PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, TWEEDSXUIR USTAURANTp
BRISBANE 20 APRIL 1989
I ON PROOM ONLY
JOURNALIST: Your response last night to the disturbance
which greeted Mr Howard.
PM: I don't like demonstrations which reach the point where
there's same danger to people against whom the demonstration
is directed. I don't draw any pleasure or comfort from any
situation if there's been any hurt to Mr Howard or anyone
associated with him. I disagree with him very much on most
issues but I wish him no physical danger at all.
JOURNALIST: In it an indication of how volatile this
imigration debate could become?
IX: It is an area which does arouse passion and it's one of
the great regrets that I have that what had been for such a
long time an area in which there was just no question, but
. therm was total bipartisanship& that that was fractured to
some eztent. I hope that will come to an and but whatever
the background I simply don't want to see a situation where
my political opponents or anyone in politics f or that matter
are subject to processes involving danger. We have to draw
the line in this country between the right to demonstrate and
to protest and the unacceptable practise of inflicting damage
or hurt to others.
JOURNALIST: Mr Prime Minister, im the British takeover bid
for food giant Goodman Fielder in Australia's interests?
PX: This is something which will obviously have to be
examined by the Treasurer and by those advising him. I will
clearly be consulted about this and want to get some
indication of what the views are an to the implications of
such a bid if it was successful. But I don't prejudge that
ezamination. JOURNALIST: John Moore finally released his privatization
policy. Do you personally believe the airlines should be
privatized? I
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PM: I an not expressing my personal view about these
processes because what is going on at the moment in that we
have within the Labor Party committees examining this issue.
I'll have directly and indirectly some input. to those
process. s but I'll conduct that within the processes of the
Party rather than publicly.
JOU7NALIST: This trip you have been emphasising education
issues, does this indicate the. HEawke Government is going to
concentrate even more to improve education in Australia?
PM: No, what it indicates is this. Firstly that we are very
proud of our achievements in this area, as we are entitled to
be. When you think of the basic fact of what we have done to
lift the participation rate from that miserably low
36 per cent that we inherited up to 58 per cent, the enormous
increase in the number of places in the tertiary system, the
great increases in funding for training programs in
Australia, the uplift of the apprenticeship system and the
traineeship system, we have got an enormous story to tall
which has lifted Australia from a position where we were low
in world rankings to one where we are going up and up as we
should be so that we create a society where all young people
irrespective of the income level of their parents are going
to have the opportunity of fully training their talents. Now
it 4.4 a matter of pride for arn that we can tell that story
and we will continue in the years ahead to do those things.
For instance, if you are talking about the future we have
already made the decisions in the tertiary education area
which will create In the next three to four years an
additional .40,000 places or the equivalent of another
Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney university. So those major
decisions f or the future are already in place.
JOURNALIST: Mr U1awke, you had a go at President Reagan about
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give our wheat farmers a decent go?
PM: Well we won't declare war. What you've got is only the
processes of hard persuasion, the pressing of facts. I have
put the facts before Vice-President Quayle, at this stage he
doesn't seem to want to understand the facts,, we will
continue to put those to our friends in the United States
Administration. If you look at wheat for instance the facts
simply are that in those of our overseas markets which
haven't been targetted by the Export Enhancement Program we
have maintained our sales. In the seven countries where the
REP has been operating, where they have targetted, then we've
suffered significant losses, and particularly that's true in
regard to the Soviet Union and China. The facts are simply
indisputable and we will keep pressing them upon our friends
in the United States to got then to see reason.
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JOURNALIST: Are you disappointed that Kr Quayle should come
out with the statements that he did so soon after
negotiations with you on such a sensitive issue?
PM: Well you could hardly call then negotiations. I wasn't
in a negotiating position with him, I wasn in a postion where
I was telling him Australia's view and what the facts are.
But we'll have to continue to press our case, as we will, at
all levels of the Administration and that will be done by
myself and by my Ministers. This in something in which we
have the support of the National Farmers Federation as veil.
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard said today that instead of
ratifying the Antarctica Treaty maybe we should look at a
total. at not ratifying it, a total ban on mining in
Antarctica to keep it in pristine condition?
PM: Well its very interesting to hear Mr Howard saying
anything about the environment which is relevant because the
record of the conservatives in this country on environmental
matters iB appalling. We will have this issue coming before
the Cabinet, there will be submissions before us which will
canvass the pros and the cons of the proposed convention.
The argument of those who are supporting it is that in the
absence of some convention you wouldn't have any regime at
all which would inhibit anyone going in there and just having
an open slather. Nov I'll be looking at this very very
closely with my colleagues to ensure the decision that ye
take is one which is most likely to protect that environment.
JOURNMAL IST: Mr Howard also indicated yesterday that if he
became a government the Liberals would try to encourage
domestic saving. Now could that be an attractive proposition
in an election mode?
PM: Well I find it difficult to believe that anything that
Mr Howard or the Liberals would do would be found to be
terribly attractive by the electorate at the moment because
they are going through a period where they are demonstrating
graphically to the Australian electorate that they can't
manage their own affairs. Internally they can't govern
themselves so they won't be acceptable an a government of
Australia. On the question of the substantial question of
savings under this hypothetical Liberal governmnt, I don't
know wh * at people would have to save because I asked people to
remember that in every wage case of the last 20 Mr Howard has
opposed any wage increase and his recent propositions are
that he would support wage increases based on productivity,
to have a trend productivity of about one and a half per
cent. It means virtually no increase in wages. So not only
is the question of a Howard government entirely hypothetical
but so is the question of people having anything to save upon
which any interest could he taxed or untaxed. But let Mr
Howard go on with his own business of trying to get his Party
in order, we'll go about the business of ruinning the economy
of the country efficiently and directing our concerns to
trying to ensure that as far as possible we reduce the demand
upon overseas savings. My Government has brought about a
reduction in the deficit and the creation of a surplus that
means that there is no public sector borrowing requirement,
we make no demands as a Government upon the savings of
others. I don't think he has really got anything useful to
say on the economic debate at-all.
JOURNALIST: He has also indicated, Prime Minister, that he.
would like to fight the next election on the question of the
level of Australia's overseas debt. How vouldf1, eel about
that?
PM: Look its just silly, I man it really is a silly
question and a silly observation about Mr Howard wanting to
fight an election on any issue. He can't get his own house
into order, its very doubtful whether he will be leading
then when we got to the next election. So why should I be
taking any notice of this transient leader talking about what
he would like to fight an election on.
JOURNALIST: in the Power cup tomorrow?
PN%. I don't know, I haven't seen the field.
ends