P7
PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, CHURCHILL PARK, ROCKINGHAM,
NOVEMBER 1989
E & O0E -PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Pr-ime Minister, how important is a Labor
victory in South Australia for you?
PM: Well, I have said and so has Mr Bannon that the election
-in South Australia is about who's going to govern the
state of South Australia in the next three years. it
can't determine anything else, it can only determine that.
so they've got to. when they go into the ballot box, they've
got to say do they want John Bannon or John Olsen governing
them and I know what the majority decision ought to be.
Now, having said that. I'd much prefer that John Bannon
will win and I think he will.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned about the latest polls
that puts the Liberals eight points ahead?
PM: Wait a minute polls, there are a number of polls
and I would say that on the average of the polls Labor
would be showing to win. But in politics as you know
you've got a range of polls, some out there, some there.
On our best reading of, taking all the polls into account
including our own, we should win.
JOURNALIST: But psychologically a defeat there would
be very bad for you
PM: We wouldn't like it. we wouldn't like it, that's
right. JOURNALIST: Are you concerned that Mr Bannon has perhaps
felt the need to distance himself from the Federal issues?
PM: No I understand that completely because he
understands what the realities are, that it's not about
Federal decisions. They can't make any decision there
which affects what happens Federally. All they can decide
Is who is going to be the Premier of the State and which
party Is going to govern the State for the next three
years. That's the only thing that can be decidqpd.
on his record, John Bannon. in my judgement and I'm trying
to be as obJective as r can about that, I think that he's
been an excellent Premier. He deserves to win.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, just on another matter that you
touched on yesterday, Cambodia.
PM: Yes.
JOURNALIST: Is there some prospect then that perhaps
if Senator Evans' initiative goes ahead that Australian
troops will end up being sent over there?
PM: don't see that as any immediate outcome and
that's certainly not part of the We've said on that
issue all the way along, through the various proposals
that have been floated through parties immediately concerned
and other nations interested, that if there was a consensus
emerged that in the international control mechanism that
there was a view that you needed some troops we don't
say necessarily that that is the case but if that were
to emerge then we would be prepared to look at participating
In that. We've said that all along, but the proposal
that we've put for-ward of the concept of United Nations
interim administration in Cambodia, it doesn't have that
as a, you know, an inevitable component, that is Australian
troops. But if the proposal were to recommend Itself
and it's probably got as much practicability as a number
of other proposals that have been looked at and tossed
around for some time, then we would face up to that
implication.
JOURNALIST: A lot of the people here are expressing concern
among themselves about Interest rates. What chance have
you got of winning an election with interesL rates aL
this sort of level?
PM1: I think the Australian electorate has got very, very
much more sophisticated in the period since we've been
in office and they know what is a simple and obvious
truth, that I think they think I'm an intelligent bloke.
I think they probably think I'm a pretty sort of reasonable
bloke, and there's no way I mean, you just ask yourself
why would Bob Hawke have interest rates higher for one
day longer than necessary? I'd be mad, I'd be out of
my mind. As I say, I'm not a masochist, I don't like
hurting myself and I don't like hurting other people.
BuL we've got a situation where we've just got to lower
the level of activity and to do that we've just got to
have interest rates a bit higher,. because if we didn't
the economy would Just collapse if we kept on bringing
in the level of imports that we couldn't pay for. So
we've just got to slow things down and as soon as they're
slowed down sufficiently, while still keeping growth,
still keeping the employment of our commnunity going
once that's happened then they will come off.
( PM cont): But I can't do it a day earlier than is necessary.
I'd love to do it tomorrow. I could buy the cheap vote
easily. I could just ring up Canberra and say ease
the screws, rates down. I could got instant popularity
like that, but it would be irresponsible and I won't do
it.
JOURNALIST: Isn't it a fact though that those home loan
interest rates aren't helping Mr Bannon in South Australia?
PM: No they haven't been a plus, but I just repeat what
I've been saying. Wouldn't I be a great Prime Minister
if I said I've got a Labor colleague, the Premier of South
Australia, he's going up for election so I'll be totally
irresponsible, I'll reduce interest rates because that
might help Bannon get through. Well you're looking at
the wrong bloke if you think I'm going to play with the
future of this country like that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just lastly, what's your
perception of how Peter Dowding and his Government have
been handling themselves over here?
PM: I think difficult, some difficult circumstances that
this Government acquired. I think he's been going well
and he's been given a mandate quite recently, just at
the beginning of this year. relatively early in his term,
and I believe that he will show that he and his colleagues
will provide the sort of Government that's required.
JOURNALIST: You would be aware that there's some possibility
anyway that the conservatives over here will block the
Budget going through the House?
PM: Yes, well isn't it, it's a great paradox of
Australian politics and I'd Just like to make it quite
clear. Who is it in politics who always talk about law
and order, respecting the law, respecting the conventions.
It's always the conservatives. You must respect the law.
you must have law and order, you must have convention.
But who are the ones who will talk iibouL breaking the
most fundamental law and order and conventions in our
society? They did it in ' 75 and now they're talking about
it here. This GovernmenL was given a mandate by the people
In the beginning of this year, Lhkey're entitled to serve
and I understand the National Party will have the appropriate
sense of responsibility to ensure that they are allowed
to continue that mandate.
ends