PRIME MINISTER:
Well ladies and gentleman, I'll be leaving shortly to visit both Japan and China. I'll go first to Beijing and this evening I will see both the Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao. We will talk about the whole range of the bi-lateral relationship, not only trade, but also geo-political issues. It's an important relationship, that between Australia and China, it's a relationship that's grown enormously. We have had discussions about the possibility of commencing negotiations for a free trade agreement. That issue will obviously be discussed in my meeting with the Premier and also the President, and if there are any further developments then they will be announced out of the meeting with the Premier.
I want to stress that whatever happens on the free trade agreement front, Australia has a huge and positive and growing trade relationship with China. I do not want to see personally, whether or not we start free trade negotiations or whether they are brought to a satisfactory conclusion, I do not want to see that become the benchmark of whether or not we have a good relationship. There's a danger in all of these things that the... there's a fixation on the architecture, a fixation on the formally agreements, rather than looking at the way in which trade has expanded. I think the figure is that in last ten years, our exports to China have close to quadrupled. Now that's happened without a free trade agreement, and that sort of relationship can go on. But if we can improve it and make it even better by reaching a free trade agreement, well we certainly intend to do so.
I then go to Japan to see my good friend the Prime Minister, Mr Koizumi. We also will talk about the whole extent of the bi-lateral relationship. Japan remains our best customer in the world, nobody buys more from Australia than Japan and we shouldn't loose site of that and we shouldn't loose site of the importance of Japan to Australia's future. I will go to the Expo in Aichi and visit of course the Australian Pavilion and meet quite a lot of my fellow country men and women who will be there.
I then go to the Island of Hainan for the Boao Economic Forum which is rapidly become the Davos of Asia and deliver a major address there on matters affecting Australia in the region and also take part in a seminar dealing with energy issues. And from then I will go to Gallipoli to take part with the New Zealand Prime Minister in the 90th Anniversary commemoration of the landing and visit the Turkish Prime Minister in Ankara and then a brief visit to Greece and then I'll return to Australia. It's a very important visit, particularly as it will take me to both China and Japan. Two countries that are very important to Australia's present and future.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister would you like to see a more flexible currency introduced in China?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think the question of how the Chinese manage their exchange rate is a matter for them just as how we manage our exchange rate is a matter for us. I don't think that there's a lot gained by Prime Minister's running around the world and telling other countries how to manage their exchange rates. I think the responsibility I have is to make sure that the Australian economy is competitive and that we can get our fair share of world trade and world economic activity.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister are concerned about the uneasy relationships between China and Japan at the moment?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh I would like to see the current tension abate, of course. I mean it's not something that directly involves Australia. It's a difference of opinion between Japan and China and I hope that it's something that will be addressed. The Japanese Foreign Minister has gone to Beijing and he obviously is trying to calm down the situation. There are a variety of reasons for it, I don't intend to give a commentary and I certainly don't intend to take sides.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister some people I think are suggesting that it goes to Japan's closeness to the United States...
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't endorse that view. There are a whole range of historical reasons unrelated to Japan's association with the United States which have been referred to in the current controversy. But we live in a world where it should and must be possible for nations to have close relations with other nations without those relationships impairing their relationships with third countries, that is certainly our view. We don't see for example our relationship with the United States as being anything other than a plus, in our dealings with the countries in the region.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister I gather you're not expecting to make huge head way on the free trade, you're not expecting any breakthroughs on this trip.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think we ought to wait and see. The point I'm trying to make Brad is that whether you get a free trade negotiation with the Chinese or not and whether it is successfully concluded, won't alter the fact that we have a growing and huge and growing trade relationship with the country, that's the point I'm making. I'm not ruling out making some progress. I just don't want the issue of whether or not you get a free trade agreement to be seen as the benchmark for the relationship because that's just a huge mistake. If we don't have a free trade agreement with China, China will still remain a massive market for our mineral resources, if we don't have a free trade agreement with Japan or even a scoping study for a free trade agreement with Japan, Japan will remain our best customer, that's the point I'm making. I just think we get too hung up with the free trade. I mean they're easy things to write about and they have a certain ring but you've got to look to the substance of relationships. But don't assume that nothing will come out of the visit that would be a big mistake Brad, big.
JOURNALIST:
What's your opinion of Ian Melrose's campaign (inaudible) using World War Two veterans to campaign about East Timor resources?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think Australia has been very fair to East Timor. East Timor would not have the political freedom it now has if Australia had not taken the stand it did. We have bent over backwards to accommodate the East Timorese in relation to the revenue sharing from the oil and gas reserves. But I have a responsibility to the Australian people and to the Australian taxpayer and I can't be in a position that the only fair solution to a small country is to agree to everything that that country asks for, whether or not their requests are reasonable. And that essentially is what is involved in this and I believe that the offer we have made is fair and the offer stands, but we're not going to let down the Australian taxpayer and the Australian people because we have obligations to them.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible)World War II veterans in the latest (inaudible).
PRIME MINISTER:
Well look I haven't seen the detail of it but he's running a strong campaign and the Australian people will make up their minds about this. They have great common sense, they know the role Australia played in the freeing of East Timor. They know how decisive that was. I am aware of the debt owed by many Australians from World War II to the people of Timor, I'm aware of that but I'm also aware that we played a major role in the freeing of the country and I'm also aware that we gave away a lot in the earlier negotiations and we've made concessions in the current negotiations. But I simply cannot as Prime Minister agree to everything that is demanded of Australia whenever there is a disagreement between Australian and small country in our region. And the assumption is automatically made by some that Australia is always wrong and other countries are always right. Well what I'm saying is that the stance taken by the Australian Government is fair and considerate and decent but it is also a stance that looks after the interests of the Australian people, which is my first responsibility.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister just in relation to Gallipoli, the Opposition claims that the Federal Government's known for a couple of years of the damage that road works would do to the original landing site....
PRIME MINISTER:
For a couple of years?
JOURNALIST:
Yes.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the roadwork that's been commented upon, as I'm advised has been only been carried out in the past few months.
JOURNALIST:
Well what do you say to criticisms that the Federal Government has done nothing to protect the heritage of that site?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don't accept that. You've got to remember that this site is, of course sacred though it is to all of us, it is Turkish land and it's under Turkish sovereignty and in those circumstances the Turks have of course the final say in what occurs and I don't accept that claim at all. And I think it's important that people remain, keep that in perspective, that this is Turkish property. As far as the site itself is concerned, I've just had a report from the Deputy Secretary of my Department, who has been to the site and gave me a report about it last night here in Darwin and I'll have the opportunity along with others of looking there when I visit the site on the 25th of April. One piece of information I have gleaned from the Deputy Secretary of my Department is that there has been, conveyed to him an intention by the Turkish authorities to have a stone wall erected to reinforce the embankment to this road and... which is of course just above Anzac Cove and I have asked the Australian Ambassador in Ankara to make representations to the Turkish authorities for that stone wall not to be built or the construction of it at the very least to be put on hold because we are concerned that that construction would significantly alter the appearance of the landing area and that would in our view be very regrettable. Now as to the other commentary that has been made, clearly one of the things that the Turkish authorities have wanted to do is to make sure that security issues and the ease of traffic movement on the day, and on other days is properly attended to because there will be an enormous crowd there next week and security issues are very important. But it's easy for people to take pot shots at the Government and say we haven't done this and we haven't done that. Can I just say in reply to those people, that this is Turkish land, I don't think the Turks in any way have set out to do any damage in a malicious or malevolent way to the site. It's very sacred to them, although the areas of the site which are more sacred to them are different from the areas that are sacred to Australians and you have to bear all of that in mind. The other thing you've got to bear in mind is, that in the 90 years that have gone by there's been a lot of work carried out on the site which would've altered the appearance of it and any suggestion that the site has remained exactly the same for the past 90 years and has suddenly been altered in the last... totally and for the first time in the last couple of months is not correct.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister there are bones found on the site, evidence was in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning, what are you going to do about that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I haven't seen that report but can I make the observation that it is inevitable in a site or on site where so many people died... there were 60,000 Turks killed at Gallipoli, there were 8,000 Australians, 2,500 to 3,000 New Zealanders, 22,000 British and I think 30,000 French, now that's my recall of the casuality and on top of that I think there were thousands of Indian troops who died also. Now inevitably when so many people have died in such a small area, bones are going to be, they're going to turn up and this is happening in all major battlefields sites. Bones from time to time turn up on the Western front. Now that is unavoidable, that is a completely different thing from allowing any work to be carried out which disturbed existing war cemeteries and if bones are discovered, and I haven't seen this report in the Herald, so I'm not commenting on it, if bones are discovered there are arrangements made for a respectful treatment of those bones. But it's just not possible when you're dealing with a site, where so many people died, it is simply not possible to say from now on no bones are going to be discovered. I mean this is just a consequence of there having been so many people killed on the site.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister a wall along this area would suggest that they need to retain the road and Australia's taken the position that we don't want the wall there?
PRIME MINISTER:
We've asked that work on it for the being be put on hold, we will be asking that because we are concerned that if you do construct that stone wall it will significantly alter the appearance of the Cove.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister I just wonder where it automatically goes to because if.....
PRIME MINISTER:
I think where it automatically goes to is that we would like, there's a follow up from that to have further discussions with the Turkish authorities about what happens in the future.
JOURNALIST:
Is it possible though that a wall (inaudible) that Turks could decide because it is their...
PRIME MINISTER:
Look there's no point in my speculating. The best thing I can do is tell what I'm proposing to do, that we are making representations; our Ambassador is going to talk to the Turkish Foreign Minister today and ask that any work on that stone wall be put on hold. And our reason for that is that it would alter the appearance in a very significant way and we don't want that to happen. We then have to talk to the Turkish authorities about it, now that's as much as I can indicate at the present time, I'm not going to speculate about what the further consequences of that are going to be. Clearly with so much traffic you do need proper road facilities. There'll be debate about whether the changes made have gone too far, the changes- the size and scope of them has obviously been determined by the Turks, there'll be debate about that. Clearly you do need, there's so may people there, I mean there's estimated that 20,000 people will be there on the 25th of April. Now you obviously, if you're not going to make any changes then clearly you won't have as many people, if you want to have that number of people, you've clearly got to have arrangements that accommodate them.
JOURNALIST:
That next step (inaudible) this whole thing about the road above Anzac Cove to a whole new level, doesn't it (inaudible) freeway type thing...?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think the most sensible thing is to take it a step at a time and to recognise that this is not our property and that we have to deal with the Turkish authorities and there's not a lot achieved by us not recognising it and not being respectful of their position. And also accepting that they haven't set out to do anything to be insensitive to Australia, I don't think for a moment the Turkish authorities have wanted to be insensitive to Australia, I really don't. But it is their land and we have to respect that.
JOURNALSIT:
Mr Howard the 450 troops that are to head to Iraq over the next few weeks, is that it now in terms of total numbers of our commitment..?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Brad we don't have any current intention to adding to it but I am not going to get into the silly position of saying absolutely, definitely that's the end of it because circumstances could alter in the future. I don't think they will but if you're asking me for an iron clad guarantee that there'll be no further alteration in the force level in Iraq, I can't do that. But I can tell you that we don't have any current intention of increasing it.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, Tony Abbott has indicated the Government knew about the Medicare Safety Net blow-out during the election campaign, why weren't we told then?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well you were. You were told what the current estimate was. What you weren't told then because we didn't know it was that the estimate for the five years through to 2008-2009 took it to $1.6 billion which is some hundreds of millions higher than the figure that was included in the pre-election financial statements. So they're two separate things. What Abbott said was right, it was in the financial statement, since the election we've been told that the cost of it is ratcheting up and the figure that it is ratcheting up to at the end of 2008-2009 is about $1.65 billion over the period. Could I just make one other observation that during the election campaign what was at issue was whether were not we were going to have a safety net, not the threshold level. The Labor Party said no safety net, the Liberal Party said a safety net and for the Labor Party now to be attacking us, when they would take the whole thing away, is quite breathtaking. Thank you.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister (inaudible) on Angus Houston , because we didn't get a chance to ask you yesterday.
PRIME MINISTER:
On the which?
JOURNALIST:
On Angus Houston because we didn't get a chance to ask you yesterday?
PRIME MINISTER:
On the which? Oh Angus Houston, yes.
JOURNALIST:
His forthright evidence to the children overboard Senate enquiry was considered in some areas to be a bit of career stopper?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well those assumptions were wrong and they were insulting. To suggest that because a man holding that kind of position gives evidence under oath, which some saw as uncomfortable for the Government that that was a reason why he wouldn't have a further career advancing, was insulting to the Government . I've never run a Government that penalises people for telling the truth and I never will and I found that grossly insulting at the time and I'm glad that in the fullness of time, he has been promoted on merit. He's clearly the best person for the job and the fact that he gave that evidence was never, other things being equal, going to be a reason why he didn't get the job.
Thank you.