JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, what is your first reaction to the general thrust of President Bush's address?
PRIME MINISTER:
I very much welcome the initiative of Colin Powell going to the Security Council on the 5th of February with the intelligence and other information relating to Iraq's behaviour. That puts it right at the feet of the Security Council where the matter belongs as I said yesterday and it also reminds us that Iraq has not been playing the game, Iraq has not been cooperating, Iraq has been thumbing its nose at the rest of the world. And the Security Council has got to do its job.
JOURNALIST:
That's only a week away. Could it have been done sooner?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't believe so. I think it's the right way of handling it. This is now the responsibility of the Security Council. We all want the United Nations involved. And by going back to the Security Council with this new material, the Americans are using the United Nations process but they're also reminding the Security Council, as they are entitled to, that the Council has a very weighty responsibility. They have passed a resolution and they must ensure that Iraq complies with that resolution.
JOURNALIST:
Did the President convince you of the link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, or is that something that Colin Powell do you think is going to do next week?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, let the Secretary of State go to the Security Council and let him put the material that he's talking about before the Council and let a judgement be made. Of this we are certain - Iraq is not complying with the resolution, Iraq is thumbing its nose at the rest of the world, and the Security Council must see that its own resolution is enforced.
JOURNALIST:
Are we another step closer to war today?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't talk about steps closer to or distant from war. This is something that has got to be dealt with step by step. There is a process and that process involved a resolution, defiance of that resolution, cheating on the inspectors, thumbing the noses of the rest of the world. And we now need the Security Council to match its obligations under the United Nations Charter.
JOURNALIST:
What did you have to say to Tony Blair overnight?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we talked about the situation and our positions are very similar. We both believe that Iraq has been in constant breach of Security Council requirements. We believe the Blix report was very damning. We believe that a little more time might be appropriate, but not a lot more time.
JOURNALIST:
Did he give you an indication that he'd be prepared to support action without the UN?
PRIME MINISTER:
We are both wanting the UN process to work and there is nothing to be gained by speculating at this stage about what might happen if something does or doesn't come out of the Security Council. It's one of those issues that you've got to take day by day. There's a resolution, there's the Security Council, there's an obligation on the Council to enforce the terms of that resolution.
JOURNALIST:
Are you sensing that world opinion is swinging behind President Bush?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look this is not something that I'm going to give a running commentary on. I will leave that to others. I have directed my mind and my arguments to the merits of this issue from the very beginning. I've not changed my argument according to the latest opinion poll in the paper each morning.
JOURNALIST:
Given Mr Valder's comments today, how difficult a job do you have to convince the Australian people and your own Party that war is the right way to go?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don't think war is the right way to go. I think compliance with the Security Council is the right way to go. And you can have peace tomorrow without argument if Iraq does what it has been asked to do by the international community.
JOURNALIST:
Do you have any sort of message to some of your backbenchers who might be getting a bit restless and concerned that public support is not behind the case for war?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'll be talking to my colleagues next week, but they all know that in everything that I've been involved in since I've been Prime Minister, I have acted in accordance with what I believe are the best interests of Australia and that has required on occasion some difficult decisions which go through periods of unpopularity. But in the end my job is to do what I believe is right for Australia. I am doing that. I believe very strongly that the course of action we are taking is the right course of action. I am concerned about the potential spread of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. I am worried that they will fall into the hands of terrorists. I am alarmed that a country like Iraq, with its terrible track record of aggression and human rights abuse, should have those weapons and I think the world has go to do something about that. I believe that very strongly. That is why I am taking the attitude that I am.
[ends]