JOURNALIST:
.. delaying….
PRIME MINISTER:
Well our view is that this issue has been kicked around a lot and we think there';s been plenty of debate. I don';t know how anybody could be against a safety net that';s not there now. I mean you might argue that it could be even more generous, although it is very generous, but nobody could seriously argue that the safety net is going to make the situation worse, it can only make it better. And I would have thought that from the point of view of Australian families who will be helped by this safety net it would have been better if the whole thing were wrapped up and passed into law before Christmas, because we';ve been talking about this issue now for eight or nine months. And it';s not as if we';re trying to take something away, we';re putting something in, we';re adding something and I can';t for the life of me see how anybody could be against adding an additional protection for Australian families. And if the Labor Party feels that things we are doing are inadequate then if they win the next election then they can add things to it. But in the meantime, this dog in the manger politics, which is really what the Labor Party is about at the moment, is really very disappointing.
JOURNALIST:
Will it (inaudible) the Government';s timetable at all if it';s not…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don';t know. I mean they say February but you';ve got no guarantees. When we come back they might say we';re going to make it March or April, we need more information. I mean the Labor Party is already on record as saying it wants to string out the education debate until the election, maybe they want to do the same thing with this. I mean this is dog in the manger politics, this is not constructive because, let me make it very plain, if the Labor Party goes to the next election and wins then it will have a mandate to implement its policies and I would hope that the then Opposition would respect that mandate. But right at the moment we';re trying to do some things that are adding protections and they';re trying to hold those protections up. I think it';s very poor politics and very bad for the country that they have this very negative attitude.
JOURNALIST:
So would it effect their timing on the election next year?
PRIME MINISTER:
Their timing?
JOURNALIST:
Your timing.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, look, don';t get into another election, we';re having an election at the end of next year in the normal course.
Thank you.