JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, can we just ask you about this incident with United Airlines - what you know of it and what you make of how the incident was handled?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I've been fully briefed on what happened and I totally support the decision taken by the pilot - it was the right thing to do in the circumstances. The pilot has to make the ultimate call. He or she is ultimately responsible for the safety of the passengers and he did the right thing.
JOURNALIST:
Is there any information at this stage as to whether it was a hoax or not. Is that still being looked at - where do you go from here?
PRIME MINISTER:
There are still investigations being carried out in relation to that. Obviously that is a possibility but I don't have enough information at this stage to express a view either way. I don't think anybody does but I understand that thorough searches have been conducted and no doubt when all of that's been completed and all the assessments have been made the police will express a view about that but obviously a hoax is a very strong possibility.
JOURNALIST:
And what of the passengers that I guess have been inconvenienced. They've been brought back and are staying in Sydney overnight. Any words for them at all?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, obviously they would have had a stressful time, but the question of looking after them is a matter for the airline. But the important thing is that nobody has been hurt, that's the important thing. We have to maintain a sense of perspective about these things. We live in a more dangerous, more stressful period and incidents like this where people are ultra cautious and I applaud pilots of aircraft who are ultra cautious. I'd far rather with a pilot who's ultra cautious than one who's cavalier and I think everybody would feel the same way and we have to maintain a sense of proportion, it's an incident but nobody's been hurt, the right procedures have been followed, the pilot has done the right thing and I'm very grateful that nobody's been injured.
Thank you.