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TRANSCRIPT OF UNEDITED INTERVIEW WITH MARIE MILLS, RADIO
6WF, 29 NOVEMBER 1990
E 0 E PROOF ONLY
MILLS: Good morning Mr Hawke and thanks very much for
your time on WF.
PM: My pleasure, Marie.
MILLS: Now we've collected these questions from
listeners and I don't think we should go past, first of
all, the results in the polls. How much notice do you
take of the polls?
PM: Every political leader and politician worth his salt
looks at them, is interested in them, I am. I recognise
that we're down at the moment but we've just come through
our fourth victory and we've got a long time to go to the
next one. The economy's going to be recovering, I think,
strongly next year and we've now got in place a
significant lowering of the inflation rate and employment
will pick up next year. I think that the economic and
political cycle will come together well when it matters.
MILLS: Well it's not just the Labor Party who's lower.
You personally have a particularly low rating at the
moment. Are you going to be Prime Minister as the Labor
Party moves into the next election?
PM: Yes.
MILLS: Are you going to anoint anyone as the next in
line? PM: You've heard what I've had to say about that. I
don't anoint, the Caucus appoints. I don't think there's
any doubt that: when I call it a day that they will
appoint Paul. I've always thought that and I still think
that.
MILLS: Another critical issue of course for Australia at
the moment, as it is for every nation in the world, is
the Middle East crisis. Secondly, there still seems to
be a great deal of concern amongst community members that
we're just on America's coat-tails and the decision as to
whether or not: there is to be a war comes closer, that
seems to grow larger.
PM: I haven't any evidence to sustain that proposition
or evidence polling that's been done shows that the
clear majority of the Australian people support the
position the Government's taken.
MILLS: Well certainly at least one of our listeners is
concerned that this is going to be another Vietnam, that
it may reach the stage of conscription and if it reaches
the stage of war, will it reach the stage of
conscription? PM: No.
MILLS: Categorically?
PM: Well I think that sounded pretty categoric.
MILLS: It did indeed. Let's look beyond the Middle East
crisis. A number of people want to know what sort of a
long term vision you have for Australia, whether it
reaches past -the next election, past the next crisis for
the Labor Party?
PM: Well that was made quite clear before and during the
last election when I spelt out the long term goals of
this Government. In a sense I didn't really need to do
that because I'd done it since 1983. We've made clear
what those goals are, they are fairly clear. They are
firstly, that we develop a more diversified, strong
economy which is going to reduce Australia's exposure to
wildly fluctuating prices for our commodities. Secondly,
that it become, as part of the first goal it becomes the
clever country which has a highly skilled workforce
capable of undertaking the tasks that are necessary to
achieve the more competitive economy. Thirdly, that it
be a country which is increasingly enmeshed with this
region, with -this dynamic region. Fourth, that it be a
country which plays an important part in international
affairs and we've shown that we are doing that in a
number of ways. Firstly, it is Australia who's provided
the basis of -the peace plan for Cambodia. Secondly, it
is Australia, particularly myself, that's established the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Council which is
bringing together the countries of the Pacific Rim.
We've taken the lead now in becoming increasingly
effective in saving the Antarctic from mining. We are
increasingly a nation who is taken note of in the
international councils of the world for our capacity to
make a relevant and constructive contribution to
important issues. These are the goals. It's not the
goals that we conjure up today for tomorrow. It's
something thatL we've been working on consistently since
we've been in Government.
MILLS: When you talk about saving the Antarctic from
mining, we've had a couple of listeners who have been
very concerned about your commitment to the environment.
Can you clarifEy that?
PM: Clarify what? My commitment to the environment?
MILLS: Yes indeed.
PM: Well how long have you got? Saved the Franklin,
saved Kakadu, saved Daintree, saved Tasmania's forests,
have now got a situation where the International Union
for Conservation has said this; that no country has done
more than Australia to advance the causes of the world
environment movement. I mean how's that for starters?
MILLS: Well how about not allowing Japanese ships which
are heading down to catch whales into Australian ports?
That's a request from one of our listeners.
PM: We've taken a leading role in regard to getting an
international convention in regard to whaling and our
position on that is well known, well established.
MILLS: Will our ports be open to those Japanese ships
which need to refuel or want to refuel in our ports?
PM: Not if they are operating contrary to the
international convention.
MILLS: Certainly one listener will be pleased to hear
that. Now another question. Why do we keep our
migration levels, our immigration levels at that which
they are when, according to one listener, we're already
full to the brim, that Australia is heading towards a
situation where we're going to have more than enough
people? PM: Well of course if people would listen to that sort
of argument which has been going on since the end of the
last war we wouldn't have a significant population. We
had seven million people at the end of the war and there
were people who were crying out and said no, no, no we
musn't have more migrants. If we listened to that sort
of argument we'd be back in the backwoods. We've got to
keep the migration program, be prepared to adjust it in
terms of an assessment of our economic circumstances, as
indeed we have at this time. Immigration in the whole of
the post war period has made Australia a very, very much
stronger, richer, more diversified country than it
otherwise would've been. We'll continue to do that.
MILLS: Economically have we hit the bottom? Are we
going to use that word?
PM: I find it rather boring, this word. I mean I
haven't avoided the word. I've simply said what is
the truth and that is that according to the economists
their technical definition of a recession is two
successive quarters of negative economic growth. That
hasn't occurred yet, it may occur tomorrow when the
figures come out. But I haven't worried about the word.
If people want to use the word that's perfectly OK by me
because what we have done is to slow down the economy.
We deliberately did that because we couldn't sustain the
level of imports that we were having in the country and
we're now getting the results. Sure, there's been pain
and that's unfortunate. But the thing is that we had to
slow the activity down. We've now got continuing
lowering imports which is necessary. Our exports are
growing. Our inflation rate is coming down and our
balance of payments situation is improving. Those things
had to be done and the economy will certainly go into
significant recovery next year.
MILLS: So we've hit the bottom, we're on the turn?
PM: Well you can't ever point to the exact week or month
and it would obviously be wise to wait to see what the
figures are for the national accounts.
MILLS: A specific question now regarding seamen. We had
a question from one listener asking why seamen don't
receive the same sort of repatriation rights and pensions
and so on that regular soldiers, regular navy personnel
get? PM: You're talking about merchant seamen during the
previous conflicts. They do get benefits but they
haven't always got exactly the same benefits as members
of the armed forces. That's the position. As it is now
it's been one which has been recognised by successive
governments. MILLS: It's been a very brief visit to Western
Australia. I wonder if you've had time to consider our
Royal Commission here, the terms of reference and perhaps
whether you think Carmen Lawrence has gone down the right
track, making that Royal Commission stretching back ten
years? The Royal Commissioner at this stage looks like
it's going to a West Australian. Is that the way she
should've gone?
PM: These matters are decisions for State Governments.
We don't try and tell State Governments how to run their
affairs. I tend to think she's made the right decision
to appoint a Royal Commission. It was for her and the
Government to make that decision. I guess no-one should
be worried about how far it goes back.
MILLS: John '. Dawkins it seems would like to tell the
State Government here how to run their affairs. He's
asked them to re-think the decision which means they are
giving a gift of $ 7M worth of land to a Catholic
university here.
PM: I've had no opportunity other than to see the
headlines in -the West Australian newspaper. I wouldn't
be making any comment until I was more informed on this
both from the Premier of Western Australia and from my
j1I Minister. When I've had the chance of listening to them
both I will be able to perhaps say something that's
useful. Until I've done that I can't.
MILLS: There's been a call to bring Brian Burke back
from Ireland. What do you think of that?
PM: I don't think anything of it. I mean when the Royal
Commission is set up, if the Royal Commission makes a
decision that they want him, that's for them to decide.
If they make that decision obviously he'd come back.
MILLS: Mr Hawke, thanks for your time. It's good to
have you on WF.
PM: Thanks.
ends