JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, your reaction to the murder of the South Korean man in Iraq?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it's a sickening example of who we're dealing with, what we're dealing with and my heart goes out to that poor man's family who suffered so much. I say again on behalf of the Australian people that this country will not be intimidated by this callousness, this inhumanity, this inexcusable depravity.
JOURNALIST:
Has Mark Latham shown that he is fiscally responsible with the decision on the PBS?
PRIME MINISTER:
He's got what $11 billion of promises. He's promising tax cuts. He clearly hasn't got claimed savings of $8 billion. Until Mark Latham produces a detailed, costed, internally coherent economic policy and particularly a tax policy, he can't even begin to enter the economic debate.
JOURNALIST:
One of his backbenchers said this morning that Labor should look at other Government decisions that it's opposed. Any in particular that you think they should look at?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh yes. How long have you got? I think they should revisit their opposition to the improvements in the disability support pension arrangements, they should revisit their opposition to the unfair dismissal laws, they should revisit their opposition to other industrial relations laws, they should revisit their opposition to our laws to relieve small business of the burden of higher redundancy payments. There's a whole long list of things that they should do and when they start revisiting those things they might start to build some credibility in the economic debate.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, if an Australian were taken hostage in Iraq - how would the Government seek to handle the issue?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, it is too serious an issue for me to hypothesise. I'm not going to hypothesise about something like that.
JOURNALIST:
..you announced in there your intention to release the 'alert, not alarmed' advertising campaign - are you conscious that you could be criticised by the ALP for what they already criticise you for, the Medicare ads and those sorts of things?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I'd be amazed if the Labor Party attacked the Government for doing anything that is reasonably necessary or reasonably incidental to the ongoing campaign and the ongoing responsibility we all have to ensure that this country is as prepared as it can be and as protected as it can be. That is not, in any sense shape or form, a campaign that can be criticised. It's been very successful. The response has been very good. Much of the earlier cynicism has fallen away and all that's been indicated is that we will reserve the right to revisit it. I'm not putting any particular time on it and I would have hoped that that's the kind of thing that would be seen as necessary and quite separate and apart from the party political debate because I thought we were on the same side on this. I thought Labor supported what we're doing on this. I mean, they claim to, yet when it takes their fancy they nit-pick and put and take.
JOURNALIST:
What more should business be doing on terrorism?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I think the level of cooperation to date has been good. I can't say there's nothing more they can do, but I think the level of cooperation to date has been very good.
JOURNALIST:
Is there anything you've told them today that you think they can do?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh look, I gave a general talk. It was a confidential discussion. You heard the speech and there are a few other things I've said which I won't go into. But you shouldn't construe from that there is some, you know, AUSTEO or top secret.
JOURNALIST:
Is there particular concerns for establishments like oil rigs, power stations, telecommunications?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well obviously, infrastructure, critical infrastructure is a potential target. So of course are large assemblies of people but we're all aware of that. There's nothing new in my saying that and they're things that we take account of and we pay a particular regard to and so do they.
JOURNALIST:
Ted Smout dying at 106 Prime Minister in Brisbane, that's obviously a shock?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I knew Ted Smout very well. He was a lovely character and we are now down to what, four or five survivors of the Great War. I extend my sympathy to Ted's family. He had a great life. I had the opportunity of first meeting him in 1993 and on several occasions afterwards. He had a tremendous personality and he just made everybody so proud of the way in which he was exemplar of that magnificent generation.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, just back to business and terrorism. Is there an obligation on business to stump up money obviously, but to share the cost of security?
PRIME MINISTER:
Security and taking the necessary precautions is a cost of doing business because if there is an attack, if there is damage done, if there is a security breach which is serious enough then that affects the bottom line, it affects the businesses profit, so therefore it is a cost of doing business and I think by and large business is concerned as everybody else. Everybody has a role to play in this and I found the response that I got this morning very positive.
Thank you.