PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, YOUTH ACCESS CENTRE,
LIVERPOOL 17 JANUARY 1989
E OE PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: How do you feel about that reception you got
today? PM: The reception from the people inside was marvellous.
I take no notice of those outside.
JOURNALIST: Do you think you're going to be stuck with
it through the election campaign though?
PM: Well it doesn't worry me if I am. I mean that's
reflecting upon the people who in the Australian
vernacular what's happened, those people picked a fight,
they lost it and they're behaving very badly. Now that's
how it's perceived by the Australian people. I take no
notice of that performance at all.
JOURNALIST: They say the fight's not over.
PM: Well it may not be for them.
JOURNALIST: It sounds like you're speaking as if the
pilot issue is still a vote winner perhaps for the Hawke
O Government. PM: I'm not thinking of it as a vote winner or a vote
loser. It's a non-event. It is a non-event. I mean I
take no notice of it whatsoever. If they want to
dissipate their energies like this well that's up to
them. It's a democratic country.
JOURNALIST: Were you pleased by the poll the Herald
printed this morning?
PM: Well yes but I don't get carried away by polls. The
honest thing obviously to say is any politician prefers
to be in front in the polls. I mean you'd be silly to
deny that
JOURNALIST: ( inaudible)
PM: Just let me finish. So I'm happy that we're in
front on that. But I don't get carried away by it. I
have been confident without being complacent all along.
I think that the as I was saying here today in opening
this Youth Access Centre with Peter Duncan that the
people going to be carried away by platitudes that
come from the conservatives about their concern with
families. They had their chance. They had seven years
in office and they just threw the kids of the families
onto the unemployment scrapheap. They denied them
education. They denied them training. What we've been
doing is providing them with jobs, providing them with
education, providing them with training the real things
that the young people of this country need. And we're
going to keep on doing that and will keep on doing it. I
just am confident that the people will make the
appropriate judgement on the facts.
JOURNALIST: What's your response to Mr Howard's policy
yesterday? PM: Mr Howard's policy? I'm not aware of Mr Howard's.
There's been a palace coup again has there? A palace
coup. There was no policy yesterday. I mean put
that out months ago. Nothing new.
JOURNALIST: Can you tell us the outcome of yesterday's
talks on the logging issue?
PM: No, what I did was to have talks with Mr Kerin and
Senator Cook and Senator Richardson. And on the basis of
those talks Senator Cook went and had discussions with Mr
Causley. Those were preliminary discussions. They are
still going on. I hope that out of those discussions
we'll get a sensible and agreed outcome which means that
we can get a proper balance between the responsibility
that both governments have for protecting the environment
and also trying to ensure that the employment
opportunities are maintained. I think that the
discussions that were held yesterday, those preliminary
discussions, may lead us to that position. I hope so.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, back on the opinion poll. It did
show an erosion, or a potential erosion of seats for the
Labor Party in Victoria. Are you worried about the union
dispute going on down there that that could exaccerbate
that? PM: I would hope it wouldn't go on. I mean obviously
again the honest answer is to say that a continuation of
that dispute couldn't be helpful. But I believe that it
will be resolved fairly quickly from what I've been told.
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JOURNALIST: The Liberals have been getting quite a lot
of coverage recently. Do you feel as though they've got
a head start in the campaign?
PM: No. Well that's a judgement that they will have to
make. It doesn't seem to be doing them very much good.
But they'll make their judgements about how they conduct
themselves and their timing. I'll make my judgement
about how I conduct myself and what our pace and pattern
of campaigning is. That's the way it should be.
JOURNALIST: If the Papua New Guinean Government asks Mr
Beazley for military assistance while he's over there, do
you think Australia should be giving it?
PM: That's a hypothetical question isn't it? Let me say
this, that we are very concerned with the developments in
Bougainville. My Ministers who will be up there will
have the opportunity of getting the latest rundown from
my friend the Prime Minister, Rabble Namaliu, and they
will be coming back to report to me on those discussions
they have up there. We will make our judgements about
what ought to happen as far as Australia is concerned.
But Australia is not going to be I can assure you
involved in a military sense with personnel up there.
JOURNALIST: Is Badgery's Creek going ahead as an
international airport?
PM: Well the decisions have been made about the
international airport needs of Australia in general and
NSW in particular. You know that we've made the decision
in regard to the third runway. The inquiries are going
on there. We said at the time that there would be a
development at Badgery's Creek subsequently. That
remains the case.
JOURNALIST: Do you think many pilots reside in Liverpool
Mr Hawke?
PM: It doesn't look like it. The people of Liverpool
clear and precise judgement about what they thought
of their performance. I won't use the language that the
local residents used to me about them but it was very
uncomplimentary. ends
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