PRIME MINISTER:
Well ladies and gentlemen, I'll be happy to answer any questions, but can I just comment on the story in a lot of newspapers this morning about the Office of Workplace Services examination of the ACTU ads on the new legislation. Those stories demonstrate the truth of that old saying that there's always two sides to a story. And the ACTU has been caught out misrepresenting the position. The ACTU is running a fear campaign. The ACTU is trying to frighten people into believing that their jobs are at risk under the new laws. And this investigation by OWS demonstrates that the ACTU, at best, has exaggerated the situation, and in some cases has omitted the full story, which has given a false impression.
The real story of course is that since the laws came into operation, unemployment has fallen to a 30-year low. Now it may not remain at 4.9 per cent, but it's likely to remain very low and we are living in an employees' market. And the argument that these new laws have stripped away fundamental protections is quite wrong and this evidence this morning demonstrates that the ACTU and the Labor Party have been trying to scare people. Let's hear a decent argument about these laws. Let's not have a campaign based on fear and misrepresentation.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, the ACTU says that it does demonstrate their case, arguing that it shows the WorkChoices legislation does not give workers recourse.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Jim, when you have an example of somebody who has allegedly been unfairly dismissed or unlawfully dismissed or however you describe it, and it comes out that that person received a payment, a redundancy payment in relation to their former employment, when you find it asserted on the other side that one of the reasons for a person's employment termination was that they didn't do their job appropriately, these things could have happened under the old law. The old law never said that nobody could ever, in any circumstances, have their employment terminated, and what these revelations from OWS have demonstrated, take the Cowra Abattoir, meant to be the first example, what happened in Cowra was the company started to go broke because of the drought. Now any company that starts to go broke has to let staff go and no law on earth can stop that happening.
Mr Keating's laws of the early 90s didn't stop a million people being thrown out of work when the economy went into a nose dive and if a company begins to lose money it often has no alternative other than to lay off staff or retain their staff at a lower remuneration or some combination of the two. And no law, the old law, the new law, a future Beazley law, no law can protect that.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, the Middle East. Four soldiers attached to a UN force in southern Lebanon have been killed. Have you been able to ascertain whether any Australian soldiers, I think there are four or five who are attached to that force, whether all Australians attached to that force are safe?
PRIME MINISTER:
The information I have which is based on what I heard on one of the cable networks this morning is that there were no Australians involved or no Australians killed. I don't know about injuries. I am having further investigations made. I am obviously very sorry that the UN people have been killed. At this stage it does not appear as though any Australians were involved in the fatalities.
JOURNALIST:
On another subject, does 67 feel like the new 57?
PRIME MINISTER:
It's really just another day Jim. I know it's a corny old saying, but you are as old as you feel.
JOURNALIST:
Now a lot of the people I've spoken to here are well-wishers of yours dead keen on you not contemplating retirement at all. Are you able to give them a birthday present?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I had a great birthday present already. I've spoken to my wife and three children and that's birthday present enough for me. As far as my future is concerned, well I think you know my response to that Jim.
JOURNALIST:
Now, there's been further calls from senior levels within the National Party, Ron Boswell, for Mark Vaile to contemplate shifting from his trade portfolio to a domestic portfolio. Now that Doha has foundered, do you think it's time for him to think about a move of that kind?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am always happy to talk to Mark about his portfolio responsibilities. As Leader of the National Party he has a certain freedom of choice. There's an understanding between me and the Leader of the National Party that certain portfolios go to the National Party, traditionally trade has been one of them and I don't contemplate a change in that arrangement. I think it's reasonable within the present Coalition arrangement that trade remain in the purview of a National Party Minister. If Mark wants to talk about a change then I will sit down and do so. He hasn't mentioned it to me recently but I do understand the sort of thoughts that will go through his mind. He has responsibilities as a party leader and if he wanted a change then I'd be very happy to talk to him about it.
JOURNALIST:
Would you then take the opportunity of a broader reshuffle or is this the Cabinet and Ministry you want to take to the next election?
PRIME MINISTER:
I never commit myself on something like that. It wouldn't necessarily follow that if Mark went to another portfolio it would be a portfolio currently held by the National Party. It wouldn't necessarily follow that there would need to be a general reshuffle. As to that issue, I don't have one in contemplation at present, but so there's no misunderstanding, if I do have one in the future, I am not ruling it out ever. But I don't really have it in contemplation at the moment.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, the Treasurer said on radio this morning that he expects you to make an announcement about your future soon. Is there some pressure there do you think?
PRIME MINISTER:
I beg your pardon?
JOURNALIST:
You've got some pressure there from...
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh no. I think Peter, he's obviously expressed that view before, but I'm not sort of responding to that. I don't feel under any pressure. Peter, of course, is an outstanding member of the team and there's nobody amongst my colleagues who's made a greater contribution to the success of the Government and the good economic conditions that we have, and the low unemployment and all of those things. So he does make a great contribution and I'm always very interested to listen to what he's got to say.
JOURNALIST:
So just to make this clear. You don't have any plans to make any statement about your future in the near future?
PRIME MINISTER:
As for my future, read earlier answer.
JOURNALIST:
So the Treasurer's acting under a misapprehension...
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I didn't say that. I just said that if anybody asks me about my future, what I say is what I have said before.
JOURNALIST:
What's planned for the rest of the day Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
I will be getting on the plane and going to Western Australia. I have three or four days of engagements in Western Australia and I'll be leaving the beautiful electorate of La Trobe and the hospitality of Mr Jason Wood and then going to Western Australia, where I'll be addressing, amongst other things, the Western Australian Liberal Party State Conference on Saturday.
JOURNALIST:
Now you are, your star sign is Leo.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes.
JOURNALIST:
How true to the lion, the powerful, the reigning, do you feel?
PRIME MINISTER:
I have never really followed all of that very closely, but I do know that my wife and our eldest child were born in the same star sign. What does that mean? You obviously have studied it more closely than I have. I'd better check with Janette. She's a much better expert on those things than I am.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Wood, would you like the Prime Minister to make some announcement about his future in the near future?
WOOD:
That's totally up to the Prime Minister.
JOURNALIST:
Would you like him to stay and fight the next election?
WOOD:
That's totally up to the Prime Minister, he's a man who decides what he wants to do and when he wants to do it.
[ends]