MCNAMARA:
Good morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Hello Macca, very nice to talk to you and say hello to Neil, I'm looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.
McNAMARA:
People are telling me all over the place that you're coming up here. I think you're going to Silkwood and places around the place to have a look at what's been happening.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, I have. I went there way back when it occurred and I've followed what's happened and I want to say hello to the people and wish them well and congratulate them on what has been achieved. It's been a magnificent community effort with everybody working together.
MCNAMARA:
You've been travelling a bit Mr Howard, you a bit tired? Is it, you know, your life seems to be travel all the time, I suppose that's something you've got used to now, you've been Prime Minister for a fair while, but it's still going all over the world, and getting up and sleeping in different beds and stuff. No matter what bed you sleep in there's still no place like home is there?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well no, I think we all experience that, but the last period though, because I've been travelling to different parts of Australia; I was in Perth for the past few days and I came back last night, I'm now in Sydney and I'll be leaving Sydney tomorrow morning to go up to Cairns and then onto Innisfail and spending most of next week in Queensland. But travel's part of it, it's a very big country, and every part of the country is of equal importance to me. There's no way that I want any part of the nation to feel that it's less important. If there's a problem in some part of Australia for which the Federal Government has a responsibility then it's my job and that of my colleagues to be there when appropriate. And that's why, amongst others places, I'm going to Innisfail again, just to see how things are going. There's still a long way to go but a lot has been achieved. We've tried to play our part. We've contributed now more than about $230 million all up, which is a very large amount, but a very large amount was needed and charity begins at home as far as I'm concerned. I think you've got to help people in Australia when they've got a difficulty and I think the people of Innisfail had a problem and we've tried to help. And we've tried to work closely with the Queensland Government, there's no politics in this, just to work with the Queensland Government and also to work with the local community. And the mayor's been fantastic, Neil and his other colleagues, I look forward to seeing them.
MCNAMARA:
John, one of the things that, we've got some bananas here at the Tully Show and we're giving everyone one, I'll leave you some bananas actually when you come up.
PRIME MINISTER:
Okay, we need some at the Lodge.
MCNAMARA:
You're an economist and I did a little bit of economics, when people talk about inflation going up and the rates will rise next week, people asked me to ask you really, what's bananas role? I mean I find it amazing. We never did that at uni.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think a lot of us do find it amazing but the Consumer Price Index, that was the number that came out last week, is a measurement of movement in prices, it's not a measurement of an actual level and it is quirky. This has always been the case, you have a basket of goods and services and every three months the movements up or down in that basket of goods and services is measured. And when you have a big shift and a 250 per cent increase in the price of bananas, and what of course happened, was because they were very short, in short supply as a result of the crop being flattened around where you're talking from, what happened was that people shifted to buy other fruit because there were no bananas available and not only did bananas go up, but all the other fruit went up as well. I know it's crazy. But the good thing about that is that in three months time that'll be out of the system because they're not going to go up by the same amount again and they hopefully might have come down a bit so the movement will be in the right direction.
MCNAMARA:
Yeah, well as I said, I'll leave you some bananas here. We're trying here, our little programme here, we're trying to drive down the price of bananas by the time 10 o'clock comes.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well more supply, and one of things I want to find out tomorrow is how the crop is recovering from the flattening that took place when the cyclone hit. Now see the quicker the crop recovers, of course, the greater is the supply. It's remarkable how these things do regenerate, but it does take time.
MCNAMARA:
I'm talking to our Prime Minister, John Howard. John, I've got Patrick Leahy here, who's the banana man from, you're the boss of the banana growers' council, is that right Patrick?
MR LEAHY:
Yeah, that's correct.
PRIME MINISTER:
I think I met Patrick before didn't I?
MR LEAHY:
Yes I have, John. How are you?
PRIME MINISTER:
How are you?
MR LEAHY:
Yeah, not too bad.
MCNAMARA:
So Patrick the price of bananas, does it mystify you people up here?
MR LEAHY:
Look it's quite high but it's just price is driven by supply and at the moment there's just no supply.
MCNAMARA:
We've got heaps here mate, we can pick them up at Tully Show.
MR LEAHY:
Ah look, I have to personally say that I'd like to thank all of those growers who brought food into the Tully Show because growers from the Kennedy area, they've donated that fruit and it'll all be sold into the markets by donation and given to the community of Tully and surrounds. But, you know, look, it was a great display and it was great to see under the circumstances.
MCNAMARA:
It's wonderful, look at them here, they're beautiful. They're a bit green John but...
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh well we can, they can ripen.
MCNAMARA:
Yeah, yeah, by the time you get up here
PRIME MINISTER:
Just the sight of them will be enough.
MCNAMARA:
That's right. I thought it was wonderful, I walked into this shed and there was bananas everywhere as far as I could see. So you'll be up here this week and you've been overseas too, it must be a really great privilege to be able to go over and see our forces in Iraq, or wherever you turn up?
PRIME MINISTER:
I was last in East Timor, of course there a lot of people in the force in East Timor who are based at the Lavarack Barracks in Townsville, not all of them but a big percentage of them, they're terrific, their spirits great. And what's good about our men and women in the military is that they interact with the people well. They're not just good soldiers they're also good peacekeepers and good community builders, and that's very important and in these days it's really half the battle and we're very good at that. You'd expect me to say that but I mean it very genuinely and it's absolutely right that we are better at that than anybody.
MCNAMARA:
Mr Howard I can tell you know that we've had lovely fine days for the last four days but it's coming overcast, there's a bit of rain coming, but there's a rainbow. But look thank you for calling us this morning and talking to us, the people here are just waiting to see you next week. So thanks for talking to us this morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Lovely to talk to you and good luck to all of the people there. I look forward to seeing them tomorrow.
MCNAMARA:
Thanks John.
PRIME MINISTER:
Bye.
[ends]