and I know you are very, very keen on these stories, but in the end the public pays on results. The public is very clever, it always gets these things right. They look at something and say well, of course people are ambitious, I was ambitious, I'm ambitious for Australia's future, there's nothing wrong with ambition and I don't decry ambition in Mr Costello, I respect it. The critical thing is whether when it comes to the public interests, we can work together, and we've demonstrated that time and time again that we can work together.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard are you confident that this latest incident hasn't harmed your re-election chances?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I don't believe it has. See the public sees through all of this. The public says can they work together for us?
JOURNALIST:
These things keep coming up it appears?
PRIME MINISTER:
Clinton, the public sees through all of that and they say can these two men continue to deliver for us and we have for 11-and-a half years and we certainly will continue to do so in the future. Thank you.
[ends]