PM Transcripts

4, AUSTRAL1A
PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE AT ST GREGORY'S SCHOOL,
CANPBELLTOWN, 23 MARCH 1986
E 0 E PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: You are aware that there is a high-powered meeting
underway today in relation to the housing industry?
PM4: I believe that there is a meeting in Canberra, yes.
JOURNALIST: How do you feel about their approach?
PM: We don't know about their approach yet because they haven't
told us. We can't prejudge their meeting. All I can say is that
in Cabinet tomorrow we will be considering the housing industry
and we will consider whatever the industry has got to say to us.
We are conscious of the need to ensure that the housing industry
is maintained in a viable condition. And we know that the high
interest rate policy that we had to have last year and early this
year to protect our external accounts would have, in the
beginning, some adverse impact upon housing, but we are not going
to let it run away.
JOURNALIST: They have indicated that deregulation is something
they will be pushing very strongly for. How do you feel about
that? PM: We have made it quite clear what we think about that.
JOURNALIST: You are not interested in listening to them again?
PM: We will read and listen to whatever people have to say to
us. We have made clear in three years in government that we are
very much concerned in listening to what representat'ives of the
community have to say. But there are other views than those of
the housing industry on this issue as you know.
ends