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PRIME MINISTER1
TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, REDCLIFFE CITY BOWLS CLUB, 16
MARCH 1989
E & O0E PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Inaudible
PH: Well they are at the lower end of the range of
expectations so to that extent I'm pleased. But there's no
room for complacency. The export figure's flat, the Import
figures are dawn and we certainly want to see the import
figures down. But this I think means that the Government needs
to continue the firm policies that it's pursuing now. That is
we need to get the level of activity down somewhat so that we
are not sucking in an unacceptably high level of imports. We
have a better opportunity now with the dollar down from the
higher figure. it's reached to help those of our manufacturers
and exporters who want to get in to the markets overseas and to
compete against imports. We are better poised now for those
purposes than we were some months back. So overall I'm Pleased
that it is at the lower end of expectations but not complacent.
JOUJRNALIST: Mr Hawke though is it a bit deceptively low
because February is such a short month?
PM: The figures are taken into account in the seasonally
adJusted sense and I think that what I've said is accurate.
JOURNALIST: What do you think it means for home loan interest
rates? PM: I've got no reason to change what I've said before. Now
firstly I don't go Predicting in the immediate sense arnd I
never have predicted in immediate terms what will happen to
interest rates because that's not helpful to anyone. I simply
repeat what I've said before and that is that I think that
we' ve got the policies in place which will mean that as time
goes on in this Year we can look at a lowering of the interest
rates structure but I'm not predicting anything for the
immediate future.
JOURNALIST: It probably won't be much incentive for the share
market do you think?
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PH: You are a Pessimist aren't You. Have You got anything
nice to say? The share market conducts its own business. I'm
not here to Prod it up or push It down. That's for the market,
they make their own Judgement.
JOURNALIST: inaudible
FM: Well consumer confidence I think to the extent that this
has any impact, it must be a bit of a plus because It has as
I repeat come In at the lower end of the range of
expectations. SO if it has any impact upon consumer confidence
it Must Presumably be a bit of a plus.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke what's Your response to Mr Crean's
condemnation of the Federal Government saying it lacks an
overall environment strategy?
PM:-I think that Simon has bean somewhat harsh in his
observations. I think if he had seen in detail what we saw
that is the report of the CSIRO and the Bureau of Rural
Resources reports then he would understand that there was no
alternative than the decision that we took because those
reports made it quite clear that it would've been an of any
governments' duty to allow the Mill to proceed on the watered
down terms that had been agreed to by the Tasmanian
Government. It was an act of Political irresponsibility by the
Gray Government that all that time they did not Insist upon an
effective environmental impact study and at then end they gave
in to commercial Pressures from the Joint venturers. our
Position is that we would like investment in this country.
We'd like a mill but I say Mr Gray, I say to the people of
Australia, while we want growth and Investment we don't went it
at any price. We have a responsibility to this and future
generations of Australians to protect the environment as well
as encouraging growth and this Government's got a good record
in terms of growth. We've created Jobs in this country four
times faster than our conservative predecessors. We're creating
Jobs in this country more than twice as fast as the rest of the
industrialised world. So we've got nothing to apologise to
anyone in terms of growth. But an I say I'm not a
growth-at-say-price man, I've got a responsibility and my
colleagues have got a responsibility to this generation of
Australians and future generations and I'm not going to be
remiss in discharging that responsibility.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister do You share Senator Richardson's
assessment that Mr Crean has done his Political future some
damage by his outbursut Yesterday?
P X: No I em not aoin@ to that point. I think that's drawing a
somewhat long bow.
JOURNALIST: Do you think it was unwise of him to make those
comments?
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PH: I'm not making any comments about that.
JOURNALIST: Is the conservation policy then on track?
PM: Let me say this, that I would believe that If You look at
our record in the area of conservation we have a prouder record
than any government before us. I don't need to go over it all,
but You look at the Great Barrier Reef, the forests in
Queensland and Tasmania. Kakadu, all the areas of achievement,
they stand out and warrant the judgements that's been made by
the international community that no government has been more
responsibly comited to the preservation of the environment
than has my Government. Obviously when you make decisions in
this.-area you have to walk fine line.. This country needs
i. nve~ tment. it needs a situationi where our naatural Products can
be processed with more value added and we want to see that
happen. But I repeat we're not going to do that at any price
because of the responsibilities to which I refer. I think our
process is on track. We're establishing the Resources
Assessment Commission so that in future those who want to have
developmental Projects will have an Authority established under
Comonwealth law which will enable those who want to argue their
case and those who feel that there are concerns to be able
to develop their Points before a well known estalbished
tribunal so that there will be this process through which
they can go and which will be well known. So if you take
all those things into account I think we can say yes it is
on track.
JOURNALIST: Is there any need for an overall environment
strategy though?
PM: You can't have an overall environment strategy which
says for every conceivable type of Project here is the
strategy. I mean that doesn't make sense. What you've
got to have Is a mechanism which Iove referred to, we've
established now the Resources Assessment Tribunal to which
I've referred and that will give a degree of certainty of
process for everybody.
ends