JOURNALIST:
Mr Costa wants you to sack Mr Costello. Are you going to do as you are told?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh yes, that is the joke of the year. Mr Costa telling me to sack Mr Costello, well I think Mr Costello has been the best Treasurer Australia has ever had, that is my reply to Mr Costa.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, in November you said Mr Debnam had to climb Mt Everest to win the next election, how far has he come up that...
PRIME MINISTER:
I think he has passed several way stations, but it is a tough fight and...but he is very disciplined and he has had some great successes in getting up good candidates in marginal seats. He has got two very prominent high-profile recruits in Greg Smith and Pru Goward, he has been prepared to put his own authority on the line to get people who he believes are talented and that's the sort of thing that a leader in Opposition has got to do. You've got to exert your own authority and try and improve things.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard isn't there a contradiction when you were saying that we're growing in prosperity and Mr Debnam is saying that the New South Wales economy is trashed?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I don't. I think what Mr Debnam is saying is that the New South Wales economy could be doing better if it hadn't been for some of the State Government's policies.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard there are claims by activists that another boat load of refugees may be coming from Papua New Guinea, do you have any concerns that these may be orchestrated and not genuine asylum seekers?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes I do. I think the revelations in The Australian newspaper of a couple of weeks ago about the way in which the 43 were assembled and these latest stories mean that the Government will be looking even more closely at any possible manipulation of the system. I have spoken to the Immigration Minister about this matter this morning. I am prepared to and will continue to defend the proper administration of our asylum system, but I am not going to have the system manipulated by anybody and I believe the Australian people will have the same view. We have an orderly refugee program and if people are trying to manipulate the system then it will mean ever closer scrutiny of any asylum applications in the future.
JOURNALIST:
It's been confirmed today that Julian Moti is holed up in the Solomons Islands' High Commission in PNG. What would you like the PNG Government and the Solomon Islands Government to do?
PRIME MINISTER:
I would like the law obeyed and justice take its course.
JOURNALIST:
(Inaudible) Papua New Guinea...
PRIME MINISTER:
I would like the law obeyed and justice take its course and it's pretty clear what flows from that statement.
JOURNALIST:
What if they don't hand him over?
PRIME MINISTER:
What's the next question?
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, just back on the New South Wales economy, can you tell me if you think the New South Wales economy is prosperous when Mr Debnam says that every single indicator is down?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think the national economy is prosperous, I think Western Australia and Queensland are doing better than New South Wales, but nationally it is still a very prosperous country.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, on Iraq, Bob Woodward's book has disclosed that you intervened personally with the US President...
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes I did.
JOURNALIST:
Are you satisfied that Australia is now getting all the intelligence it needs from Iraq and what do you think about the delays by the Pentagon in giving Australia access to all the proper intelligence?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I wasn't very happy with those delays and that's why I intervened and I am now advised that the flows are occurring that were meant to occur. Bear in mind that Australia and Britain are given specially privileged access to American intelligence assessments. There is always a degree of inter-agency jealousy about anybody having access to these things, even very close allies, and it did take a lot of pushing, you know what the system is like. These agencies in Washington tend to operate as laws unto themselves and even the President doesn't always get what he wants straight away, but it has been, I'm told, now fully resolved.
JOURNALIST:
Did you have to make a point about Australia's commitment in Iraq in this debate?
PRIME MINISTER:
The point I made was that the commitment the President gave to me had to be delivered, that's the point I made, and he said that it would happen. And then when it didn't happen immediately I expressed my concern and it has now happened.
Thank you.
[ends]