JOURNALIST:
On the terror laws Mr Howard, can you give the community assurances of judicial review?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well yes I can, of individual cases, yes. The laws themselves will be laws in the ordinary sense. They'll be passed by the Parliament. In relation to the control order, you won't be able to get a control order without going to a judge and there will be judicial review available in relation to preventative detention. Now these safeguards have always been there. They're not new safeguards I'm adding on the eve of the meeting, they were always there, it was always the case that we were matching the expansion of the powers with appropriate safeguards.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, will the Premiers have quite a big say in the final laws when they're put together?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we need the cooperation of the states to bring all this about, because the Commonwealth acting alone does not have the constitutional power. That's been evident for a long time. It's in our constitution. I expect a constructive meeting tomorrow. I will listen to what the Premiers have got to say. I'm working on the basis that everybody wants a sensible outcome that will provide greater protection to the Australian community, but in a way that contains appropriate safeguards. That was always our intention and it remains the position.
JOURNALIST:
Is it hard to reach that balance between them?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I don't think it's hard at all. I think what we've proposed does contain that balance. I don't think these things are all that difficult. There's overwhelming support in the community for stronger anti-terrorism laws and the Australian people want them enacted and they want the Governments of this country to work together and to produce that outcome. They also want the laws to contain sensible safeguards. And that's always been our intention. And the proposals we put to the states included the things I've spoken of. They're not things that I've suddenly produced on the eve of the meeting and I would expect and hope that tomorrow's meeting will be very successful.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard what about the rights of a person who's charged under the terror laws to know what charges they're facing like Scott Parkin last week?
PRIME MINISTER:
That's got nothing to do with this issue.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, what would you say to members of the Muslim community who are concerned apparently that these laws are aimed at them?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well they're not. And I invite them to point to something in the laws that is aimed at them. And they won't be able to do so. There is nothing in these laws which is aimed specifically at the Muslim community or indeed any other communities. And I heard one of the Muslim people who had been at the meeting yesterday interviewed on radio this morning and he was asked that question, and he couldn't point to anything in the laws. So I simply say to my fellow Australians who are Muslims, you have nothing to fear from these laws. They are not directed at you. They are directed to protect you. And law abiding Muslims have as much at stake in these laws being passed as law abiding Christians or law abiding atheists or law abiding Jews or law abiding Hindus. We're all in this together. And this is an attack on the Australian way of life - terrorism. And that should be as of much concern to law abiding Muslims as it is to the rest of us.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, will people who are charged under the terror laws know what charges they're facing or will their lawyers know?
PRIME MINISTER:
The normal rules of law will apply.
JOURNALIST:
You're meeting with oil companies this week. Which day is that on?
PRIME MINISTER:
That will be on Wednesday.
JOURNALIST:
What can you ask them? Is there anything really you feel they can do?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the major reason for the meeting is to talk about the announcement I made last week concerning biofuels. I'll also take the opportunity to talk about the outlook of petrol prices. Unfortunately we are stuck with higher petrol prices for quite some time, because around the world, the price of crude oil has gone up because the demand for oil has outstripped supply. Now that's a problem we've now had for some time. It was made worse by Katrina and Rita. And even though that might recede a little bit, I'm afraid we're not going to go back to the days of having petrol below a dollar a litre for quite some time, if at all. Now that's difficult, but I can't mislead the Australian public on that. It's due to circumstances around the world. Every country has this problem and it's not something that any one government can overrule or intervene to prevent.
JOURNALIST:
So is it really a case now of families just have to learn to adjust?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think the whole community will have to accept, regrettably and unfortunately, that because the demand for fuel around the world has risen ahead of the supply, petrol is going to be dearer than what is was say a year ago, and likely to remain like that for some time. That's the regrettable reality and it's my obligation to acknowledge that and not to pretend to people that there's some magic fix. And if the people hears people running around with some magic fix, they should disbelieve them because this is a problem around the world. In Britain, the fuel is $2.30 a litre. It's $2.30 in France. Only in the United States, is fuel cheaper than what it is in Australia. So it's a worldwide problem. And if there was a solution, I can assure you it would have been grabbed by world leaders long before now. So I think what we will see is perhaps some small reduction in the price as the impact of Katrina and Rita wears off over the period of a few months. But then it will settle at a level which is above what it was last year and is likely to remain there for quite some time.
JOURNALIST:
Did you notice any differences Mr Howard, in the tour you've just done to the tour you did in '74 and how important is it that groups like Mission Australia should be doing this work to address poverty?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think there is a difference and I think obviously the facilities are better. The fundamental mission is the same. Charles Chambers who was there in 1974, 31 years ago, is still there. The facilities are more modern. Some of the challenges of inner-city life in Sydney are different from what they were in 1974. We have lower unemployment now than perhaps we had during the 70s. Certainly the economy is stronger than what it was then. I think the opportunities for people are great now, but they still need help. And I think Mission Australia's done a wonderful job and I congratulate them for it.
[ends]