PRIME MINISTER
-TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW W-ITH-THE--PRIME-INfISTER---WA YSIDE.. CHAPEL
SYDNEY, FRIDAY 16 JANUARY 1987
Good morning Sir, is this your first trip to the Wayside Chapel
at the Cross.
PM: Yes it is. I have had the opportunity of getting to know
Ted Noffs over a period of time, particularly in regard to his
work in the drug education area and there has been financial
assistance provided from the Fed Govt and the State govt but Ted
belives that more is needed to ensure that the best possible
can be done for as many people and he suggested that I should -come
and see the work being done here and I was more than happy to do
so-. And I must say-Ted I am-enormousl-y i-mpressed-,---favourably
by the quality of the work, the imagination and the good sense
and the way that it is done the positive way in which fronm the
start that you try tell the kids about the marvellous unique
quality of the body and don't force the message that early stage.
Let it arise from their own stimulation which comes from that
positive education. And I will be trying to ensure Ted that I
see that my colleagues in the State govt have the opportunity of
coming and seeing what you are doing as I think in corporation
with the Statesbhat the Commonwealth should give v. considerable
support to this program. I would like to congratulate you and
everyone that has beei involved in the concept and work and I know
it is a v. large unseen number of people behind who have made it
possible. But without your inspiration it couldn't. have happened
Not only do I want to congratulate you bul I thank you on behalf
of the govt and the people of Australia.
Q: Does that mean there will be more money going towards
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such things as the Life Style centres?
The Life Education centres? A bit of a difference.
PM: Yes I think there should be more financial assistance
You can see I think from your experience that the praciticality,
the relevance of it and you can see the way the kids respond and
after all Ted has said, and we have tried to say in our approach
to the drug education issue in this country. It is much more
important tha you teach_ people abou t -the--prob-lem-and the-througheducatio
n you stop the demand for drugs. You never In this sort of
society going to be able to fully stop the supply. It is a v.
difficult job and it is much more intelligent and rational use of
resources to cut-down the demand to make people understand, the
not merely the stupidity but ultimately the tragedy and the loss
of life that is involved in the use of hard drugs. So it makes
sense to concentrate efforts in this sort of area and I think Ted
and the people around him in the life education centre concept are
dmonstarting alright there's the concept education. It is
easy to say there's the concept but they have translated the
concept, it seems to me, into v. v. practical applications which
is getting out to the kids, our young people and if you can do
that over the years then we will gradually eliminate this problem.
Q: You are incorporating the Life education centres into
( inaudible) drug offensive?
PM: Well it has already been done. ' E are providing some
support the NSW govt is but what I have been saying to Ted
in discussions I had with him yesterday, is that it would make
a lot of sense for me to try and persuade my State Premier colleagues
to come and see this because the way that this is best going to
work is if we can replecate in the other States the co operation
that exists here in this State between the State govt and
ourselves and Ted's operation through the Life Edcuation centres.
If we can get all the State govts involved financial assistance
involvement from them and from ourselves then I think we can
really give hard practical expression to what-people want. done.
What people want is to have kids educated in the danger of drugs.
And not just through the talk of the Ted Noffs or the politicans
but down there by people who have talked in terms ga ' the kids
know and understand. TEL No.
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Q: But can you guarantee, PM, more money for these centres.
PM: Yes, I think there will be more financial assistance coming.
You leave it to me and the way I handle it, it will be forthcoming.
Q; On another subject PM, can you comment on the News Ltd
takeover. PM: WE11 I have taken the view from the beginning that this is
matter for the market place, the requirements of the trade practices
legi-sla-tion -will-be-taken -into account, as will the proposed new
legislation of the govt which is historic in terms of ensuring
that we are not going to have cross media monopolization in this
country..... and once those requirements are properly taken into
account ( inaudible) appropriate that the market should decide this
matter. That seems to be what has happened.
Q: Are you happy with the way H a Court and Mr Murdoch ( inaudible)
divided up?
PM: Its no: a question of happiness. I mean if you are going
to say-that you-havc-a -market operation then thats what has come
out of thcmarket I think that perhaps it should be recognised
by both of them that ( inaudible) negotiations have been conducted
at an earlier stage then the price might have been better.
Q: PM on another subject ( this question is totally inaudible)...
PM: You see where I am now. I guess you can regafd it as something
important that I am doing now. And I have made 2 of my senior
officers available to meet him and if the gentleman in question
is making a noise and saying it is not sufficient he should
see my senior officers including my senior international affairs
advisor, then 1 would suggest that if thats what he'is about
he has more interest in publicity for himself than anything he
purports to be concerned with.
ends