PRIME MINISTER:
Well do you have any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Have you actually seen, at any stage, the 2001 DFAT cable regarding the situation with Iraq?
PRIME MINISTER:
That particular cable, the one that was in the paper this morning? I don't recall having seen it but I accept that it came to my office therefore I am fixed with notice of it. You should be aware that hundreds of cables come into my office every week, I don't see them all, that's physically impossible, I don't recall it having been drawn to my attention, but I am not seeking to deny that I am fixed with notice of it and I don't have any problem with that.
JOURNALIST:
Wouldn't it be strange though given the contents of the cable?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no, not strange at all because if you actually read the cable the issue is dealt with in a very satisfactory way. That is my complaint about the headline treatment of the issue in the press this morning, that when you actually read the cable, Bronte Moules the DFAT officer has done her job and done it very well and the matter is reported, dealt with, and in my view having seen the cable, in my view I think she's done it very well. So I wouldn't have regarded it as the least bit strange that amongst the hundreds of cables that come into my office every week that it wasn't drawn to my attention and what was the year 2001, there were a lot of other things around at the time, at that particular time so to answer your question I don't recall having seen it, is that strange? No, because my office gets hundreds of cables a week. See what happens is that my office is copied with most of the DFAT cable traffic and then somebody on my staff or working with somebody in my department sifts through and brings certain ones of them to my attention and of course they go to my department, they go to foreign affairs, they go to defence, they go to the intelligence agencies and clearly in the view of everybody at that time who would have seen this cable, the matter was dealt with in a professional manner.
JOURNALIST:
Did you have any conversations with the former Australian Ambassador to the UN John Dauth in the lead up to the release of the Volcker Report, if so what (inaudible)?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't believe I discussed it with Dauth, I don't know, I don't.
JOURNALIST:
You said that you didn't discuss the substance of the inquiry with Mr Volcker?
PRIME MINISTER:
That's right.
JOURNALIST:
If that's right then what did you discuss with him?
PRIME MINISTER:
He and I simply made some passing reference to his inquiry, that's what I said yesterday but we did not discuss the substance of it.
JOURNALIST:
What was that passing comment?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well a passing reference.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister wasn't the cable contents, don't they contradict your earlier comments about when the Government was told about possible problems with the AWB?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no it doesn't, no it does not in any way contradict what I previously said. What we have previously said is that suspicions on the part of the Government about AWB paying kickbacks arose in the context of the Volcker inquiry and there is nothing in that cable that in any way contradicts that. Firstly the cable does not say that AWB paid kickbacks, in fact it says the opposite. The basis of my criticism of the reporting of that cable is that when you read it, it says the opposite of what many of the headlines inferred this morning. Now let us await the outcome of the inquiry, we have an inquiry, we have a Royal Commissioner, he is an outstanding lawyer he's got all the terms of reference he needs, if he wants more he'll have them, anybody who he wants to appear, including the Prime Minister, will appear so let us wait until the inquiry is completed. But I am not going to stand by and remain silent when I see an incorrect interpretation being given to a cable. Having read that cable yesterday and again this morning, it cannot in any way support the headline that was given to it by a number of newspapers, especially The Australian.
JOURNALIST:
Is AWB still part of the delegation to...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the final content of the delegation is being determined and when that has been determined Mr Vaile will have something to say. I guess the only additional thing that I would say is that for understandable security reasons, we are not being too specific about the delegation.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, Mr Vaile was saying today that maybe AWB won't be a part of the delegation.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well as I said we'll make an announcement about the final content of the delegation shortly.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, the growing tension between the Nationals and the Liberals over the single desk policy, do you have a personal view on that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don't have, in these matters, personal views that I express separately from Government policy. It is the Government's policy to retain the single desk, that does not mean that the issue can't be talked about in the future, it does not mean that there isn't a range of views within the federal parliamentary Liberal and National parties. Within my own party, the Liberal Party, there is a range of views. You may have noticed at the rally in Victoria, Senator Heffernan was present. Senator Heffernan, the last time I checked, is a Liberal and Senator Heffernan is in favour of the single desk. There are some Liberals who are strongly opposed to the single desk, that's a normal thing. There is a view even amongst some people who believe that the single desk should at some stage be possibly phased out who do not believe that the single desk should be unilaterally given away and we should only agree to get rid of it if we get something big in return from our trading competitors who have the benefit of huge subsidies and tax breaks, which our exporters don't have. Now they are all matters that will be part of any future discussion but we're not currently discussing a change in the policy, there is no current intention of changing the policy and the debate will go on and frankly the fact that there is a bit of a public debate about whether you have a single desk or not is no bad thing. We shouldn't in a political party, in a government, be frightened of a bit of public debate and this public debate I respect the views of some of my West Australian colleagues on this and you will find that the single desk, the attitudes to single desk, tend to vary a bit across the country. There seems to be more opposition to the single desk in Western Australia which is a major wheat exporting state and here in South Australia than in perhaps other parts of the country but that is normal, it's healthy and why should we worry about a bit of public debate on an important public policy issue. After all, this is very important to the Australian wheat growers and our ultimate concern is their welfare.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister an issue relating to your visit here today, what's Mr Rann's Government done wrong on the State economy and what would a Kerin Liberal Government do better?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well they are matters to be debated between Mr Rann and Mr Kerin, the point I was making this morning, and I repeat it, is that the health of the Australian, South Australian economy and it is in good shape, that is due to the overall health of the Australian economy and that is overwhelmingly due to the policies of the Coalition Government and when things go crook nationally we get the blame, so when things are going well, it's a bit rich for state premiers to help themselves to all of the glory, that's the point that I am making and I find this a bit of a disease amongst all state premiers, might I say of both political persuasions.
JOURNALIST:
Premier, sorry Prime Minister...
PRIME MINISTER:
That's alright. I am not offended.
JOURNALIST:
Will you be campaigning a lot here during the...
PRIME MINISTER:
Look it is not possible for me to campaign a lot, I've got parliament again next week and then I am going to India for a little while and then I have got to come back. March is a very busy month for me because we have the Commonwealth Games, as part of the Commonwealth Games we have a visit by the Queen, we have a visit by Mr Blair, the United States Secretary of State Dr Condoleezza Rice is coming to Australia so I am going to be very preoccupied with a lot of those sorts of responsibilities over the next few weeks so I am not in a position to campaign a lot.
JOURNALIST:
So this is it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well let's wait and see but it's hard for me to spend a lot of time but in any event this is not a federal campaign, this is not a vote between Kim Beazley and John Howard. We had one with Kim Beazley, it was John Howard and Mark Latham, we had one of those fifteen months ago and this is a contest between the Labor Government here in South Australia and the Liberal opposition.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister how do you explain the difference in strength between the federal Liberals here, we've had recently four Cabinet Ministers, and the relatively weak state of the Liberal Party in South Australia, I mean what's going on?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don't want to attest to a view about relative weakness or otherwise of my state colleagues, we've got an electoral test of that on the 18th March but it's part of the normal political cycle in Australia that sometimes a party does well federally and doesn't do so well at a state level and this happens on both sides of politics. There was a period of time when Labor was doing very well federally and we were doing a lot better at a state level, it is just a reminder to my colleagues at a federal level who might get too carried away that they are in a very strong, impregnable position, we're not. The next election federally will be quite a tough fight for us.
JOURNALIST:
What do you say today to those that say it was a desperate move by the local Liberals to get you here...
PRIME MINISTER:
There is nothing desperate about inviting your federal leader who comes regularly to South Australia to take part in the campaign. I mean it seems as though you are damned if you do and you are damned if you don't. If I didn't come people would be saying I don't want to be associated, when I do come, I am accused of being part of a desperate move, it is not desperate, it's normal I support Mr Kerin, I wish him well, I'll do everything I can to support the State Liberals, I'd like to see a change of Government, I am the leader of the Liberal Party throughout the country and I will always stand shoulder to shoulder with my state colleagues in election campaigns.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, you mentioned that no election is unwinnable what qualities do you think Mr Kerin has that enable him win?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think he's a very straight shooter, he's a good bloke, he has a common touch, he's had a lot of business experience and he understands rural interests as well as urban interests. Now put all of those qualities together, it's not a bad package. Thank you.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, Kim Beazley's comments ...about how he didn't have a frontbench a year ago, the talent on the frontbench a year ago, what's your reaction to that? He hasn't said it today but apparently a year ago he said...
PRIME MINISTER:
A year ago he said what?
JOURNALIST:
That he didn't have the talent on the frontbench, he wasn't confident of having a frontbench.
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I am sorry I don't quite understand your question. Look I don't, I mean it is for the Australian people to make a judgement about Mr Beazley's frontbench. I am happy to match my frontbench with Mr Beazley's frontbench at any time. But it's up to the Australian public, I am not going to take (inaudible).
JOURNALIST:
But he says he hasn't got confidence in his frontbench.
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I would really have to know the context of exactly what he said I don't want to make a remark that's critical of Mr Beazley which is based on inaccurate information.
JOURNALIST:
Will you be engaged in fundraising activities?
PRIME MINISTER:
Will I be engaged in fundraising activities? I engage in fundraising activities on behalf of the Liberal Party from time to time in all parts of the country.
JOURNALIST:
Can you tell us (inaudible)?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't normally go into exactly what I am doing when I visit a city but I am quite happy to disclose that on occasions I do attend fundraisers for the Liberal Party in every part of the country and South Australia is no exception.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister can you comment on the US Ambassador, haven't had one now for nearly 18 months, have you been talking to the administration, will you raise it with Condi Rice, are you concerned that your good friend George Bush hasn't appointed someone?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think part of the problem is that he wants to get somebody who is very close to him and will click well with the Australian public. Am I concerned? No, because it is not affecting our relationship, would I like to see one? Yes. Will I raise it? Not in any aggravated sense. If it comes up in discussion over a drink then of course it will be talked about but it is not something I am het up about.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, are you disappointed that Senator Joyce has been here to campaign on behalf of a National member of the State Labor Cabinet, Mrs Mayweld?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look funny things happen in elections, all sorts of things happen in election campaigns and it's an odd situation that because she is a member of the National Party but she is a member of the Labor Government, that is, that is unusual.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible)
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it is not for me to start issuing travel advice within Australia to members of the National Party, I've got plenty on my plate.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, Singapore yesterday put out a statement saying Australia had taken advantage of its relationship with Singapore by not allowing Singapore Airlines into an agreement...
PRIME MINISTER:
That we've taken advantage?
JOURNALIST:
Of its relationship with Singapore.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I haven't seen that statement but let me say over the years Australia has contributed at least its fair share in the relationship between Australia and Singapore. We have good reasons for the decision we took yesterday, the negotiations and the discussion will continue but the suggestion that Qantas is a protected airline is quite false. If you actually drill down you will find Qantas is one of the least protected airlines in the world.
[ends]