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TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, OPENING OF PRINTING AND
KINDRED INDUSTRIES UNION, TASMANIAN BRANCH OFFICE, MOONAH-
24 FEBRUARY 1989
E E -PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, do you think that there should be an
economic impact study done on the Wesley Vale development?
PM: Well, there has been. what we'll do when we come to
consider it after the Tasmanian Parliament has made its
decision is to try on all the evidence available to balance,
as I said last night, try and balance the two sets of
considerations. It's not an easy decision but everyone in
this State can be assured that we will accept our
responsibility very seriously of trying to come to the
decision which is in the best interests of Tasmanians and
Australians. JOURNALIST: Prime Minister the Democrats are calling for a
Senate inquiry into the pulp mill industry, do you think
there is a place for something like that?
PM: Well, no it's not something that's struck me as being
necessary at this stage.
JOURNALIST: Prime minister, do you think the sums actually
add up on especially the balance of payments benefits and
also the tax benefits to the Commonwealth?
PM: I made it clear, that I don't necessarily accept the
figures that have been produced by the joint venturers, and
I don't say that in any attempt to be derogatory about them,
but when you are considering issues like that, it's a fairly
complex set of calculations that have to be made. We'll be
looking at them very closely so that when we do make the
decision we will have what we think are the most precise
sort of projections that you can. So, in making the point I
have I'm not criticising and saying they have tried to
mislead either Tasmania or the Commonwealth. I don't think
they have been about that, but it is a pretty complex set of
calculations. We will do our best to try and get them
right. JOURNALIST: Do you believe that the State Government has in
fact relaxed the guidelines?
PM: There is no doubt they have, yes.
JOURNALIST: How do you think Mr Field has handled the issue
so far?
PM: Well.
JOURNALIST: In what way do you think the State Government
has relaxed the guidelines?
PM:. I would think it's just an exercise in logic. If they
haven't relaxed the guidelines, what's it all been about?
JOURNALIST: Senator Richardson this morning said that the
guidelines had been torn up. Would you go as far as to say,
to agree that they've been torn up?
PM: I'm not getting into exercises in semantics about
relaxed, torn up. We will consider the matter without tags
when we, when it comes to us in Cabinet on the
recommendations of the ministers concerned.
JOURNALIST: How do you think that vote will go in Cabinet?
PM: Don't know.
JOURNALIST: How will you be voting in Cabinet?
PM: Oh, you'd be joking wouldn't you?
PROTESTER ( bearing basket of fresh fruit, vegetables and
seafood): basket of produce from the Devonport area.
This is where the mill is actually to be sited, these are
from around about the area there.
PM: I see.
PROTESTER: Our concern is that the quality of this will be
lost to Tasmania if the pulp mill goes ahead
PM: Well I can assure you that the whole range of
considerations that are appropriate to be taken into account
including these sorts of things, we will. It's an important
decision for you, Tasmania and for Australia and all I can
assure you is that we will deal with it with integrity, we
will not be intimidated by anyone in economic terms, that we
will take account of all the sets of arguments and certainly
the environmental concerns, the sorts of things that you
have been talking about, will be well before us. I can't do
any better than that.
PROTESTER: Thank you for your time.
PM: OK, thank you very much.
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JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke will the Federal Government be doing
its own figures on the pulp mill economics?
PM: I just said that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what is your opinion on the
PM: Oh look don't please be silly. Look no Prime Minister,
including this one, says before a Cabinet meeting to you or
anyone else '. this is how I'm going to vote' for the very
simple reason that I have integrity and I'm going to look at
all the evidence and I haven't got it all before me here and
it is, with respect, juvenile in the extreme for you to
imagine that I will say to you before a Cabinet meeting when
I have all the evidence how I'll vote. It really is just
about, if I may say so, the most juvenile question I've ever
heard. JOURNALIST: When will Federal Cabinet make a decision on
the mill?
PM: Well, as I said, when we get the decision of the
Tasmanian Parliament and I've given the undertaking that we
will then deal with it with the utmost expedition. Once
that comes to us, the ministers will put the submission in
and make a recommendation and we'll deal with it. without
being absolutely bound by this, I would imagine that
certainly within a fortnight of receiving the decision, we
should be able to make the decision.
JOURNALIST: North Broken Hill is concerned about losing its
tax concessions if it doesn't get the mill up and going by a
certain time next year, by the middle of next year I think
they've got to have so much work done. Is the Federal
Government willing to extend that if
PM: Well, that's a hypothetical consideration depending on
what our decision is so I'm not addressing that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you've seen the wilderness
Society's banners on the way here
PM: I'm sorry, I haven't seen them.
JOURNALIST: Haven't you? They were all along the road.
PM: Were they?
JOURNALIST: Are you getting sick of being called upon to be
the final arbitrator in all their battles with the State
Government?
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PM: It wouldn't be right to say I'm getting sick of it. I
mean when you become Prime Minister, Leader of the Federal
Government, there are certain responsibilities that go with
the position of leading the national Government and it's no
point in saying you are getting sick of those
responsibilities. I rather enjoy the job.
JOURNALIST: How much weight will you give to the State
Opposition stance
PM: May I just say that what we've got to understand as a
community, and I think it is becoming increasingly
understood, is that there are two legitimate sets of
considerations that have to be taken into account when you
have developmental proposals. I mean we can't, and I don't
think even the most extreme environmentalist would say that
you just ignore every developmental proposal on the basis
that it may in some way or another upset an existing
environmental situation. So you've got to responsibly say,
now what will this mean if it went ahead for present and
future generations. Now that's a legitimate set of criteria
that you have to take into account and against that, present
governments also have a responsibility to future generations
so that you can't allow a development if you are convinced
that to do so would irreparably harm the interests of future
generations. Now what you've got to do without being
intimidated by anyone, either intimidated by the developers
or intimidated by conservationists is, with all due
integrity, to try and make the right decision. And that's
what we'll try to do. And may I say on the record, over six
years, I think we've got a pretty good record. I mean, no
Government in the history of this country has done more on
the environmental side of things than this Government. At
the same time we've also had very high rates of economic
growth so I think we've, generally speaking, got it right.
0 JOURNALIST: How much weight will you give to the Opposition
stance on the mill?
PM: Well that will be one consideration, but not simply
because they have said they are opposed. They will put
arguments to us and no doubt we'll listen to, you know, take
account of the arguments.
JOURNALIST: There's still room for compromise as far as
you're concerned between what the State Government's arrive
at and your final decision?
PM: Well it's not a question of compromise. We'll have to
make a decision about it. I mean, it just can't go on and
on for ever and the time comes when there has got to be a
decision. Now we'll have to deal with the proposal that is
before us out of the Tasmanian Parliament.
JOURNALIST: Are you surprised that it has gone on for so
long? PM: No, as I say, I've been around for six years now and
these issues seem to have a habit of going on for sometime.
Look at the dam, look at the forests. And it's just part of
nature, one shouldn't be surprised. The issues are
important and it's much better in the end I suppose to have
taken a fair bit of time and tried to listen seriously to
both sides of the argument.
JOURNALIST: Is it possible that the Federal Government will
put its own riders on FIRB approval.
PM: Look, I'm just not going to speculate about what we'll
do. It's not fair to anyone. What we'll do is what I've
said we'll do. when we get the decision from the Tasmanian
Parliament, we'll then consider it, we'll take into account
all the evidence and all the arguments that are available.
Now it's no point in asking me questions which are
speculative about what might happen if.
JOURNALIST: Prime minister, do economic factors compel the
State rough time at the Premiers Conference when it
comes up in probably
PM: I don't think that's the right way of putting it. I
think the accurate way of putting it is that we have said,
at Federal level and basically that means myself and Paul,
that there's not a great deal of room left for massive
fiscal cuts because what we have done must be appreciated.
Just get the magnitude of what we've done in the six years
since we've been in Government. We've moved from a public
sector borrowing requirement of some six percent down to
zero, which is a massive achievement. In the area of
Commonwealth public outlays as a proportion of GDP we've
moved that down from 31 1/ 2 percent to about 25 percent
which is an enormous achievement, and gone into surplus.
Now you just can't, and what people have got to understand
including economic commentators and people removed from the
realities of life there is a limit to how far, having done
all those things, that you can go. Now there will be some
room I believe in a housekeeping sense for some things to be
done in the fiscal savings area, you know, the outlay side
of the whole fiscal equation, be some room and we'll
probably require the States to take some share of what we'll
do. But the important thing to understand is we, having
done all that we've done, which is massive and more than has
ever been done before, there's not a whole lot of fat left
there. JOURNALIST: A few years ago you said you thought Tasmania
had suffered enough and you wouldn't impose any more cuts on
it and then last year the Federal Government did cut all the
States. Will Tasmania, along with other States get a cut
this year?
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PM: Well Tasmania is part of Australia isn't it?
JOURNALIST: Yes, but you said Tasmania had suffered enough-
PM: Yes, and we again as I usually do went out of my way to
see that Tasmania didn't suffer an undue share because I
have always understood the special circumstances of Tasmania
and I still do. A number of people down here including the
Premier at times have been good enough to acknowledge that I
have recognised that fact.
ends