Well ladies and gentlemen, this will be a very sad and emotional weekend for all Australians. The gatherings in Bali will, I hope, provide comfort and reassurance to those who lost so much, that their fellow Australians continue to feel for them and with them in their ongoing grief. When you';ve lost somebody so close to you in such circumstances, you never really get over it. But part of the process of helping to go on with life and to live it as best you can to the full is to know that there are millions of your fellow countrymen and women who are feeling for you. It';s also an opportunity to reassure the people of Bali that no malice is borne towards them by the Australian people. They were much the victims of this attack, both in a direct sense and the impact on the lifestyle and the economy of that island as were others. I think it';s an important weekend in the process of us adjusting to what happened a year ago and stealing ourselves for the ongoing fight against terrorism.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, how has Australia changed?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think we';ve become more wary, more conscious. But we haven';t abandoned our essential values, we';re still optimistic, adventurous, to a degree carefree, perhaps not quite so much as in the past, but nonetheless essentially an open, carefree tolerant people.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, almost a year ago [inaudible] what';s it like for you to go back?
PRIME MINISTER:
As a human being, I found it an immensely touching, emotional experience a year ago. I felt so deeply for all of these people. They were bewildered, they were grief stricken and I tried as best I could as an individual and as Prime Minister to offer them comfort and the reassurance of the country that everything I can by presence to help them in the same way on this occasion. It is an opportunity for them to [inaudible] draw some strength from such a gathering and I';m very grateful for the cooperation of the Indonesian authorities that made the event possible [inaudible].
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, the National Farmers'; Federation has expressed concern…
PRIME MINISTER:
I understand why they have that concern. We are between a rock and a hard place through no fault of our own the sheep were rejected. Unless we can find an alternative destination, we have two alternatives. We either try and have them slaughtered at sea and I am told that is horrendously difficult and fraught with risk and danger. On the other hand we can bring them back under the strictest possible quarantine procedures. The farmers are worried about that, I understand that, but I ask them to understand that there are horrendous risks involved in slaughtering them at sea. I hope it might still be possible to find an alternative destination. I';m not overly optimistic about that. And the point of decision is nigh as far as bringing them back and unless we find an alternative destination within the immediate future, that';s measured in numbers of hours rather than days, then we';ll have to bring them home.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we will just deal with that in usual fashion. I mean oppositions on occasions like this just try and make….
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER:
No, we';re not sitting on anything. We will treat this thing in a proper fashion.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible] some of the families have said…. Sari Club and …
PRIME MINISTER:
Sari Club…
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible]… opening a memorial there.
PRIME MINISTER:
I haven';t read that. [Inaudible] we';re all going together as Australians to remember what happened a year ago [inaudible] on my mind and I guess upon the mind of [inaudible].
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible] Megawati.
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I';m not disappointed I understood all along that she wouldn';t come for the reasons, her cultural reasons outlined. I don';t regard that as unusual. I don';t regard it as a snub. I fully understand her reasons. Thank you.
[ends]