PRIME MINISTER:
Well could I just say that I';d like to congratulate Greg Urwin on his election as the next Secretary General of the Forum. He';s a very talented person. He has great experience in the Pacific. I thank my Forum colleagues for the confidence that they have shown in him. I know that he will repay that by performing extremely well at a very critical time for the Forum. This has been quite a watershed meeting. It';s the most engaged forum meeting I';ve ever been to. This body is seen as having new authority, new clout, new relevance, and everybody will go from this meeting feeling that they';re part of something that will punch even harder and more effectively in region than before.
JOURNALIST:
How were you able to convince them Prime Minister, how were you able to convince the other prime ministers?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I';m very grateful that Mr Urwin has been elected. I don';t go over the details of it. We had a ballot. It was all done very democratically and properly and he was congratulated by all of those present and I certainly don';t intend to talk about the detail of it.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, what do you say to those critics who say that this man is just a voice-piece of Canberra?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that is just silly. He';s a person who has independent experience. He is Samoan based, he has strong family links with the Pacific, and he';s a person who is not just some blow in from Canberra. He';s a Pacific veteran and therefore in his own right he';s a very good man for the job.
JOURNALIST:
Nevertheless a personal victory for you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Lok I';m interested in the Forum. I';m for the Forum and for Australia, not for myself.
JOURNALIST:
What does the selection mean Prime Minister, and the decisions made at this forum for the future of the Pacific and Australia';s vision of it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we are very engaged in the Pacific. I';ve made that very clear. I';ve stated views on it. We';re here to help, we';re here to provide whatever guidance we can. But we';re also here to work in partnership with our friends. We';ve done that in the Solomons, we';re willing to do it in other areas. I';m very keen on pushing concepts of regional governance. You';re aware of that. We can together do things that we can';t do on our own.
JOURNALIST:
At least one of the leaders said that they objected to you gate crashing leaders'; meetings as they termed it to push for Greg Urwin.
PRIME MINISTER:
What';s the next question?
JOURNALIST:
That wasn';t the case?
PRIME MINISTER:
I just pass.
JOURNALIST:
But there was widespread opinion being publicly expressed by other leaders that this position must go to a Pacific islander. What do you think changed their mind?
PRIME MINISTER:
I really don';t see any point in my going into that. There was a ballot conducted. It';s a good outcome I believe, it';s a great outcome. Mr Urwin against other talented candidates was clearly the best. I think the Forum leaders made a very mature, sensible decision.
JOURNALIST:
What direction will Mr Urwin steer the Forum Prime Minister? Will security be a major issue for them?
PRIME MINISTER:
There';s a whole lot of issues. Development';s importance, governance is important, security is important, cooperation is important. The new sense of achieving things together is the spirit that has pervaded at this meeting and that';s why it is a watershed.
JOURNALIST:
Zimbabwe, did you discuss Zimbabwe, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, there is a statement in the strongest possible terms going out from the eleven Commonwealth members of the Forum condemning the continuing intransigence of Zimbabwe contrasting that with the way in which Fiji readily complied with the request of the Commonwealth on the path back to democracy.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, you are heading off to Beijing.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes.
JOURNALIST:
And one of the issues is obviously North Korea – do you see North Korea as a serious a threat as you were espousing a couple of weeks ago?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, North Korea remains an enormous threat to the security and stability of our region. The good thing that has happened in the past little while is that there has been agreement to have six party talks involving the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the United States. Now that is a huge step forward. China has played a very constructive role and it is important from Australia';s point of view that I talk directly to the Chinese leadership on this issue. North Korea is a very threatening country. If it goes ahead to acquire a nuclear capacity then it is very important that all the diplomatic efforts of countries in the region and elsewhere be brought to bear to stop that happening. And China has played a very helpful constructive role and I would continue to urge upon the Chinese leadership that it keep going down that path, working closely with the Americans, working closely with the Japanese and South Korea.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, can I just ask you about Hambali?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes.
JOURNALIST:
What';s the mood now the Australian Federal Police are looking to get access to him, what';s your understanding about it and also do you have any – you said yesterday that you hadn';t been briefed as far as him being caught trying to set up some sort of attack for the APEC meeting. Have you received any further information on that?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I haven';t. I am not going to add what has been said back in Australia by Mr Downer and others, except to emphasise that it';s a huge breakthrough. He is about as big as you get short of Bin Laden and his deputy. He was the mastermind of the Bali attack. He was the main link- man between al Qaeda and JI. I have no doubts there will be full cooperation between the American authorities and our own. We do share these things. The Americans are very open with us and this is a good example of where the reach of the American intelligence services and the CIA work very much to the advantage of Australia. I mean, just remember this man is the mastermind of an act that killed 88 of our fellow Australians and he has now been caught largely through the work of the CIA.
JOURNALIST:
So we';ll get access to their…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, there will be cooperation. As to the detail of that I am not briefed and I am not going to speculate.
JOURNALIST:
If the AFP did want to interview him themselves should …
PRIME MINISTER:
I am not briefed on that and I am not going to speculate.
JOURNALIST:
With regard to Indonesia and security, how concerned are you ahead of tomorrow';s national day there for Australians and has there been any change in your security briefing?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am not aware of any change, nor am I aware of any change to the travel advisories so I would simply draw people';s attention to those.
JOURNALIST:
Is Urwin';s win an omen for tonight do you think?
PRIME MINISTER:
I hope so.
[ends]