PRIME MINISTER:
Well ladies and gentlemen, we've just completed a one and a half day Cabinet meeting, which is the final Cabinet meeting for the year. Apart from discussion on a number of a long range political and government issues, we also took a number of important decisions, one related to levels of fuel excise. You'll remember that in the last Budget the Treasurer announced that with effect from the 1st of July 2008 we would be moving to a fuel excise regime based on energy content and the decision has been taken that we will have the following rates of excise, determined according to energy content. Have the rates of 38.143 for petrol and diesel and the like, 25 cents for LPG and ethanol and the like, and 17 cents per cent for methanol. It has been additionally decided, taking into account a range of industry, regional and other factors that we would apply a discount rate of 50 per cent for alternative fuels, that's alternatives to the petrol and diesel. So that means in reality that the effective rates will be 38.143, the current rate for petrol and diesel, 19.1 cents for bio-diesel, 12.5 cents per litre for LPG, ethanol and LNG, and 8.5 cents a litre for methanol.
We've also decided, having regard to some of the transitional issues, to provide a $1,000 subsidy available from the 1st of July 2008 to consumers who purchase a dedicated or duel-fuel LPG vehicle that is delivered new, that subsidy is going to be available for a period of three years.
I should point out that these excises reforms represent the first tranche in the development of a comprehensive package of transport related measures, including broad base reform of the business excise credit system and future road funding, details of further reforms will be announced early in the new year.
This fills in the detail of an announcement that was made by the Treasurer in the May Budget and will deliver certainty and predictability to the industry in relation to the various levels of excise.
Are there any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Would what be the impact of the decision on the Budget bottom line?
PRIME MINISTER:
The impact of this on the Budget bottom line, when you take into account the measures that will be announced early in the new year over the longer term will be fairly neutral.
JOURNALIST:
And for consumers?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well consumers over the longer term in my view are certainly not going to any worse off, and we've provided transitional measures in relation to LPG, new LPG vehicles.
JOURNALIST:
What about consumers in the short term, will some people will be worse off?
PRIME MINISTER:
Not in the short, well nobody's going to be effected in the short term because the new measures don't commence until the 1st of July 2008, which is four and a half years from now, this is very much a medium to longer term announcement, but it's a very important announcement and it moves to put excise on a more logical, intelligent basis. But we've made it plain that the new regime is not going to apply until the middle of 2008.
JOURNALIST:
Was there any decision taken at Cabinet on medical indemnity issues?
PRIME MINISTER:
On the which?
JOURNALIST:
Medical indemnity issues?
PRIME MINISTER:
The issue was discussed and I think that's a matter you need to pursue further with Mr Abbott.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, you mentioned that you'd come to a number of decisions, or one or two of them, any others you'd like to enlighten us on?
PRIME MINISTER:
Did I say we'd taken a number of decisions? Well I guess two is a number, we talked, a couple of other relatively minor decisions that I would rather leave to the individual Minister to announce, they're not the sort of ones that I want to announce. And we also took the opportunity of having a discussion on a number of long term policy issues that are facing the country and facing the Government.
JOURNALIST:
And they were?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the sort of things you discuss at these kind of Cabinet meetings, but they're not the sort of things that I'm going to go into in detail. We looked at the issues concerning the long term development of the economy and things of that kind which you normally do at these rather strategic meetings. I don't really have anything to reveal in relation to them because no particular decisions have been taken.
JOURNALIST:
So was there any discussion about how you'd take on Mark Latham?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh we always talk about our political position, but we didn't talk about it excessively.
JOURNALIST:
Not concerned about your 19 per cent drop in the polls as preferred Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I think what happened there is that we've really returned after the Crean period to a more normal situation. I expected with a new leader that there would be a change in the preferred Prime Minister, I think if you go back and look at what the situation was in the past he's doing about what Mr Beazley did. You had a more normal situation there, I never expected to maintain that and in the long run it doesn't matter a great deal, there have been plenty of examples of where people have been a country mile in front on that poll and have lost an election. Go and ask Jeff Kennett.
JOURNALIST:
During the period of Crean's incumbency you'd say that you were sort of enjoying a Crean bonus as it were.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well they're your words. You may remember that when I was in that situation, I didn't talk about it very much, did I? Because I always saw an element of unreality. The next election is going to be very tough for us, and I said that while Mr Crean was leader, and it remains the case. A new leader gets a honeymoon and Mr Latham's getting a honeymoon. I expect that. I understand that. I take that rather calmly. I'm in for the longer haul and in the end the Australian public will make a balanced judgement. If they think we're a good government they will support us again.
JOURNALIST:
What's his most vulnerable point?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh look that's for you people to talk about. I'm not a commentator, I'm an advocate and a participant. I'm certainly not getting into being a commentator.
JOURNALIST:
But just surely though you've turned your mind to it?
PRIME MINISTER:
What's the next question?
JOURNALIST:
Now that Saddam Hussein's been captured, will you give any indication about how long Australian personnel will remain in Iraq?
PRIME MINISTER:
I indicated yesterday that they would remain there while ever there was a job to be done. It would be wrong of any of the coalition forces to overenthuse or overreact to the capture of Saddam Hussein. It's a very important psychological victory but it doesn't mean the violence is going to disappear, it doesn't mean the problem is solved, it doesn't mean that we can prematurely withdraw our forces, and we don't have any intention of doing that.
JOURNALIST:
And the weapons of mass destruction still remain to be found as well.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well work is still going on on that front and the book is not closed. The jury is still out and I'd counsel people to bear that in mind.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think they still will be found - the weapons of mass destruction?
PRIME MINISTER:
I believe two things. Firstly that the material, the intelligence that we had earlier this year justified the decision that we took, and I wouldn't have taken a different decision if I had my time over again. It certainly justified the decision we took. There is certainly evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction programmes and further investigative work by the Iraqi Survey Group, to which Australia has made a personnel contribution, that work goes on. That's what I'm saying.
JOURNALIST:
Is the capture of Saddam Hussein one of the most important moments in your time as Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh look it was a very important moment. I don't think I'd quite put it that high, but certainly in the last six months, on a scale of feeling a sense of satisfaction, I'd certainly rate it highly. But I don't think I'd quite put it in the category of being one of the most exciting moments in my prime ministership. I don't quite put it in that category, but it was a good moment and it was a very gratified President to whom I spoke in the early hours of Monday morning - the very early hours of Monday morning.
Thank you.
[ends]