PRESS OFFICE TRANSCRIPT 1 UE17
INTERVIEW WITH LAURIE WILSON
/ saying QUESTION: Has it really been a worthwhile trip? People
probably expected you to come back with something positive,
some achievement, but are you able to say what that is and
have you in fact achieved anything of any importance?
PRIME MINISTER: I think something of great importance has
been achieved,-yes. Australia's view is known and Australia's
view is understood in areas where it counts, where it is
quite essential that our point of view be tdken into
consideration. Wle have the circumstance in which the United
States has guaranteed that it will walk away from the
Multilateral Trade Negotiations unless agriculture is part
of the final result. If agriculture is part of the final
result;. as we of course argue that it must be, then that will
be a major victory, because in all the major trade negotiations
since the war, agriculture has been pushed aside into the
" too hard" basket leaving it open to other countries to use
whatever restrictive and unreasonable practices they like..
inhibiting, preventing, trade in agricultural goods.
QUESTION: How do you respond to the picture that's being
increasingly painted of the trip of it being hastily
convened and ill-conceived to a large extent?
PRIME MINISTER: I just don't think that's correct in any
sense and I would have thought that all Australians would
want Australia's view to be put with strength in these
particular matters. You know, Britain entered the European
commnunity a considerable time ago and we finally got excluded
from European markets 1973, 1974, about that time, and my
Government is the first Australian government to argue with
. strength for Australia's right to export to Europe. Now
some people say well don't worry about that because there's
Asia. Alright, our ecports in the Asian area, the Western
Pacific area have been expanding very greatly and I've got
no doubt they'll continije to grow, but it happens to be in
Europe that we've been up against non-tariff barriers,
discriminatory trade practices of one kind or another which
have not only denied us the possibility of expanding trade,
it's greatly reduced trade that we had out on a traditional
basis and if anyone is going to say it's alright to ignore
the most affluent technologically advanced market of well
over 200 million people . then they are/ something of great
seriousness for many Australian industries because there are
a number of industries that need access to the affluent
markets of the world for their own prosperity in Australia
and my Government is just not prepared to say alright we
won't bother, we won't try. We are determined to press
Australia's view because it is important for Australia's
well being. / 2 -7 ) T
19 JUNE 1978
INTERVIEW WITH LAURIE WILSON. 19 JUNE 1978
2-
QUESTION: You've been painted as taking something of a bull
at a gate approach to the Europeans and yet it certainly
doesn't seem like you have achieved very much at all, if
anything. Do you think perhaps, if anything, you may have
forced them to dig their heels in even more?
PRIME MINISTER: I don't think so. A number of people
in Europe have said that, for heavens sake, don't give up,
you've got to keep pressing and they've made thp't perfectly
plain. We-knew two or three days before Mr. Garland had
his final meeting that the result was going to be quite
unsatisfactory as far as Australia was concerned. A number
of individual Community countries made it perfectly plain
that they expected a very sharp response and that we will
need to keep pressing. They also believe so long as we
did, ultimately we would gain some kind of access. Now the
support we have achieved from the United States in saying
that they will walk away from the Multilateral -Trade Negotiations
unless agriculture is included is obviously very important.
They weren't prepared to say that during the Kennedy round
and I think the prospects of some success are better than they've
been. Mr. Jenkins, Presiden~ t of the Commission, told me that
he knew quite well that whatever came out of MTN would mean
nothing to Australia unless there was the reality and prospect
of Australia being able to sell beef, for example, to the
European Community. Now, that's an advance. I haven't heard
Mr. ' Jenkins speaking in those terms before. The final
result at Geneva comes out, or is meant to come out, in a
relatively few weeks time. Many people are pressing for a
final result in July. So if that happens, we'll kniow and
if not, if it's an adverse result, well we will continue to
press our view. But, now let me make the point again, our
trade with Asia has been expanding enormously, it will continue
to expand. It's not in Asia that we're up against the non-tariff
barriers, the discriminatory trading practicesand if they are
allowed to be pursued without any restraint, it's going to be
very serious indeed for Australia. I don't think many Australians
in fact understand that there are moves to break down the
most-favoured nation principle in trade which means . that countries
would have the right to be utterly discriminatory in what they
do, and it's the most-favoured nation principle that's of
enormous importance to the middle ranking coun * tries such as
Australia, for the developing world countries * and as a result
of my visit many more people will be aware of the dangers of
what's happening and will be trying, I believe, to do something
about it.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, how did you feel about the coverage
ot your trip. The press has been nothing if not critical,
if not sceptical, of the validity of your overseas visit?
PRIME MINISTER: I think you put it right yourself in your
own question. I think that there was too much attention on
periphexa1 -matters, not enough attention on the major matters.
It' s important to have the circumstances in which as an
Australian Prime Minister can go overseas without being expected
on each occasion to bring back a basket full of goodies. / 3
INTERVIEW WITH LAURIE WILSON.
PRIME MINISTER: ( continued). That's not the way in which
international discussions, negotiations, are undertaken.
It's important for a Prime Minister to be able to put a
point of view and I believe in particular, over these last
two or three weeks, if I'd not been putting Australia's
view I would have been failing in a duty and obligation to
all the Australian people because our well-being as a
trading nationwith a very significant part of our total
income dependent upon trade our well-being as a nation
is going to depend whathappens as an outcome of these
negotiations in Geneva. The standard of life of every
Australi nwill be affected by that outcome. If people
want to say that in these circumstances Australia should
not press her view with all the strength and vigour at her
command, then that's not a view that I can embrace.
000---19 JUNE 1978