JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister good morning and welcome back.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning how are you?
JOURNALIST:
And did you watch the soccer Sir?
PRIME MINISTER:
The tail end.
JOURNALIST:
The good bit.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I mean it's a bit of a double-edged sword, you think we went so close against the team that has now gone into the final.
JOURNALIST:
Now to the local scene, Trish Draper has been in the news this week, she's been a long time campaigner for youth, indeed has held the once marginal seat of Makin. You seem very keen for her to stay, but is there not pressure for a very high profile Bob Day who is very highly regarded in business and potential Cabinet Minister material. Might he make a good alternative?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well one thing at a time. He's a very good man and if there were a vacancy somewhere I would certainly welcome him as a candidate, but the point I would make is that Trish has been a fantastic local member, she understands the struggles of average Australian families, extremely well. She was one of a group of, may I say, 'golden girls', who in 1998 helped in South Australia to get the Coalition over the line in a very difficult election, and I would like to see her stay on.
But having said that, I understand that there comes a time when people have to look at a whole range of things, but I wouldn't want that examination by her to occur without there being an unambiguous recognition from me of her great worth and her great campaign skills and the ability she brings to that breadth of talent and understanding that the party needs. We are a party of great diversity. Trish has not had an easy life, she's had to battle, and she was a single parent for a long time and has raised three children, she's qualified as a nurse, she's got a terrific understanding of that local community. I've seen her mix with the football clubs, I've seen her mix with the local church community.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister this sounds like the usual question but maybe she would want to know what you would be doing in the future. It is a genuine issue for her perhaps.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well look I've answered that question before, and I don't have anything to add to, I don't have any variation, but all of my colleagues make their own decisions about their futures but I don't want anybody to be in any doubt as to the feelings about her qualities as a local member.
JOURNALIST:
Yesterday Prime Minister, David Hicks' lawyer spoke to Foreign Minister Alexander Downer here in Adelaide. There is a suggestion now that maybe we could, the Australian Government could repatriate him and perhaps use the new terror legislation which would allow a control order to be put on him if you can't find a charge. Is that something that's been discussed?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, it hasn't been discussed yet, but our position has not changed and our position is we would like him brought to trial in the United States as quickly as possible.
JOURNALIST:
It's eighteen to nine, talking to Prime Minister John Howard. Prime Minister you've got a scheduled press conference later this morning. You, I take it you will be addressing the issue of North Korea and specifically the launch of the missile overnight.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well this is an extremely worrying development, North Korea's action in launching up to five, possibly six missiles including a long range intercontinental ballistic missile which, the test of which failed, it doesn't alter what the motive was. This is provocative, it's in breach of undertakings North Korea has given. North Korea should be condemned by everybody as she undoubtedly will be.
We want this issue settled diplomatically and North Korea should understand that her interests lie in coming back to the six party talks. It's an impoverished country, it needs the guarantees of energy security and they are available if North Korea abandons her nuclear ambitions and what she is doing now is directly against her own long-term national interests and I hope all people who can bring pressure and influence to bear on North Korea do so, including the Japanese and the Chinese in particular, who exercise more influence over North Korea than any country in the world.
Mr Downer will, I understand, speak to the North Korean Ambassador by telephone this morning. Mr Downer is in Adelaide and he'll be making it very clear on behalf of the Government how strongly we feel on this issue, how concerned we are, how provocative this action is and we're talking here about the test-firing of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach continents such as Australia so this is no light matter, and we need to make it very clear to everybody concerned, but most particularly the North Koreans, how concerned we are. And I am sure the Americans will be feeling the same way.
JOURNALIST:
Sixteen to nine, Prime Minister John Howard in Canberra. Prime Minister it's clear from a major piece in The Australian today that history should be back on the curriculum from your Government's point of view. In this NAIDOC week, the question, and it may be obviously answered, but will there, will your narrative version of history include discussion of Aboriginal people and what was going on before Captain Cook and all of that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the answer is that, when you say my narrative, I mean I won't be writing it. It will be written by historians, I am only an amateur historian. I do my best to understand history, I think it's important for all of us, but any proper study of Australian history has to include a study of the indigenous peoples, of course.
Just as any proper study of Australian history has got to include an understanding of the influences that shaped Australia before European settlement. It's got to include some understanding of British and European history, an understanding of the enlightenment, an understanding of the influence of Christianity, of western civilisation. All of those things that shaped Australian society have got to be included, but very particularly we have got to have a proper narrative of what happened to this country both before 1788 and 1770, 1788 and onwards.
Now that includes obviously some reference to indigenous history. What we've got to get away from is studying history, as part of an examination of issues, an examination of cultural drifts. I want history to be Australian history in all of the manifestations I have described. I want it to be a standalone subject. It deserves that treatment. I want Australians in future to understand the scale of the Australian achievement.
JOURNALIST:
Do you see it as a compulsory subject, may be at particular stages?
PRIME MINISTER:
I would like to see it compulsory at certain stages but the detail of that can be worked out by the different education departments, I am not trying to write the course. I am just wanting to establish the priority and I cannot understand how anybody in any state government could object to Australian history being for some period of time, a compulsory, stand- alone subject.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, we much appreciate your time this morning, thanks for joining us.
PRIME MINISTER:
You're very welcome.
[ends]