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TRANSCRIPT GOOD MORNING AUSTRALIA -LAURIE OAKES
13 July 1984
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OAKES: Mr H-awke you've won on everything that matters this
week. I think you'd be fairly happy with the Conference.
Yes, I'm very happy with it Laurie indeei6.
I think it's been good for the Party# good for the country.
DAKE~ S: What do you thiynk the Party's got out of it.
Well it's got sensible policies and sensible, I think,
has to be judged, if I c an put it in termq of the speech I
made to the Conference,. of what's relevant to the Party's
basic principles and tailored to the needs and expectations
and aspirations of the Australian people. And I think we've
struck the right balanc ' e because, as I zaid in the speech
Laurie, I think the two really are identical and we haven't
been diverted from the real aspirations of people by
irrelevancies I think.*
OAKES: Well, specifica * lly, what's come out; of ib'th~ t' iil. be good
or the country.
P. M4.: Well in the area of economic policy we've got zan
endorsement of the Government'rs economic strategy in general,
the mandate to pursue that and, specifically in that area,
we've got the mandate to make a fiorp competitive, effective,
efficient, finrancial sectl-or by the bringing in of foreign
banks. And that must benefit Australians ac individuals
and Australian business. So in that important area I think
we've a great advantage,
OAKES; bid you expect to win as easily an you did on all
these issues on your * economic policy, uranium, Timor, U. S.
bases they were all big wins weren't they.
They were Laurie. Well we've don~ e a lot of work and may
I address myself to an issue that's been talked about a fair
bit jsbereaduring the Conference. May I say that I
and Paul IReatirig in the economic area for instance, and myselt
particularly I suppose iii the uranium. areal beforehand had
done a lot of work in these areas. I acknowledge the iassistance
that we have received from the disciplined way in which others
who X think, in the absence of a formbilisation of the Centre
Left w6uld have voted w~~ ith us. Nn-vertheless it has been the ./ 2
P. M. cont...: fact, which I acknowledge readily, that having
fonralised and having adopted the discipline, if you like of
the Caucus vote, that's been helpful. But it's reflected a lot
of hard work that's gone on in respect of each of these issues
over a fair period of time.
OAKES: I know that a lot of people around the Conference were
referring to it by the end of the week as the Centre Right.
Do you agree with that?
Well I think you know from conversations that we've had
over many years, I find pretty unhelpful the flicking onto to
someone of a tag and to think that you've exhausted your
intellectual responsibility by saying well there's the tag
and it means something. I . think if you look at different
issues, Laurie, you'll see that people have taken positions
which, if you want to fit in the spectrum, some of them might
be described as right of centre, other a little bit left of
centre I don't think the tag itself mepns much.
OAKES: Well you yourself used the tag about the Left. What
do you think of their performance. Are they a spent force.
Well I don't want to be disruptive. I think the
disappointing feature of the contribution of the Left has been
that well I don't want to say intellectual bankruptcy but I
think that, let me put it this way, if I was just engaged in
an academic exercise which is the last thing I'm engaged in,
but if I'd had to be briefed as it were to put a case for a
so-called, radical economic position for the Left
OAKES: You used to I think.
Well I don't know if that's right. I don't believe that
I for instance in the banks was putting the conservative position,
I think the conservative position was being put by the Left which
is the point I'm making. I think we were putting the radical
position. I'm merely making the point that I think there was
in an academic sense a better case to be put. I think that there
has been a tendency for them to hot to face up to the present
and the realities and to think their way through on that a pretty
tired position I think.
OAKES: Do you think they lack leaders?
Well, they've got leaders. They don't lack leaders.
But I think that there is a generation problem. there to some
extent in the Left. Some of the older ones don't, I think, seem
to be so respected by the younger ones. But I think the calibre
of the contributions that were made were somewhat disappointing.
OAKES: You got together with one of the younger leaders of the
Left, Peter Duncan, to end what's been a running scre in the
Labor Party the Combe affair. Are you happy about that now,
that it's over.
Yes, I wasn't as you know personally directly involved
in the negotiations.. but they ent on with my blessing. Of course
I'm glad it's over. I think you know Laurie, because you've had
a pretty direct interest, at no stage from the very beginning, / 3
P. M. cont... from that first fateful day, if you like, when I
received a briefing have I have any animus against David Combe
as I've said to the Conference today. How could I? I mean all
along...
OAKES: You were friends for years.
Yes, and I think it's recognised that I saved him in
1976 and did it gladly I received a fair bit of abuse across
the spectrum for doing so. But I've had no animus against
David. I had a responsibility to the people of this country and
national security considerations in regard to an aspect of that
issue in which he was involved. I never wanted to hurt him or
his family. I know that he suffered hurt and-' m not surprised
that he's had some pretty rough things -to say about me. That's
human nature. I hope now that, as we've said, David can come back
into the mainstream of events. He's entitled to.
OARES: Are you going to help him do that though, say offering
a Government job or a contract?
It won't be a question no, no, I won't be offering
any contract or jobs. I think David Combe has his intrinsic
merits and capacities. If something arises and he is an
applicant fcr that, well what's been cleared up now is there's
no blackball there in the way.
OAKES: So he's entitled to apply.
He's entitled to apply.
OAKES: One thing I'd like to pursue to end this interview
the Conference has kept you away from running the country for
a week. How serious is that for example, the dollar has
dropped alarmingly in value. Have you been able to keep abreast
of that? Oh yes. I don't think I've missed a minute of the
Conference, I've been there the whole time which I think I have
a responsibility to be there. But I also have a responsibility
to keep myself informed of what's going on, so I'm in fairly
constant contact with my staff. If anything's arisen where they
need my guidance or decision, then it's been there. Obviously
one will be glad when the Conference is over so that you can
make the effort; more to be fully involved.
OAKES: Have you been briefed on the dollar situation. Is it
serious? No, it's inevitable. It's not an attack upon the Australian
dollar. It's the residual effect of what's happening to the United
States' dollar. That is going up because of reasons that are well
known, internal reasons there, and what is happening to the Australian
dollar is happening to other world currencies.. Let me just make
two points about it. Of cource, as far as Australian exporters are
concerned, that this is a pluj for them, but we've got to understand
that on the side of of our domestic economy that the weaker the
Australian dollar becomes because of the strength of the United
States' dollar then that makes imports lore expensive and that
will have some impact on our pricing structure. So I hope that ./ 4
P. M. conlt...: the American dollar ssttles do-un. -We've alluded
to this volatility, this upward volatility if you lizxe, and that we
can see the Australian dollar coming up again. That will happen.
OAKES: With the. Conference out of the way you now get down to the
task oE preparing the Budget. Will the new economic policy approved
by the Conference be relevant to the Budget, effect you planning
there? Nool think it's fair to say that our planning was going
ahead, would have gone ahead. What the Conference has done overwhelmingly
of course# as they've hau to do given the outstanding success
of the policies we've been pursuing they've endorsed those.
We'll go ahead in the knowledge that the Party has not only
endorsed but is proud of the way we've been goiftg...
OAKES: Thanks Mr Hawke.
Thanks Laurie. 0