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TRANSCRIPT OF THlE PRIME MINISTER, THX HON P J KEATING, MP
7: 30 REPORT WITH PAUL LYNEHAN, MAY 11 1992
E QE PROOF COPY
PL: Prime Minister, thanks for joining us again. The blow
out in the budget deficit, if a Coalition government
had done this you'd be screaming for their blood
wouldn't you?
Pm: No, the blow out is not because of an expenditure blow
out, it is because receipts have fallen and the
receipts have fallen largely because of our success on
inflation, lower interest payments in the economy and
also because certain categories of provisional tax
payers are assessing themselves with lower returns.
PL: But how come this has only emerged over the lost ten
weeks?
PM; Because this is within the time frame that the
Australian Tax office can make a judgement about
receipts at this time of the budgetary cycle.
PL: And we're not entitled to wonder if your forecasters
are really worth feeding with this sort of performance?
Pm: well it's always better to have the forecasts on
receipts obviously right than not right.
PL: This is very wrong with respect.
PM: It's a two billion extra financing task, but part of
the reason is the better than expected inflation
performance. The low inflation which is, of course, an
enormous bull point for Australia.
PL: And surely the low economic activity.
PM: Yes, but hang on, but breaking that inflationary cycle
of 20 years, one of the first impacts of that, even
though its a beneficial force, one of the first impacts
is actually on receipts In the budget.
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PL; Peter Reith says higher interest rates are just around
the corner.
PM: Just when the lowest interest rates in 20 years just
came around the corner last Thursday. on these things
Dr Hewson and Mr Reith are the doom sayers, they're
both saying today interest rates are rising they are
at their lowest level in 20 years. Last week we took
interest rates down to 6 and 1/ 2 per cent.
PL; Yes, but what goes down goes UP.
PM: But it's not going to go up because of this. It's a
two billion extra financing on the Commonwealth's debt.
The Commonwealth's debt is one of the lowest of the
developed countries its 16 per cent of GDP.
PL: But what else In ' One Nation' should we now have a
second look at. What other forecasts there were dodgy?
PM: This is the Budget. It's not to do with ' one Nation'.
PL: But you told us in ' One Nation' you said 6.8 billion
deficit.
PM: That's a forecast for the budgetary outcome. ' One
Nation' is a package of measures to re-start the
economy and today we had a Heads of Government meeting,
a most successful meeting of the Commonwealth and the
States for the implementation of the ' One Nation'
measures and there was more decisions taken at that
meeting, from that package of measures than one used to
see under Coalition governments, more progress there
than you'd see in 10 years of normal progress around
Canberra from Coalition governments. Such things as
adopting the elements of an electricity grid,
separating power generation from distribution a
milestone change, a milestone acceptance by States
establishing a new Council of Australian Governments
today.
PL: HOW Will that work, this council of Australian
Governments?
PM; It will mean that instead of just the Financial
Premiers Conference every June, the Premiers Conference
and Loan Council, we've now got another body to discuss
national agenda issues such as electricity, such as
Technical and Further Education.
PL: And railways and roads?
PM: Yes, railways and roads that's right.
PL: Getting back to your budget problem, you haven't got
much room to manoeuvre in August have you, or indeed at
any time between now and the next election you're
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locked in as tight 8s a drum aren't you? Politically
locked in too.
PM: The budget deficit is larger than we forecast but it
will still come in under 3 per cent of GDP.
PL; But you've given away the opportunity for any more
goodies haven't you?
PM; Well we're not intending to be in the goody business.
The ' One Nation' statement was about rebuilding the
rail network, getting the roads program moving again
and the progress reports we are getting from Premiers
today on that package is very, very satisfactory.
PL: Given the fact that your receipts of tax are down so
much now, given the fact that the first instalment of
those tax cuts you've promised if you win the next
election will be coming in in July 1994, can we still
afford those?
PM: Absolutely. I had the pleasure of presiding over 6
marks of the Accord and under 4 of those we provided
tax cuts and they were always provided on time as we
said and they will be again. I know Dr Hewson is
running around saying oh now this is a11 of f, take no
notice of him, he's now trying to grab at straws. It's
been a good news couple of weeks, low inflation, low
interest rates, the good news is nearly suffocating
him, it's more than he can stand.
PL; When do you think there will be a submission before
Cabinet on the flag, what's the timing of that at the
moment?
PM:. The issues I'm on at the moment are jobs and the
economy and growth and this meeting of Heads of
Government today is about driving home all of those
' one Nation' packages and including Technical and
Further Education, we're determined that kids are not
going to come cascading out of secondary education,
those that can't get into university cascading into
milkbars and to railways stations and to shopping mall
plazas, we want them taken up in vocational education
and we're moving today to create those things and it is
to those things I've got the principal focus not the
matter you Just mentioned the flag or similar
matters.
PL., Have you been told you'd be wise to play that one on
the back burner for a while? You clearly don't want to
talk about it tonight.
PM; No, but At's not on the top of my priorities, I'm
entitled to say to you, I've just come within an hour
from one of the most successful meetings of Premiers
and the Commonwealth I think I've attended.
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PL: But we haven't had a chance to speak to you for a few
weeks, there's been a few things bubbling around. You
said about the flag that you would take very much into
account the will of the people.
PM; Yes.
PL: 81 per cent of the people in one poll I saw recently
said they want a referendum on this.
PM: That could be true and they may well get one.
PL; may well get one?
PM: Yes, but we'll have Cabinet consider the matter in due
course. Again, issues are ranked. we have the happy
knack, I hope, of ranking issues appropriately and the
big ranking for us at the moment is getting the economy
going. We are In a recovery now, consolidating that
recovery, pushing those low interest rates through and
getting all these ' one Nation' things into place.
PL: On the design, do you favour the idea, just personally,
of throwing it open to a national competition or
commissioning a group of designers to it?
PM: Paul, it is just not worth my while to discuss those
issues with you. That's something that the Cabinet
will have to consider. But, again, I can't tell the
media its priorities, but I will just remind you an
hour ago I was attending one of the most successful
meetings of the Commonwealth and the States we've
probably ever held.
PL: And a few days ago you were advised to play down the
flag issue a bit.
PM: You're sort of waving the flag and asking what the
designs are it's a very interesting subject and an
important one about how we represent ourselves but
there are other important things too.
PL; Let's try another important issue. Have you spoken to
Graham Richardson recently to try to ensure that there
is no more embarrassing revelations in store for the
Governm~ ents?
PM: I spoke to him over the weekend, yes.
PL: Are you happy?
PM; Yes and from what he has told me it is as I said to the
Parliament a relative of his had difficulty, he
intervened to see whether this person could come back
to Australia to prepare their defence -it's as simple
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PL: Now I know he has not been well, but are you at all
concerned about his grasp of detail and his memory over
this incident?
PM; He has done pretty well through all the years of
travails of public life.
PL: He wouldn't win Pick-a-Box at the moment though would
he on his recent performance?
PM: The opposition is on to it because they had the most
shocking week in Parliament you can imagine. The
conversation now is that the Opposition front bench is
concerned about the QST, they can't market it, Dr
Hewson's lost control of the House of Representatives,
the Government seized that back and now we're seeing
the familiar behaviour, the mafia claims of a couple of
weeks ago chasing Senator Richardson down about
relatives and phone calls. Where does that rank with
putting a new vocational education system in place like
today? Where does it rank with the separation of power
generation from distribution?
[ PL: Are you fully and absolutely satisfied with Senator
Richardson' s integrity?)
PM: They are the things and the low interest rates and the
low inflation are driving Dr Hewson batty. The good
news and he can't stand it so he's out there chasing
Senator Richardson.
PL: Are you fully satisfied with Graham Richardson's
integrity in regard to this matter.
PM: Yes.
PL: But you'd hardly be thanking him though for the way its
been handled would you?
PM: I think, with these things, if the receive notoriety it
means they can and should be handled better.
PL: A lot of people are talking about it across the
country.
PM: I don't know, a lot of Journalists are talking about it
I don't think it's a heart stopper out there.
PL: How much damage do you think it has done to the
Government?
PM: if there are any negatives to It, it camouflages the
fact that the opposition leader and his Party had a
woeful week in Parliament. our front bench hammered
them into the ground like tent stakes on Inflation,
interest rates, superannuation and a whole range of
issues and by Thursday they were looking very, very
poorly. This issue as it turned out arose and they
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seized upon it and given the faot that this sort of
stuff is the stock and trade of the Canberra scene they
know they'd get at least a weekends run out of it.
Well, we'll be there waiting for them when they turn up
again.
PL: Paul Keating, thankcs for your time.
Good, thank you Paul.
ends