PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT 01 NEWS CCIFIRINCZ# WARREN SNCOM'sS OFPICI,
DARVIN, 1 APRIL 1989
9 0 E PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister do you have any comment to make
on the latest Friedrich story, that he was involved with ASIS
and that he is in fact a German citizen?
PM: I don't know about the German citizen part, but I have
nothing to add to the comments that I made before and that is
that on the advice available to mep there is no substance in
the allegations about intelligence connections. That's what
I've been informed.
JOURNALIST: What information do you know about him, Prime
Minister from intelligence-
PM: You know very well that I don't talk about
communications I have with intelligence other than to make
the statement that I have made.
JOURNALIST: There's one report this morning that he was
involved in a fraud case in West Germany Sir, do we know
anything about that, any previous history
PK: I don't know anything about that, but as I've said
before what I did was to ask for a report in respect of any
indications in areas of Commonwealth responsibility and
information I have in this report, there is nothing in that
area, but if there is any other matter which involves State
jurisdiction, that's a matter for the States.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, Mr Howard seems to have had something
of a victory in Victoria by getting a joint Senate ticket
PM: Well I wouldn't count those particular rule of chickens
yet, there's a lot of hatching to be done yet. Senator
Mo~ auran doesn't seem to regard it as a victory. I think
there's a lot of dirty water that's gone under those bridges
2.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, have you read the latest article in
the Bulletin about the increase in racism around Australia?
in light of your commzents last night
PM: I thought you were going to refer to another
article in the Bulletin. T haven't read the article but I've
skimmed it. I intend to read it on the plane going back.
Well, I think we have to be honest and say that there is
racism in Australia. I've never disguised that, but my own
view is that one of the outcomes of 1998 is that we are
becoming more understanding and more tolerant society, but. it
would be dishonest with ourselves to disguise the fact that
the re are elements of racism in this country, there are some
dark and sinister forces and organisationas who are seeking to
trade on prejudices. The basic point that Australia has
to understand, as I've been saying before and as you heard me
say last night, is that if people want to be nothing short of
treacherous to the welfare of their children and future
generations, then the best thing they can do to hurt their
own children's future interests, is to preach this sort of
gospel of hatred because it will condemn Auatralia in the
eyes of the region and in the eyes of the world. You can't.
as I said hers in Darwin last night, in a city which
pre-eminently proves the virtues of. multiculturalism, the
absence of discrimination, you can't have a double standard
in respect of the people of this region. You can't say ' we
love to trade with you, we love your commerce, we love your
oconomics, but you're second class citizens'. That's not on.
JOURNALIST: You were fairly strong on that last night Prime
Minister? PM! Not just last night, I've been strong on it all my liie.
JOURNALIST: Do you expect it become an election issue, that
the immiqration
PM: I would hope not. I sincerely hope, as I've said in the
0 Parliament and outside, by the time we come to the next
election which is still a long way awnyp that there will be a
resumption of what has been for the last virtually
generation in this country, bipartisanship on this issue. I
sincerely hope that that will be the case.
JOURNALIST: How would you If it's not, Sir?
PM: Oh well, that's hypothetical.
JOURNALIST: Hazve tou been told by leaders of trading
nations, that tha a their attitude to us, that
PM: Well, of course it's been said, yes, but you don't need
to be an intellectual genius or very deeply immersed in the
political process to understand the reality of it.
ends