PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER, THE MON P. J. KEATING MP
DOORSTOP, CAIRNS PORT AUTHORITY, 16 JULY 1995
E& OE PROOF COPY
J: How concerning is it to the Federal Government to have such a swing
against Labor?
PMV: It concerns me when there is a swing against Labor anywhere and, I think.
what is concerning in Queensland, this Queensland government of Wayne
Goss is a good government and it is rather disconcerting to see a good
government in any way suffering these sorts of problems from a protest
vote. It is quite obvious that the Opposition here without policies and
without a program urging only a protest vote, there could have been no
positive vote for them. In which case, there has got to be some appraisal
of again the point, that political parties must stand for something and when
they don't there can be no guarantee for the community that they are going
to get some value from it from such a protest or from such a change.*
J: You have made your own assessment here, whet does this mean
federally?
PMV: By and large state elections over the last 20 or 30 years have not had a
federal character about them and vice versa, I think this is true. The
Coalition lost in NSW, I don't think we were able to say that this is a major
turn around in federal fortunes anymore than I'd say a loss of seats in
Queensland would be a rebuke for the Federal Labor Party and, I think,
John Howard said the same thing a week or two ago heme in Queensland.
But, you don't like to see your party in this case the Labor Party, my Party
suffering admonition at the hands of the electorate and particularly with a
good, competent government as Wayne Goss' government is.
J: Mr Goss says that on these figures the federal government would lose in
Queensland and federally.
PM: Well, we have had so many examples, take the 1975 federal election loss
of Labor. Neville Wran won in NSW a couple of months later and vice
versa. I don't think you can read any sorts of, these sorts of federal
implications into the result, but that is not to say that as a Labor person, as
a Labor leader I am not concerned about it.
J: Do you think a federal election is likely to be later rather than sooner?
PM: I keep getting asked by journalists about election dates. John Hewson
started talking about an early election 18 months ago. We still haven't had
an election. I still keep saying I believe the public should get value from
these parliaments and that it is too hard to win elections to be giving any
free time away.
J: So, is that a postponement?
PM: No, it is just the Prime Minister of this country exercising the sensible
prerogatives that are vested with the Prime Minister to make the election
timing a matter of the Prime Minister's choice.
J: Have you spoken to Mr Goss?
PM: I did. I rang Wayne this morning at about eleven o'clock and I had quite a
long talk to him. This result is in the box now, it will be revealed, of course,
when the final counting comes due. It is my very fervent wish that the
Goes government is retained in office and that people may see; yes, you
can register a protest vote, but it doesn't necessarily get you any value.
J: Could this, in fact, be good for federal Labor because the people in
Queensland would have got their protest vote off their chests?
PM: Again, you have to then think it is a vote for one party or another. I don't
really think it is. People do vote on state issues and they do vote on
federal issues, so I dont ever believe that a loss for the Labor Party
anywhere can be good for us.
J: Are you relieved that you weren't directly involved in this campaign?
PM: This is the fashion of a media which is oversupplied by cameras and
journalists and under supplied by issues. People are always asking all
these questions. It is like the old days. Did Bob Menzies campaign for
Henry Bolte? No. Did he campaign for Robin Askin? No. Did Bolte and
Askin campaign for Menzies? No. Did Malcolm Fraser campaign for Dick
Hamer? No. This is all a bit of mythology basically.
J: If Goss loses here, would you welcome him into federal politics?
PM: I think he will win and I hope it will be a reasonably clear result in the end.
Let's talk about that scenario.
J: What do you think of the performance though of the Queensland
government?
PM: I look at the performance of the Queensland government, I mean, this has
been a State which has been growing in the order of somewhere between
four and six per cent over the last couple of years. This is a State which
has got very strong employment growth one of the strongest in Australia.
This State has been along with Western Australia, out performing the other
States. There has been, I think, a substantial change in Queensland.
Queensland is a much more national and internationally oriented State
now than it has ever been in my view, thanks to the Goss government and
it was for these reasons, I think, the government should be returned.
J: So, what does it say about their campaign?
PM Well, what does it say about the Coalition's campaign? It is that sort of
register a vote of protest against the Government. Don't register it for any
reason, don't register it because we the Opposition are better, but just
register ft. I think it is going to make people think about whether protest
votes have got any value to them. There is no prize for hurting a good
government.
J: Is there a risk for you that the some will happen at a federal election?
PM: Well, there is always a risk, but again, let people understand this about
John Howard. He is following the same policy, he is running around
without a policy. He is saying ' I'll have no policies, just concentrate on
them'. But, in the end, someone has got to run the country so as I say,
there can be no honesty or credibility in politics without policies. So, I
think, what the media has got to do with John Howard is line him up. Say
' OK John, you want to be Prime Minister, what do you stand for?' Not
some vague generalisation. He has got another one of these so called
headland speeches coming up during the week it will be the same as the
lost one full of vague generuilsations. And, if he wants to be Prime
Minister, he has got to say where he stands in policy. When I produce a
Policy document It has got the changes there, all the details. They are
there whether ft is the Accord of a couple of weeks ago or whether ft is the
outline of the Republic or whether it is the Budget or superannuation for
the whole workface. it is there in quality, In detail. And I think free riders
on the system and whether you are talking about Borbidge or Howard,
essentially they are free riders on the system. They are to be held
accountable for the things they really stand for, but want to keep hidden
until an election.
., 4
J: Do you think Howard will fashion his campaign on the Queensland
Coalition?
PM: I think the policy has been the same. They represent nothing. They stand
for nothing and yet they seek to denigrate governments that do things. I
think, the public ought to be very careful about this and say well, hang on,
before we leave value behind, before we leave behind governments that
have got quality and substance and value, we have got to know what we
are going to get in return and not just, basically, the fluff that comes from
an advertising agency.
J: You said after the ACT elections that you have taken a message from the
electorate. Do you take a message from this electorate?
PM: That was a federal by-election. This is a state election. The only message
I take from this is that Labor has not done here as well as we would have
liked and I am interested for the Labor Party and, of course, for the federal
government that we try to understand the Queensland outcome and see if
there is a discernible view from the electorate.
ends