PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFRICZ, ANDRZW KRR FRAIL AGED HOMi,
39 SPITEBn 1989
1 O PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: IMr Hawke, interest rates, with your deal with
the five major banks the smaller banks are crying foul?
PRIM NVI ST: Are they?
JOURNALIST: Yes
PRIME NIZXSTER: Well, I don't see that there's any case for
that. We have got a position where, in regard to those who
have got the equivalent of the BD's, a position has
developed where the disability that was involved when we
made the arrangement to run those down has meant that they
have incurred a larger disability because of the rise in the
market rates and vhat has been done is simply to restore
that differential that existed before aad in that situation
a ceiling has been placed on mortgage rates. That will
obviously be for the benefit of the coummnity as a whole.
JOURNALIST: The building societies are saying though that
they can't keep it at 17 per cent, they'll have to rise to
18 per cent.
PRIE NMINISTR: Well they haven't got the same situation as
the banks have in regard to a disability in regard to those
deposited funds so, they're not in the same situation.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawks, when is the next election? Is this
supposed to be a prelude to the next election?
PRIME NINISTER: No, you see the problem with this is it
means that when we have an election and I go out as I do a
few weeks after an election to a nursing home or some
coamplex, presumably I'a going to have another election. I
mean, I travel around this country the whole period between
elections and I do it because I enjoy doing it and it has
got nothing to with elections.
JOURNALZST: So the deal with the banks has nothing to do
with the election at all? c2)
PRnlh MNISTER: The question I just had wasn't related to
the deal with the banks. You've just done a jump haven't
you? JOURNALIST: Noy no, no it was actually to do with the deal
with the banks.
PRDM NINISTRR: Your question about my travelling around;
would that have anything to do with the election then you
jumped to the question about the banks. Not this is
something that needed to be doae bemause what we have been
trying to do, as you know, is to level of f the extent of
economic activity in Australia and we believe that the
housing industry has now taken enough of that pressure and
people acquiring houses have taken enough of that pressure.
They've played their part and it's appropriate to put a
limit on that.
JO URN ALIST: So how long do you think you will be able to
keep the interest rates down?
PR33M MINISTER: Well we've made the point that the rest of
the economic policy is in place to try and create the
framework within which an appropriate time monetary policy
can be eased. Buit both Paul Keating and I have said that we
aea not going to be doing that a moment before it's
responsible or certainly we are not going to keep rates
higher for a moment longer than necessary but when we are
persuaded on all the range of evidence that level of
activity has come off to a point where we will be able to
sustain the level of imports then it'. at that point that
policy will be eased.
JOURNALIST: mr Hawke while small banks are crying-foul the
Opposition a" e crying fix and say its wholly to do with the
forthcoming elect ion.
PRIM XINISTER: Anyone taking any notice of the Opposition?
I mean I'd just suggest that you look at the Business Review
Wekly's poll. The busins community simply doesn't take
the opposition seriously. I mean they have had donkey's
years nov to com up with policies, they can't get a policy
together for a number of reasons.* one# they are bitterly
divided personally between Xr Howard and Mr Peacock and
others They are spending all their time fighting one
another. There are cocepua differences. We are
literally years, now years behind the promises as to when
their polioies would em forward. The business community,
Australians generally, for very valid reasons don't take
them seriously so anything that they have got to say about
yesterday's decision is a matter of supreme indifference and
irrelevance.