MITCHELL:
Mr Howard good morning?
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning Neil, good morning Brett.
MITCHELL:
I assumed you'd like to speak with Brett Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
I just want to say that he is emblematic. At the moment he represents a great volunteer tradition, a great tradition of Australian men and women who do unbelievable things for this country in times of emergency, and I say thank you to him. I wish him and his colleagues well. I know how difficult it is, I've followed things, I spoke yesterday with the Victorian Premier, offered him, again, any additional assistance that the Commonwealth might make available, and I know that offer will be taken up if necessary. But I think the Victorian authorities, the CFA in particular are doing a fantastic job, and I think it's great that they're getting the cooperation from other States. That's as it should be, but we should be very proud as an Australian community at how on occasions like this people do rally together.
MITCHELL:
Well I can see a lot from where I'm standing, a lot of the fire-fighters sitting around sort of getting their breath and having a rest, I'm sure they'll be pleased to know that you've passed on your regards Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I really do and we'll keep our fingers crossed and hope and pray that the weather improves and that we don't have any repetition of the terrible tragedies earlier in the week.
MITCHELL:
Brett we've got the Prime Minister on the line, it might be a good time to ask him for something?
BRETT:
The big orange helicopter, the air cranes Prime Minister, I believe we've borrowed a couple from New South Wales for the fires (inaudible). They've certainly helped.
PRIME MINISTER:
Brett, you're doing a great job mate. You're doing an absolutely fantastic job and all of your colleagues. And I wish you well, and safe work above all.
BRETT:
Thank you.
MITCHELL:
Brett thank you very much, we'll let you get back to it, thank you for your time. We'll talk to Brett and others through the morning as we keep an eye on this fire and we'll take a break and come back with other news, other developments for the Prime Minister, in a moment.
(commercial break)
MITCHELL:
It is sixteen to nine, I'm speaking to you from Kinglake, from the back of the station wagon, the Prime Minister's in our studio in Canberra and I apologise, there's a problem with the line in Canberra, we can come from Kinglake but not from Canberra, he's on the telephone. Mr Howard I spoke to you earlier this week from the tarmac at Sydney Airport, so it's becoming even more bizarre, reports today in The Australian, and we talked about this on Tuesday as well, that you have given a significant hint that you might be staying around for the next election, is that being misread?
PRIME MINISTER:
Absolutely nothing has changed. I haven't made up my mind and what was in The Australian this morning is yet another example of what I call infantile over-analysis of everything I say. Nothing has changed, Neil, and it's a vain hope, but I wish journalists understand that when I decide precisely what I am going to do, based obviously on the criteria I laid down two and half years ago, that I'll remain leader as long as my Party wants me to and it's in the interests of the Party that I do so; if I reach some conclusion on that, I won't be dropping it out of the side of mouth in a private gathering, in an off-the-cuff fashion. I would have thought that was self evident to the journalist who decided to report it as he did.
MITCHELL:
So the message is you haven't made up your mind?
PRIME MINISTER:
That message is no different from what it was when we spoke a few days ago.
MITCHELL:
But you said a moment ago you have not made up your mind?
PRIME MINISTER:
Exactly, I haven't.
MITCHELL:
Is a decision close?
PRIME MINISTER:
It's neither close nor far, it is simply as it's always been. I think we're just going round and round in circles on this. I know it's of endless fascination but this is the position I had when I went to the election, this is the basis on which my Government was re-elected, it's not as if I said one thing to the Australian people before the last election and am behaving differently now. I said in middle of 2003 that I would remain leader of my Party for so long as it wanted me too, and it was in the Party's best interests that I did so. There were two things, and that has not changed.
MITCHELL:
Well is it correct that you have cut back your travel itinerary for the next year?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I haven't cut it back because you don't have a fixed itinerary of travel. I simply made the point when I delivered a speech, an off the cuff speech to a gathering largely of diplomats to mark Australia Day, I said that I got a lot of invitations to travel around the world, I couldn't pick all of them up because like any other politician who wants to get re-elected, and I use that phrase in a very generic way, it shouldn't be seen as connoting any particular relevance to the next election, I have to keep the home fires burning, and it's true. I think the Australian public accepts and wants of me a certain amount of overseas travel to represent the interests of this country, but it doesn't want me away all the time. And the public is absolutely right, it's a question of balance between those two things. I would expect that I would have not quite as much overseas travel this year as I had last year, but I will have a certain amount, it's essential. I'm going to India in March, I expect at some point to go to North America, I may go to China again and I have other invitations to countries in the region that I have to pick up.
MITCHELL:
Prime Minister another issue, the National Party, the reports of a number of other National MP's considering defecting to the Liberals, do you want them?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I am very happy with the membership of the Liberal Party now, I'm very happy with the Coalition arrangement. I do not in anyway seek to recruit members of the National Party to the Liberal Party and I repeat what I said a couple of days ago and that is I can understand the feelings of members of the National Party about Senator McGauran's change of parties, beyond that I don't care to make any further comment. I respect the National Party, Mark Vaile and I have a very good relationship. The National Party is a very valuable part of the Coalition and the last thing I want to do is go around poaching members of the National Party. I do not encourage members of the Liberal Party to do that, I encourage members of the Liberal Party to respect the fact that the National Party is a separate political identity with a philosophy and set of values and beliefs that is about as close as you can get to the Liberal Party from a separate political entity.
MITCHELL:
Have you reasserted that to your party people over the past few days?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think I'm doing it now. I mean every time I make a statement I make those comments and I'll continue to do so.
MITCHELL:
Do you think there's a problem with the National Party? Is there disunity in there?
PRIME MINISTER:
No. Look ,I just think this is a difficult issue and I understand why it's difficult. If the person involved had left my Party, the Liberal Party, I think a lot of Liberals would be feeling the same as a lot of Nationals are feeling. I'm just asking the Liberals to understand that and I'm also asking them to sort of get on with their responsibilities. This is not something that's going to in anyway shake or undermine the unity of the parties. I think on occasions like this, it's not a good idea for people to return comments on every comment that somebody else has made. I don't do that and I don't intend to change.
MITCHELL:
But could it cost you the control of the Senate?
PRIME MINISTER:
No.
MITCHELL:
There's some anger towards Peter Costello from the National Party, has that been raised with you by the Party?
PRIME MINISTER:
No.
MITCHELL:
You're convinced Peter Costello played no role?
PRIME MINISTER:
I believe what Peter said. I accept his word completely; I've always found him a very honest person in all my dealings with him. I've found him a very honest person.
MITCHELL:
Prime Minister did you see the Aboriginal protesters burning the flag yesterday?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes I did. I saw that news clip last night. It was offensive, it was offensive. Can I say I don't think it represents mainstream Aboriginal opinion, I think it's the important point to be made. I read something very interesting in, forgive a reference to Sydney paper on your programme, but a reference to Australia Day in Sydney yesterday where Adam Goodes, Sydney Swans and Aboriginal footballer said he had never celebrated Australia Day until yesterday and now he wanted to be part of it. He ran off with the Queens Baton on his way to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. I think, and I've found in my contacts with people yesterday, whilst there continues to be understandable reservations about the 26th of January within the indigenous community, the sort of behaviour represented by what those people did is, I find, not typical of indigenous people. The Australian flag is more closely held and held more dearly by Australians now than at any time that I can remember. I think the Australian flag has really taken hold in a way that the sceptics and those people who wanted to change it ten years ago; they will be appalled.
MITCHELL:
Do you think they should be prosecuted for burning that flag yesterday?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I have a different view from many on this and a view that I know surprises a lot of people because of my intense attachment to the flag; much in all as I despise what they did I do not believe that it should be a criminal offence. I do hold to the old Voltairian principle that I disagree with what he says but I will defend to the death his right to say it and I see that kind of thing as just an expression, however offensive to the majority of the community, an expression of political opinion. I don't think we achieve anything by making it a criminal offence, we only turn yahoo behaviour into martyrdom and I don't think that achieves anything and it would not engender greater respect for the Australian flag. The Australian flag is now loved and respected and worn as a fashion statement by the young of Australia and we haven't needed laws making it a criminal offence to burn the Australian flag in order to bring about that state of affairs and that is why I hold to the view I have expressed. I know a lot of my colleagues don't agree with me, I know a lot of people in the RSL don't agree with me and a lot of people are surprised that somebody who's such a strong supporter of the Australian flag should have that view, but that is my view.
MITCHELL:
Just finally the other thing that surprised me on Australia Day was a little sourness towards Nicole Kidman's honour. The Age in fact lamented the cult of celebrity, I found that extraordinary I think, would you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I though the list was pretty good. We are; it is a nation of all the talents. Surely if we can recognise business excellence, sporting excellence, humanitarian commitment, we can also recognise artistic excellence. Now I am not going sit in judgement on the individual choices but when I looked at the list of people getting AC's there was an actress, there was a wonderful Catholic nun Sister Bernice who ran St Vincent's Private Hospital, for years; she's a magnificent woman. You had an eminent medical scientist, you had a whole range of people and I thought that was right and I think that is the kind of country we are and I support very strongly the decisions that were made on this occasion. I mean they are not decisions that are made by me or by the Government, they are made by a group of people chaired by the former Victorian Governor Sir James Gobbo who does an excellent and I would support the range of people.
MITCHELL:
Thank you very much for speaking to us. You coming down for the tennis at the weekend?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm afraid I can't do so Neil, I have some other things that I have to attend to, I've got to go to a swearing-in ceremony this afternoon and I've got a few other things, but I regret that very much.
MITCHELL:
Thanks very much for your time.
PRIME MINISTER:
Okay then.
[ends]