PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON PJ KEATING, MP
INTERVIEW WITH GRAHAM WORLD, ABC AM PROGRAM
APRIL 1994
E& OE PROOF COPY
GW:-Mr Keating, the opening of the friendship bridge is the centrepiece of
this visit. What tangible benefits should it bring for Australia?
PM: Well, I think that it underlines the fact that Australia is very closely
involved now with the region. And it indicates, obviously, we have
comprehended the changes, which have taken place since the Cold
War: that's the settlement in Cambodia; the economic reforms in Laos;
the growth. in Thailand. the dramatic growth in Thailand; and the
economic reform on the way in Vietnam. In a sense the bridge tends
to symbolise the changes which are talding place within Indo-China.
And Australia is now involved with each of these economies, it is
involved with the Governments and it is tangibly involved by the
development of this important piece of infrastructure.
GW: Well, there is concern that the bridge could hasten the spread of Aids
into Laos, that there will be new commercial pressures, environmental
degradation. Having built the bridge what responsibilities do we have
on those fronts?
PM: Well, I think the Governments of these two countries, Thailand and
Laos, wanted this bridge to be built. I think the per capita income of
Laos is $ 200 a year, $ 4.00 a week. I don't think that people in this
country saying look, we are quite happy to leave them on $ 4.00 a
week as long as they don't get tangled up with the rest of us, that's
fine. Well, I don't think that is much of a policy, frankly. It is up to the
Laotian people to make their own minds up about their development,
and infrastructure of this kind, simply a bridge to ford the river, the
important Mekong River, is something of course that might have
existed a long time ago, biiit for the fact that these countries can't fund
these infrastructure needs. So, I think that, yes, the Governments will
need to be mindful of some of the development responsibilities here,
but again it should give us a chance to lift the wealth of this area, and
including particularly, Laos.
GW: They can't even agree at this stage on precisely where the border
should be.
PM: Well I don't think we should worry about those sorts of things. One of
the important things here is that Thailand is the second fastest growing
ASEAN economy after Indonesia. It has got 58 million people. We
-have always had very warm relations with Thailand, so because it is
not a problem many Australians think, therefore, it shouldn't be in a
sense, attended. That is, we shouldn't develop the relationship
further. Now, I think we should develop the relationship further, that is
part of the point of my visit. And the growth and wealth which has
been generated in Thailand can flow into other parts of Indo-China
including Laos. So, this will be a tangible help to lifting the income and
living standards of these people.
GW: Turning to the region in general, you have been building an extensive
network of contacts, APEC has been your primary vehicle, but how far
can this network go?
PM: This is the way to set Australia up in this decade and for the 21 st
cent Iury: to be part of the growth of the Asia-Pacific. And you can see
just how quickly it has changed already. It wasn't too many years ago
we lived in fear of Asia, or, if not fear, contempt of it. And then when
the tigers took off we developed a bit of an inferiority complex about
them, well, we are now shedding that. We are now engaged with the
area, we are now relevant to these economies and societies, and the
the way to do it is bilaterally. That is, between Australia and each
other country relationship developing, and multilaterally through
organisations such as APEC where we can increase the velocity of
trade and investment, make the -Asia-Pacific a greater area of wealth
generation for all of us. But we will always need to attend to these
bilateral relationships and that is why I have gone out of my way to
develop them in the area, be they with Indonesia, or Singapore, or
Thailand, or Laos or Cambodia, et cetera.
GW: In Thailand in recent days moves to reform the Constitution have been
blocked that sparked some fears of civil unrest. How much is that a
cause for concern?
PM: Well, I mean, often the politics of some countries in the area, the
mechanisms are not there to be exercised the way they are in this
country, I think this is one of our great strengths. That is, our basic
sense of democracy in this country is one of the things that actually
stamps us out, marks us out in the area. But I don't think that this is a
matter of, in a sense, concern to me in this visit. I mean these
constitutional issues, no doubt, are of great significance in Thailand
and matters will come and go. But it is the relationship, nation to
nation which matters. Even though we have seen over a period of time
some quite regular changes of Government.
GW: All right. With Vietnam how quickly do we want an economic and
political relationship such as we now have with Indonesia?
PM: Well, you have got to, I think, firstly understand that Vietnam's
economy is about, well, only a fraction of that of Indonesia's, it is
growing. We have got a very warm relationship with Vietnam which
we developed over time. I had a chance to host a visit by Prime
Minister Kiet when he came to Australia, and I am looking forward-to
hit invitation-to return.
GW: You said that Australia can never be an Asian nation, and that we go
to Asia as we are, as Australians. So, given that to what extent do we
have to play be their rules?
PM: Well, I think the main thing, one of our strengths is that we play by our
rules. We are a democracy, we have gone to Asia with our values
intact, we are playing a leading role in shaping the region, as you can
see in Cambodia and in APEC. We play our role in helpful
infrastructure development of the kind of thing like, for instance, the
Bridge which I will be opening during this visit. And I think that our
open society, our sense of democracy, means that we are well
regarded in the region and we don't need to be there apologetically,
you know, playing by, if you like, the cultures or cultural standards of
those countries. We don't need to accept the idea that we have to
become a low wage society, that the only way that we can compete in
Asia is to be a low wage country. I mean, it is one of the point of the
Governments industrial relations changes introduced a week or so
ago. It is one of the differentiating points with our opponents. We
want to be an educated society selling high value added products,
taking premium prices, being price setters and not price takers and the
way to do this is to develop ones education system, research and
development, product innovation, exports, keeping the
competitiveness, the low inflation rate, and the general cultural shift to
a more productive society, and taking that engagingly to Asia, and
being relevant in the area. I mean, I think that is the thing which can
set Australia up into the future.
GW: Well, just finally, you mentioned domestic politics. You are flying out
leaving a factional brawl going on in NSW. Does that need to be
settled now by the National Executive?
PM: I joined the Labor Party 35 odd years ago, this will be factional brawl
number probably 210,341. Like all the other it will be settled at some
point. It is over State pre-selections and fortunately I don't have to
worry too much about those.
4
GW: Even though it damages the Party?
PM: These are all passing things. I mean if you want to see a brawl look at
the one in the Liberal Party. It is a real one. It is about the national
leadership of their Party.
GW: Mr Keating thanks for joining us.
ENDS