DIXON:
A very good morning to you Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning.
DIXON:
We know that 102,000 Australians died in the two World Wars. How important is this new memorial to you, to the Veterans who are still alive and indeed to the people of your country some half a world away.
PRIME MINISTER:
I think it is very important symbolically, we made an incredibly big contribution in World War I and then particularly through our air force units and of course in North Africa and the Far East our other services in World War II and we lost a staggering number of 60,000 killed out of a male population of a little over two million in the 1914-18 war. So it's a very important symbolic recognition, it's a beautiful memorial and it will become the focal point for Anzac Day commemorations in London from next year onwards.
DIXON:
If we can move to the future now in his speech last night the British Prime Minister talked of the need for the continued commitment to Iraq, the need for more resources, more time and crucially more cooperation between nations. Do you support him in that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Absolutely. I supported the action taken by the Coalition. We were part of it, |I don't resile for a moment from the decision we took. To those who criticise America and Britain and Australia and the other countries that were involved, I say once one simple thing. If their advice had been followed Saddam Hussein would still be in charge in Iraq. Do they really seriously believe that the guerrilla attacks and the terrorist attacks that are occurring now are designed to anything other than preventing Iraq moving towards a democratic state. If a democratic Iraq can be established that will powerfully and forever alter the atmosphere of governance in the Middle East and that of course is why those who are committing evil are so determined to try and prevent that happening.
DIXON:
So what more will Australia be providing, what more will you do to help rebuild and stabilise the country?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we have about 900 military and other personnel in Iraq at the present time and they can stay there certainly for a while yet. We said at the very beginning that if we were involved it would be at the sharp military end because we do have certain commitments, the Solomon Islands and a continuing and quite large commitment in East Timor in our own region. We have contributed financially and we will maintain the level of our commitment but we have always made it clear we don't have the capacity to provide large numbers of peacekeepers and that was something that was understood by President Bush and Mr Blair months and months ago before the war started.
DIXON:
As you alluded to Prime Minister behind the United Kingdom Australia was the staunchest supporter of America and its action in Iraq but that support was very clearly based on the claim about weapons of mass destruction. Some six months after the war was officially announced as over those weapons have still not been found. Do you believe they still exist?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think the jury is still out. I do know this though, that the intelligence we had the time, essentially the same intelligence as available to me as was available to President Bush and Mr Blair, that intelligence completely supported the actions that we took. We wouldn't have taken the action, we wouldn't have based it on that intelligence if it had pointed in a different direction and the suggestion that in some way the intelligence was manipulated, I know what the intelligence was and I know what I said and I didn't manipulate any intelligence and my government didn't.
DIXON:
And yet you were censured by the Australian Senate last month for misleading the public about your justification for sending Australia to war with Iraq.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes but the Australian Senate is controlled by the Opposition. Of course they would censure me that doesn't mean anything really. They just were opposed to our involvement and they naturally attacked me because they disagreed with what I said but they had not established any case that I misled the public. The intelligence we had was quite compelling, it wasn't proof beyond a reasonable doubt because you can never do that. If you wait for proof beyond a reasonable doubt it is invariably too late.
DIXON:
Let's move onto other matters if we may. At this very important ceremony today you are going to be joined by Her Majesty the Queen of course and the Duke of Edinburgh but at a time when the Royal Family is in such turmoil, certainly Prince Charles and the controversy over the Paul Burrell book how can this family have any real relevance now to the majority of Australians and indeed to the constitution of your country?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that of course is a matter for the Australian people and nobody else to decide. We had a referendum on whether or not we would retain our links with the monarchy about four years ago and a clear majority of the Australian people voted for the status quo. The Queen herself is still a very respected figure in our country even amongst people who are republicans and the system of government we have does work extremely well. What occurs in the future of course will be entirely a matter for the Australian people. We have long since become fully independent in a legal sense and it is for us and us alone to resolve these issues. As to the latest stories I don't know anything more about them than you do but I do observe that allegations of this kind have been made in the past. They've found to be untrue and after a period of time they have disappeared but I am in no position to offer any comment other than that.
DIXON:
Finally Prime Minister how are you going to feel when England beats Australia in the Rugby World Cup?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think if we are against England in the final, I think our toughest fight is this Saturday night against New Zealand. I would have to say that so far New Zealand has been the form team. I think New Zealand and France have been the two form teams. I think both Australia and England have played below their best in one or two of the games. Certainly we did against Ireland. We only won by one point and of course England played indifferently against Wales. But both of our teams, your team England and my team Australia, are capable of rising very much to the occasion. On Saturday we will be playing the All Blacks, they've beaten us twice in the last few months and they're a very formidable team. They have a back line that really uses the ball whenever they get it, but our blokes will be playing in front of 82,000 fans most of whom will be cheering for them at the Olympic Stadium knowing that it is a make or break game and they are capable of rising to the occasion and I know George Gregan, the captain, I spoke to him last weekend after the game against Scotland and he's very upbeat.
DIXON:
We wait with baited breath. John Howard we appreciate your time, many thanks.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thanks a lot.
[ends]