JOURNALIST:
(inaudible) pleased that the tax cuts will go through?
PRIME MINISTER:
Very pleased but more importantly 10 million Australian taxpayers will be pleased. Mr Beazley's been thoroughly sidelined, he's made himself irrelevant. The reality always was ultimately the tax cuts would go through, it was a question whether small business would be messed around. I mean we've had hundreds of thousands of small business people having to load two sets of schedules on to their computers I mean this is ridiculous. This is displaying hostility towards the running of small business in this country, no wonder the Labor Party is so out of favour with the small business men and women of Australia.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister we could still have a situation where the legislation is blocked but the tax cuts go ahead can't we?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes but the Commissioner has said that he will act upon the statements that have been made and will therefore advise people to make the deductions in accordance with the new schedules and if the Bill is knocked over it will be restored when the Coalition has control of the Senate and 10 million Australian taxpayers will cheer that Coalition control of the Senate.
JOURNALIST:
Where do you see the outcome of the Petro Georgiou bills Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh look our position has not altered, we won't be changing the fundamentals of our mandatory detention policy but I've always said that if opportunities present themselves to administer that policy more flexibly and sensibly then we'll do so and I'll continue to talk to my colleagues. I take the view that people within the Liberal Party are entitled to be heard and as leader of the Party I will spend time listening to them and talking to them but I am not going to compromise a very good policy but there could well be ways without compromising the policy of making it work a little better and a little more flexibly and if there are ways that that can be achieved well why shouldn't we, because the fundamentals of the...
JOURNALIST:
There is still a chance?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well let's say there's always the prospect of resolving difference when people continue to talk to each other but the fundamental is that the policy, the framework of the policy is not going to change, we're going to keep mandatory detention but there are ways, particularly having in mind the position of children and the time, sometimes things take, there are ways in which we can make it work better but...
JOURNALIST:
So you're willing to change, make changes in those areas?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I am willing make any adjustment that will make the policy work better, that doesn't undermine the fundamentals of the policy and that's always been my position but I am not going to go into the detail of that because...
JOURNALIST:
So you won't explain what those...
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no, no, I am not because we are still having discussions.
JOURNALIST:
The Bills are being introduced on Monday, will you let them be debated?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh look I am not going to talk about that, thank you.
[ends]