JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister you're heading off to Chile, what's the aim?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it's a very important regional meeting APEC. I'll be having bilaterals with the Presidents of China and Indonesia, and Malaysia's Prime Minister, the Singaporean Prime Minister, and, of course, it'll be the first time that President Bush and I will have met in person since we were both re-elected. So, putting all that together, those contacts alone are enormously important for Australia and there's a neat symbolism in the fact that the Free Trade Agreement with the United States has finally been fixed up and will come into operation on the 1st of January, and certainly I'll be hoping that the APEC momentum towards greater and more open trade can be maintained and, if possible, increased.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think there'll be much movement on the scoping study on the China free trade agreement?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, that's not something that will get discussed at APEC itself. It is something that will be discussed by President Hu Jintao and myself. We shouldn't benchmark the Chinese relationship according to whether or not we have a free trade agreement. Whether we do or we don't, it's a very strong trade relationship as it is and it can only get better.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think the issue of terrorism will be high on the agenda?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh yes, I'm quite sure that the issue of counter-terrorism will be discussed at APEC. It's an issue that's been discussed at every APEC meeting since September 2001, and I'm sure that this will be no different.
JOURNALIST:
Do you fully support Mr Anderson in relation to Mr Windsor's claim?
PRIME MINISTER:
Absolutely. There is no more honest person in public life than John Anderson, and he has my full confidence and my total support, and he will be Acting Prime Minister of Australia while I'm out of the country.
JOURNALIST:
And why do you think Mr Windsor would be making these claims?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't know. That's something you should pursue with Mr Windsor.
JOURNALIST:
Just about the body in Fallujah that you were saying in Question Time was thought to be Margaret Hassan. Has there been more information that's come forward to confirm that that's her body? I thought the colour of the hair was a bit a bit different to her hair...
PRIME MINISTER:
No. Certainly the video in relation to Margaret Hassan is sadly according to those who were there who've seen it - it does appear to be her.
JOURNALIST:
But there's no definite confirmation...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the body hasn't be returned by those who killed her. But the point I made was that it's accepted by the British Government, the Irish Government, and the family, and in particular the husband who made a very emotional appeal for the return of the body.
Thank you.
[ends]