PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW WITH FRENCH JOURNALISTS TGV ( VERY
FAST TRAIN), PARIS 19 JUNE 1989
ZE& 0EPROOF
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can you tell us first about
what happened this morning in the agreement of the
environment? PM: When we talked about the environment there were three
elements for that. I guess the most important was our
agreement in regard to the Antarctic. Let me give you the
words of the agreement. They are Australia and France
call upon the consultative parties to the Antarctic Treaty
to negotiate as soon as possible an agreement which would
turn Antarctica into an international wilderness reserve.
Australia and France will closely co-operate to this end.
This means that we jointly believe that it is appropriate
that this last great wilderness on the planet should be
preserved and we undertake together now to push
internationally for an acceptance of that position. This, I
believe, has a significance in ways that are obvious and
perhaps some ways which are not so obvious, and obviously we
will try and see that there is an increasing understanding
of the fragility of that area and therefore the
responsibility that we have now to successive generations to
preserve that region. What's perhaps not so obvious is this
that the Antarctic is a region which enables measurement
of the Greenhouse Effect and the depletion of the ozone
layer in an environment uncontaminated by the effects of
human activity. That's very important and therefore if the
world is going to keep itself in a position where it's going
to be best able to monitor these developments and give
itself a sensitive predictive base from which to make
relevant decisions, it is important that ye keep that
environment, as I say, uncontaminated.
a number of other reasons I think is why we've made
this decision and why we'll do our best to persuade relevant
parties to the Antarctic Treaty system to support our
position. JOURZNALIST: Will you be putting that near the top of the
agenda when you go to Britain and see Mrs Thatcher?
PM: It will certainly be high on the agenda there and when
I go to the United States, when I go to Germany and when I
go to Hungary.
JOURNALIST: Mr Prime Minister, you've = et Prime Minister
Rocard this morning, you're going to see him again next
August. could you give us your assessment of the role of
France in the South Pacific as well as New
Caledonia and other matters?
PM: Let me preface my answer by saying how much I welcome
the attitude of the Rocard administration to its relations
with Australia and its role in the region. Hitherto there
had been a less than fully congenial atmosphere to the
relationship, but under the Rocard administration I thinkc
we've reached a position where the cordiality in our
relations is as high as it's ever been. We believe that
there is a considerable opportunity for a expansion of the
relationship at the bilateral level. We have in fact
entered agreements an understanding that there should be an
acceleration of the economic and trading commercial
relationship. We hope that there will be a significant
French trade and investment mission to Australia before the
end of this year. We have made an agreement that we should
extend the existing arrangement which covers the area of
agriculture whereby there is an interchange of trainees in
that area, that that should be extended now to the area of
manufacturing, communications, the media and education. We
have also agreed that there should be co-operation upon
specific projects in the South Pacific region. In the area
of New Caledonia, I have unqualifiably welcomed the approach
of the French Government as embodied in the Martignon
Accords and have indicated that we, in particular,
appreciate the finderstanding by the Rocard administration
the absolute necessity to accelerate the training of the
Kanak population so that in the area of bureaucracy,
education, technical and professional areas there shall be a
body of trained and capable Kanak people ready to assume
positions of authority and responsibility in whatever new
constitutional position is adopted in the next decade. And
in that respect, in particular, I have indicated that
Australia is willing to help in this training program. we
have a wide range of relevant, sophisticated training
programs in Australia and we have said that if it is
adjudged by the French authorities that we can be of
assistance in this program, we are ready to do so. On the
question of French nuclear testing program, I have the
Australian position. Monsieur Rocard has indicated their
position. He said there will be a reduction of the testing
program from one under which there were two series of four
tests the unique series to one under which there will
just be one series with six tests. So, on that issue, we
agreed to differ.
JOURNALIST: Did you receive any assurances that Australia
won't be frozen out of the single market after 1992?
PM: I have talked with the President and the Prime
Minister briefly about that issue. Because we had so many
other areas to discuss I will be picking up that issue in
more detail with Monsieur Fauroux in my discussions this
evening. JOURNALIST: Do you consider France as being part of the
South Pacific?
PM: France is part of the South Pacific. It has a great
history, a long tradition of involvement and there has been
a mistaken apprehension by earlier French administrations
that in some sense Australia wanted to displace France in
the region. This is not the case we think France has a
continuing role to contribute to the well-being of the
nations in this area and it is precisely because we feel
that that we have agreed and suggested that there should be
co-operative projects to assist the nations in this region.
JOURNALIST: You're sitting on a French high speed train.
Is this just a PR exercise or is Australia really interested
in buying one of these things?
PH: I don't know what the alternatives are it's not a PR
exercise and I'm not here thinking about buying, as you so
inelegantly put it " one of these things". There is a very
serious consideration in Australia involving three of our
largest companies in a consortium which is examining the
feasibility of a Very Fast Train on our eastern seaboard,
particularly between Melbourne and Sydney. I believe that
this will come to fruition and it is certainly a relevant
experience for me to see the Very Fast Train in operation
here. JOURNALIST: Can you look ahead to the British visit can
you tell me what the main aims of the British visit are?
PM2 A predominant aim will be to increase the level of
Australian/ United Kingdom economic relationship. I will be
having discussions not only with a range of Ministers,
including of course Mrs Thatcher, but we will be involved,
Mrs Thatcher and myself, in a meeting of some three hundred
leading Australian and British executives who will be
examining in detail the opportunities for increased trade
anid investment between our two countries.
JOURNALIST*, I hear you're also going to the Test match.
Any predictions?
v 4.
PM: Yes, I'm happy that I'm in a position that I made the
prediction before the start of the Test Series I sent a
cable to the Australian captain, Alan Border, saying that I
believed they would win the First Test and that I would see
them at Lords when they were one up. The prediction's going
well at the moment.
JOURNALIST: So your prediction is that they will win the
whole Test Series is it?*
PU:* Yes I think we will win the Series. We deserve to.
JOURNALIST: You are going to see Mr Chirac in a few moments
and a few years ago he called you names. What are you going
to talk about with him.
PM: Essentially I will talking about Australia's desire and
intention to involve itself in the bicentenary celebrations
of the French Revolution. We intend to make significant
contributions and not only because we want to, but also in
part to repay the extraordinarily generous involvement by,
and contribution by, the Government and people of France in
our bicentenary celebrations which we held in 1988, and to
thank Monsieur Chirac because a considerable part of those
arrangements of course were put in place under his
administration. JOURNALIST: Mr Chirac can be even more direct and impolite
than me Prime Minister, won't that cloud your discussions in
the things he said in the past?
PM: I assume that our meeting will be civil as far as the
past is concerned. As I've said before bitterness, like
jealousy, is amongst the most corrosive of human emotions
and is not one in which I engage.
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