TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, PAN PACIFIC HOTEL, 20 OCTOBER
1989 E 0 E PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, have you been briefed on the
Grafton bus crash?
PM: I've been told about the I understand that 22 people
have lost their lives and I'm asking for full information
when I get back. I was trying to find out whether there was
one particular group of people that were in it so that if
there's any group that I can send some message to. But I
just simply want to take this opportunity and I thank you
very much for giving it to me to express my sense of grief
to all families who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.
It's an enormous dimension, 22 people, and I simply express
my grief to everyone concerned.
JOURNALIST: This morning's session on the environment. How
did that go?
PM: Well unfortunately I couldn't be there for the whole of
it because I had my meeting with Her Majesty just after
o'clock but I think I can say these things. Firstly, as I've
said in my own intervention, one compares the situation with
2 years ago because 2 years ago there was no separate item on
the agenda and we in fact had the contribution 2 years ago at
Vancouver by the President of the Maldives, President Gayoom,
and he talked there about the threat to his country of the
rising sea levels associated with the warming of the
atmosphere. I think for a lot of people around the * table
then this was the first dramatic illustration to them of the
dimension of this problem and so of course on this occasion,
as distinct from 1987, we have a separate and important item
on the agenda and I think that is significant. In other
words in two years there's been a sea change, if I can put it
that way, in the importance attached to environmental issues
and to the understanding on the part of people represented at
this Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting of the
responsibility that they have not only within their own
countries but in terms of co-operation to do what we can to
meet these issues. It's in that framework that I was able
( PM cont) to make some suggestions in there and may I say
just by way of background, we're very fortunate to have
Professor Slayter, my Chief Scientist, who has put in a lot
of work on this and we were able to indicate that in
Australia we have developed certain expertise in the number
of areas that we are prepared to share with other countries
of the Commonwealth. I referred to our experience in the
management of rainforests and let me say I've had some
bilateral discussions with Dr Mahathir in this respect and I
think we'll be able to provide some expertise from Australia
to come up here to Malaysia and help them in this area and I
think that's going to be particularly important. I also
referred to the way in which our Australian scientists have
pioneered bio-climactic techniques, developed actual models
which enable the assessment of the likely effects of climate
change on the distribution and productivity of crops and
pastures; and forests and these sorts of techniques I'm
informed, which are useful and valuable in planning land
utilisation are able to be undertaken on small readily
available computers. Now these are techniques and models and
simulations which have been developed by Australian
scientists and what I offered today at the meeting was that
we would be prepared to help the training of agronomists and
meteorologists and foresters from other countries in the
Commonwealth including a preparedness to establish a research
training centre in Australia. I indicated that I'll be
writing to all the countries and if we get * sufficient
responses and I think we will then we will go ahead and
make these training facilities available. Now I think that's
an indication of the way in which there is an understanding
not just on Australia's part, but of everyone that the issues
that we're talking about now are global in their dimension
and the thing that the Commonwealth is uniquely able to do
from its experience is to share these techniques that perhaps
the more developed countries have now, to share them with the
less developed countries. I think that's something that
uniquely the Commonwealth can do. We've sought to give a
lead to it.
JOURNALIST: Have any of those lesser developed nations shown
a lax attitude on the environmental issues?
PM: No, I don't think it's right to say that they've shown a
lax attitude. It's very easy for those of us who've had the
good fortune to be earlier in the economic development cycle,
to say now you less developed countries, you must be very
careful what you do, because naturally enough they say: " wait
a minute, mate, you've been there, you've had the advantage
of developing your economies when there was not a great deal
of environmental consciousness". If you want to look at the
greatest contribution to the greenhouse gases, of
( PM cont) course it's the use of fossil fuel and they are
right in saying I think, they haven't put it this way but
I think the logic is very simple. In fact these are issues
of global concern, of global impact, then they are global
responsibilities. I think that one of the issues that we
will be discussing most particularly over the weekend at the
Retreat is what the sort of terminology in the Declaration,
the Environmental Declaration, will be which will pick up
this sense of responsibility that there is amongst the
developed nations to the developing nations. I think it's a
core issue.
JOURNALIST: Is there any specific commonwealth initiative
being considered to address these
PM: In these discussions that have taken place so far
Milton, there have been, at the officials level, there are
three or four different sorts or formulations on this issue
from different countries in the Commonwealth which go
directly to it and so one of the things that we'll have to do
at the Retreat is to get an agreed formulation. I think
we'll be able to do that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, does this mean that Australia's
aid budget for overseas countries now or developing countries
might be increased?
PM: Well it doesn't necessarily follow because we have a
very significant aid budget now and there are categories
there under which we'll be able to do these things. For
instance, in the offer that I've made that I've just
outlined, that could involve in this first year something
like perhaps SlM but I think that's capable of being
absorbed within the existing aid program.
JOURNALIST: Given the developing countries concerned that
have been expressed and you've reiterated them here, do you
think it's fair to tie aid to developing countries to
environmental moves on their part?
PM: I don't think it would be fair if you did this; say you
knew that they needed aid, economic assistance, and you've
known that for some time and then said now you don't get that
aid unless you do a, b, c in environmental terms. But I do
think that they would regard it as appropriate that those of
us who are in the relatively fortunate position to be giving
economic assistcance should be pointing out our concern with
environmental matters and that they should also have a
concern with this. Provided that we are prepared to do the
sorts of things for instance that I've talked about, to share
our technolgies which are environmentally relevant, then I
think it's appropriate in disucssions with them to say to
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( PM cont) them, well this particular sort of development may
need to have this sort of qualification attached to it or
this sort of process attached to it. But provided that we
are prepared to share the technologies that will help them to
do it then that's reasonable, it seems to me.
JOURNALIST: Have you had any further advice from the Embassy
in Pretoria about the significance of yesterday's
announcement, whether in fact it still leaves the major
problem for South Africa or have they largely escaped the
issue of rescheduling their debt?
PM: No, I haven't had any further advice. I've really got
nothing to add to what I said before and that is that quite
obviously we would have preferred two things. That is that
the decision hadn't been made so quickly. And secondly,
instead of having the multi-year rescheduling consideration,
that it could've been annual. Now both Joe Clark and I said
that, said it quite specifically. But having said that, it's
quite clear that there are still very significant constraints
upon South Africa as a result of the decisions that have been
taken. Not least you have the situation that they will be
having to be running current account surplus' to cover their
commitments and there is no provision for new loans. The
South Africans themselves have apparently indicated that they
are going to be operating under very severe constraints. So
I believe that in that context the decisions that the
Commonwealth will make I think on the basis of the five steps
I put forward yesterday will be able to constitute a
continuing pressure in the financial area.
JOURNALIST: Back on the environment briefly, given the
number of proposals that are around on the environment, is
there any danger that you won't actually be able to come up
with a satisfactory formula?
PM: No, I think not. I've got to be advised by the
discussions that have been going on at the officials levels.
I've had my officials in wit ' h the others of other countries.
The impression I'm given from my people is that they. will be
able to reach a consensus position.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Mrs Thatcher at Langkawi other
than your inestimable personal charm what strategies are
you developing to bring her into line?
PM: My charm? Who were you talking about there?
JOURNALIST: Yours. Inestimable charm.
PM: Hey, what's happened here?
JOURNALIST: Who won the golf?
PM: Apart from my incalculable charm, what was that?
JOURNALIST: What strategies are you developing in your own
mind to bring her into line with Commonwealth thinking on
sanctions? PM: Now I am by nature, as you know, an optimist. I've
demonstrated that in some 30 years of public life. But there
are limits, bounds to my optimism and I've never thought that
I was capable of bringing to use your language Mrs
Thatcher into line. I mean one has to have limits to ones
optimism. I think what will happen at Langkawi is that there
will be a clear exposition on the part of all the other
members of the Commonwealth of the intensity with which they
hold their views as to why the steps that I have proposed
ought to be followed through. I don't really believe that we
will be able to pursuade Margaret to agree but perhaps
something will happen that will bring her somewhat closer to
our position, I don't know. But it's quite clear from
everything that's been said during the session and since
that, everyone else is committed to supporting those five
steps. JOURNALIST: Rabbie Namaliu is confident Fiji will be back in
the Commonwealth in a matter of time. Could it come back in
under the present Constitution?
PM: Well I would guess that the when you say the present
Constitution, there's no such thing as a present
Constitution. There's the one that's been proposed and they
are now going through the processes as you know, of public
consultation then it will go to the Council of the Chiefs.
But if you refer to those proposals I wouldn't imagine that
for instance, those proposals would be acceptable to India,
and the way the Commonwealth operates there needs to be a
consensus view. And more importantly, as far as I understand
it, there has been no move, on any information I have from
Fiji that they are anticipating that in the present situation
that they would be making an application to rejoin.
JOURNALIST: On green issues, how was your game of golf this
morning, Mr Hawke?
PM: Well we now stand at one all. I beat Geoffrey in New
Zealand, he triumphed today, he won today so we've got to
have the shoot-out at the Retreat.
JOURNALIST: Will you miss the Caufield Cup at the Retreat?
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PM: I'll do my best not to miss it. I can assure you that I
will have made an investment at any rate.
JOURNALIST: And the tip?
PM: A tip? I've got to study the form later this afternoon.
But on the runs of last week which are fairly significant, I
think Nayrizi is the one, isn't it, that is shaping up as
think's. Four to one, isn't it?
( REPLY: Nine to two.)
PM: Nine to two, I'm told by my Economic Adviser. And on
the run last week I think it's entitled to be favourite. It
was an enormous run. I think some of the computer
calculators have put it as the best run in the last ten years
or something. Now you shouldn't live by the computers but
sometimes you'll die if you don't take them into account.
ends