Subjects: Ministerial reshuffle
E&OE……………………………………………………………………………………
GRIMSHAW:
Mr Howard good morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning.
GRIMSHAW:
The expectation was that you would shuffle a few ministerial chairs, why did you shuffle so many?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the opportunity was there because there were three ministers going and I didn’t drop John Herron, that is not right, he was not sacked. The situation is that like, I guess all of us he is performing at his peak and this could go on indefinitely but there comes a time in the life of any government where some generational renewal is desirable and I have achieved that in relation to John and Jocelyn and John Herron. But I wouldn’t want the suggestion that he was relegated to go uncorrected. Why have I done it so extensively? Because I think you do need generational change and I have taken the opportunity of bringing a new person into Cabinet, Tony Abbott, who has been an outstanding junior minister and to reinstate Amanda Vanstone who has been a gutsy fighter. She had a setback in 1997 when she was taken out of Cabinet and put into the outer ministry, that was a disappointment. But instead of brooding and musing over alleged injustices she got stuck into her new job and I admire that in any person and that’s why she’s back in the Cabinet.
GRIMSHAW:
You said that Senator Herron was performing at his peak, if he was then why would you have not given him another portfolio? He’s out of the ministry altogether.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well so are the other two. The point in relation to all of them is that no matter how well you’re going in something you do reach a point where some kind of generational change is desirable and these are things that I discuss with my ministers in quite an open fashion and I’ve had those sorts of discussions with John and with Jocelyn and with John Moore and I think all of them see the merit of what has happened.
GRIMSHAW:
John Moore was saying only two weeks ago that he liked the job and had no intention of leaving. What changed his mind in two weeks?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well there’s nothing incompatible with liking something but also recognising that it may be in your longer-term interests to go to something else. I mean John made it very plain to me that he loved doing the job and I thought he was doing it very well, but he also felt the time had come to move on and all of us at various stages in our careers no matter what we’re doing if we are sensible we will adopt that attitude. The good thing is that I’ve got a reservoir of talent to draw on and the new look ministry gives people not previously in the spotlight the opportunity of demonstrating their wares and showing that this is a government not only of many talents, but also of different generations.
GRIMSHAW:
Would you prefer not to have been facing a by-election though in Queensland? Would you have preferred Mr Moore to have stayed at least to the end of his term?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don’t think any government particularly likes by-elections but they happen from time to time. We’ll no doubt choose a very good candidate. We won’t take the by-election for granted, I never take anything for granted in politics. And I will work very hard to win it.
GRIMSHAW:
Was Peter Reith’s move to Defence designed to take the heat off him after a fairly torrid time over the Telecard Affair?
PRIME MINISTER:
Peter Reith has really achieved an enormous amount in industrial relations, the best achievement of course is the radical reform of the waterfront and the Australian economy will be always in his debt for that. He’s a good, talented minister and Defence is a very senior job and he was the logical person to have it once John Moore indicated that he was going.
GRIMSHAW:
Tony Abbott gets Employment, Amanda Vanstone gets Community Services, they are two people who, ministers if you like with very different styles and both of their portfolios take into account welfare – are you setting those two up for a bit of a clash?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I won’t be getting any clashes, I don’t allow people to have public stoushes, or even private ones beyond a certain point. I am not setting anybody up for anything. They each will bring their particular styles. In some respects they are not dissimilar.
GRIMSHAW:
So you would say to them stay in your separate corners and no blueing?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh no I would say to them fight very hard for what you believe in. And if along the way between any two ministers you get a little bit of competitive advocacy well there’s nothing wrong with that. I mean you don’t want a Cabinet of tame cats.
GRIMSHAW:
Some see the elevation of Tony Abbott as the rise of the headkicker.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that’s a very trivial, inaccurate, unreasonable comment. Tony Abbott is very intelligent. He is highly articulate. He has advocacy skills in a person of his relative short time in parliament that I respect enormously. I think he will do a very good job. But like everybody he’ll be exposed to competition, we all are, everyday. And he will be no different.
GRIMSHAW:
All right, I think we’ll leave it there. This will be the last time I imagine we see you before Christmas, so have a merry Christmas.
PRIME MINISTER:
Same to you and to all your viewers and both to you Tracy and to Steve, it’s always a pleasure to be on your programme and happy new year as well.
GRIMSHAW:
Pleasure to have you. Thank you Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[ends]