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PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, PRIME TELEVISION STATION, 29
MARCH 1989
E 0 E PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: How much of a loss to the Ministry is Gary
Punch's resignation?
PM: Well it's a loss. How do you quantify it? I can't
quantify it. It's a loss. The Government is in the
fortunate position of course of having a very considerable
reservoir of talent on the backbench and I'm confident that
from that reservoir of talent they will elect a very
competent replacement.
JOURNALIST: Were you surprised by his decision?
PM: A little but I could understand it. He could take the
view that he's in a better position in his constituency to
advance his beliefs on the particular issue of the third
runway at Mascot from the backbench. I can understand that.
JOURNALIST: Are you worried that may be an embarrassment to
the Cabinet now, the fact that he'll be fighting that
decision? PM: No. Do I look worried?
JOURNALIST: Is the meeting of Labor MPs in Sydney today to
discuss the airport matter helpful?
0 PM: I don't know whether it's helpful or not. I mean again
I'm totally relaxed about it. Let me get these things in
perspective not just this issue but you look back over
politics. I mean we-have great big gatherings about this,
like this, about an issue, you get your collective knickers
in collective knots and think that the end of the world is
about to descend upon us. In a few months time, what was
that all about. I mean get things in perspective.
JOURNALIST: Are you quite happy for him to be replaced by a
New South Wales right winger?
PM: I'll be happy with the decision of the Caucus because
as I say we have so much talent there that I'm sure a very
capable replacement will emerge.
JOURNALIST: Are you confident that the best replacement
will be made because of a factional deal?
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PM: Well I've talked about this before, the factional
position. There are some minuses about the way the
factional system operates, but there are very many pluses.
I've said quite clearly on balance I think that the pluses
outway the minuses. I mean if you want to look at the two
major forces in Australian politics the Labor Party, the
one Labor Party and the hotch-potch of interest groups
that make up the National Party and the Liberal Party
there's just no doubt which is the more efficient in
producing talent. I mean it's just not a proud Labor Prime
Minister talking about the talent we've got, it's the
unanimous position of all commentators that there is very,
very little talent on the other side because they haven't
gone about the business of preselection in a sensible way.
They've allowed safe seats to go to nonentities. They have
no talent there at all really and that's you know a common
view. Now in New South Wales they are going along the
factional route in a sense further than we have. In the
Liberal Party they've got to the stage they've actually
registered one of their what is it centre right or centre
unity or something, I'm not quite sure but they've
actually taken steps to register it with the Corporate
Affairs Commission. Well it's a funny sort of way of going
about things. In the Labor Party different groups with
different emphases of now over a period of time tend to
coalesce. But if you look at the way they're operating in
the Parliament they've never been more cohesive than they
are now. They have their differences and that's fair enough
it will always happen in social democratic parties but
they come together on the important issues and I think on
balance it's worked very, very well. It's been reflected in
the decisions that have been taken by the Australian people.
If you look at all the federal and state elections over the
last few years by and large the Australian electorate is
rejecting the conservatives because the thing is they have
their divisions, they are enormously divided within the
Liberal, within the National Party, between the Liberal
Party and the National Party. Their divisions are deep,
profound in terms of stopping them producing policies. We
have some differences but they don't operate to prevent the
sensible and relevant formulations of policy. That's the
difference. JOURNALIST: Prime Minister what's your response to the
America's Cup ruling?
PM: I have to confess I haven't heard the America's Cup
ruling. Please tell me.
JOURNALIST: Well the Americans have been found to be
cheating
PM: When? In Fremantle?
JOURNALIST: In New Zealand. The Cup has been returned to
its rightful owners
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PM: What's this New Zealand background that's coming out
here? JOURNALIST: inaudible
PM: It has has it?
JOURNALIST: Yes it has.
PM: Were they cheating before in Fremantle?
JOURNALIST: No, no.
PM: I mean we probably should bring it back to Fremantle
and then the New Zealanders could challenge us.
JOURNALIST: Make it retrospective?
PM: At least to Fremantle, at least to Fremantle.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister are you happy that everything's
being done by the Federal Government that could be to
safeguard taxpayers money in relation to the NSC and other-
PM: Thanks for that question. I've of course asked for a
report on this issue, it was furnished to me yesterday, and
I believe that the Commonwealth is in a position where it is
clear of any possibility of charge that we haven't acted
appropriately. There have been so many fanciful claims
made, including that this missing person is a CIA agent and
has got intelligence connections. I've had all these things
checked out and I'm assured that there is no substance in
those things.
JOURNALIST: There's no substance to those at all?..
PM: As I'm informed.
JOURNALIST: Well how concerned are you that something like
this can happen even if the Government
PM: well this is not a Commonwealth responsibility, this
matter, and it's quite clearly not a Commonwealth
responsibility. If there is anything to be pursued it's at
a state level, not at the Commonwealth level.
JOURNALIST: The Chairman of the National Crime Authority
Committee wants the NCA to look at it. Do you think that's
perhaps an over-reaction given what you've just said?
PM: on the evidence available to me..
ends