Subjects: Wimbledon; Centenary of federation; World Cup soccer; Olympics; Republican debate; Australia’s role in the Pacific
E&OE …………………………………………………………………………………
FROST:
Australia has come a long way in a hundred years. Now the country’s about to host the Olympics, it has a major peace-keeping role in the South Pacific and is a significant economic power. The Prime Minister, John Howard, chose to come to the old country to celebrate a century of self government for the former colony. He is here with us right now. John, good morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning David.
FROST:
And following straight on from what we were hearing there, of course the men’s singles final features an Australian – a proud Australian – Pat Rafter – are you going to go and see it?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think I’ll go home via Wimbledon, yes.
FROST:
It’s sort of on the way to the airport.
PRIME MINISTER:
It is, yes and Pat’s a great player, he had a great win over Agassi.
FROST:
It was a great match.
PRIME MINISTER:
There’ll be millions of Australians back home and all around the world barracking for him.
FROST::
I remember the times when I’ve been in Australia when Wimbledon is on – it’ll be about 11 o’clock your time?
PRIME MINISTER:
About 11 o’clock to Midnight.
FROST::
And assuming a four hour game of five sets.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes we’ll have a lot of weary people dragging themselves off to work on Monday morning.
FROST::
Exactly. Anyway, have you had, in terms of trade and culture and commerce, have you had a successful week?
PRIME MINISTER:
It’s been a very successful week. This week marks one hundred years since the British Parliament passed the Act that gave Australia the Constitution we still live under. That Constitution of course had been voted for by the Australian people but it needed legally to go through the British Parliament to get the force of law and it’s the first major commemoration in what will be a year of commemoration in 2001 of the centenary of Australia – the Commonwealth came into being on 1 January 1901, but this week was the time one hundred a years ago the Act passed through the British Parliament to establish it and it is an important historical element in the commemoration of the centenary of Australia. But it is also an opportunity to showcase the modern, prosperous, innovative Australia. Britain is a very major investor in Australia so it’s a hard headed visit as well as a historical visit.
FROST::
If Britain goes into the Euro or not, which obviously you wouldn’t want to get involved in what they’re going to decide because it’s another country…..
PRIME MINISTER:
It’s another matter….
FROST::
But would it have any effect one way or the other on you whether we were in the Euro or not.?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I don’t think it really matters economically, but that is a matter for the British – I don’t want to get involved in that. I mean we have, we invest an enormous amount in Britain and Britain invests an enormous amount in us. We remain very unhappy with the restrictive trade policies of the European Union – they hurt our farmers very badly and we still are cranky about that and will remain cranky about that until we get a fairer deal – but we’ve been able to win markets in other places. Australia now exports more wine to Britain than any country except France, so we’ve been able to come up through the inside on some other areas.
FROST::
What about oceania and the man, Charlie Dempsey?
PRIME MINISTER:
The soccer?
FROST::
Yes. I mean that in fact he was talking to us from New Zealand but he was representing you as well and you thought he was going to vote for South Africa as well presumably?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, he would have been representing the soccer interests in Australia. The Australian Government doesn’t tell sporting representatives how to vote. I guess I’m a bit disappointed in the choice between Germany and South Africa that it didn’t go to South Africa because in terms of spreading the game around the world and given that the last one was in France, I could see the wisdom in an overall sense of it going to South Africa, but I don’t pretend to know the ins and outs and as I remarked a moment ago, we in government, certainly in Australia, don’t direct sporting bodies how to vote on these things. We have our own personal preferences….
FROST::
Well, you’ve got the Olympic Games coming up. I remember how much money Canada lost on the Olympic Games. Are you going to make money or lose money on the Olympic Games?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I don’t think we’ll lose money. The facilities are tremendous, they really are, and we’ve been able to road test all the major arenas with football matches and swimming events and so forth well before the Olympic Games. I think the games in Sydney will be a stunning success – I think the world will see a very modern, open hearted Australia on display and all of us in Australia are looking forward very much to having people coming there.
FROST::
And the games won’t be opened by yourself but the whole first ceremony will be whipped up by the Governor-General, which raises the point, do you think that referendum which voted to keep the Queen, is that like they say here about some big votes, does that settle the issue for a generation do you think or for how long? How long before that issue will be revisited?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I don’t know. I don’t think in a democracy you ever settle something like that. It was a pretty open, willing debate, a fairly clear majority for a combination of reasons decided to stay with the present arrangement. There’s no reason why it won’t be – or can’t be – revisited at some time in the future but in a democracy that is how you should play it. I think a lot of people took the view that we have a very stable, workable system of government, we are a completely independent country in all senses and they couldn’t see the point in change, yet a lot of my fellow Australians had a different view and they’ll keep on debating the issue. Frankly David, I’ve got an open mind as to if or when it might return to the agenda. I don’t think it will be a big issue in the next election in Australia. I think at the moment, the Australian community is interested in a lot of other things, not only things like the Olympics, but they’re interested in the economic progress of the country, the new taxation system we’ve just introduced which has gone down very well so far, so it could come back, if and when I don’t know, but not in the immediate future.
FROST::
Not in the immediate future. Is it inevitable that one day Australia will become a republic or is it not inevitable?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I tend to agree with Benjamin Franklin that death and tax are the two inevitable things in life, beyond that, things that might look inevitable may not be. I don’t know, but one thing is certain and that is that whatever happens it will be a decision made by the Australian people, either way for the best of good reasons for the future of their country.
FROST::
Do you see Australia building on its world role that it showed, and particularly its regional role, in East Timor or do you see when other things come along like the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, that you can’t get involved in all of these things or do you think you should in your new role as trustee of the Pacific?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, you have to look at each individual case according to its merits. Australia did play a decisive role in East Timor and we did do the right thing. Other countries have different problems and different challenges, but one of the advantages that Australia has in the region is that we are seen as a very stable, open, progressive, democratic society. We’re a very diverse society culturally – there are 800,000 Australians who speak Asian languages and the fact that we have links with Europe and North America adds value to our relationship with Asia and the fact that we have close links with Asia adds value to our association with Britain, the rest of Europe and North America. In that sense, we have assets and associations that add value to other links and associations but you have to look at each association and each problem according to its own merits. You should never take on the mantle of a particular role with a glib description because that can be, particularly if you are a fairly large country against small Pacific Island states, be misunderstood.
FROST::
Right, thank you very much for being with us this morning John. Bon voyage and I hope the voyage to Wimbledon is an exciting one as well.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thanks David.
FROST::
Thanks a million. Many many thanks.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[Ends]