IliQ/
TRANSCRIPT OF DEPARTURE STATEMETS BY PRIM MINISTERS HAWKE
AND THATCHER, 10 DOWNING STREET, WNDONO 21 JUNE 1989
9 0 E PROOF ONLY
HAWKE: Mrs Thatcher has invited me to make the initial
comments. The first thing I say is to express to Mrs
Thatcher the appreciation of the Australian Government for
the catalytic role which she's taken to put a new vigour
into the Australian/ United Kingdom relationship. I think it
commenced with a visit to Australia last year and upon her
return she has ensured that the preparations for our visit
have left nothing at all to be desired. We are now
participating in an historic meeting by which I mean that
never before has there been a delegation at a level of Prime
Minister and so many Ministers, reciprocated on you side.
That of course will be followed up tomorrow by the meeting
of more than 300 high level businessmen from my country and
from the United Kingdom. so we are engaged at this time in
as I say an historic enterprise to increase the level of
economic and trading relationship between our two countries
but it would be a misapprehension if it were to be taken
that it is merely bilateral matters with which we are
concerend. As important as they are, the United Kingdom and
Australia share common perceptions on matters of
international and regional importance. I think it's, fair to
say Margaret, that tragically at this time an issue which
has taken up a fair bit of the discussion between yourself
and myself and between our Ministers is what has been
happening in China. We are at one in expressing a sense of
almost immeasurable tragedy as to what has happened there
and what has been further compounded by the most recent
evidence now of the execution of the Chinese who were
involved in the train incident in Shanghai. We both deplore
the decision of the Chinese authorities in taking that sort
of action which is out of all sort of relevance to what
those people were involved in. * So we have talked about the
issue of China. We've talked about regional issues. We've
talked together about the challenges that confront us in a
world now where Europe is moving closer tog ether after 1992,
where in our part of the world the region is developing at
an enormously rapid rate offering for us and British
( HAWKE cont): companies who come to operate out of
Australia, enormous opportunities. We are also living in a
time where the changes within the Soviet Union led by
President Gorbachev are also presenting their own
opportunities and challenges and I think that Mrs Thatcher
and I share a fundamental perception about those
developments. That is that we welcome them. We believe
that is it appropriate that the West should, with caution,
assist in those changes that are happening but, as I say,
that that should be done with an appropriate sense of
caution. so you can see that I think we have covered a wide
range of subjects and our discussions will continue now over
what I think will be a useful working lunch Margaret. But I
conclude as I began by expressing my appreciation to you and
your Government for the thought and the preparation that has
gone into this meeting, which I believe can properly be
described as historic.
THATCHER: Just a few words because Mr Hawke has said almost
everything that there is to say about this. We give him a
very warm welcome to the United Kingdom. The invitation was
extended when I was over there for the bicentennial last
year, when I think we all realised that we were entering on
a new era of contacts. We must have more consultation about
global matters and much more consultation between Ministers
so that we may work for better on things like defence
matters, on things like trading matters, on things which
affect the whole world. Australia's position is very
prominent and the very thing about talking to her and her
Ministers is that our approach is the same. It starts on
human rights, the desire to extend those the world over and
as we now have great problems to face in the Pacific and
things happening which we never thought to see, it is very
good that we and Australia should have the time to talk
about those and other matters that Australia's very keen on,
such as the environment. I may say it is very easy to talk
with Australia, with all her Ministers, because of this
similarity of approach which is not just a one off-zeeting,
it is the beginning of a course of meetings which we'll
pursue regularly. There is a special one tomorrow between
trading ministers. While we have a conference at the Queen
Elizabeth Conference Centre to enhance the trading contacts
and to enhance investment both ways. We have long been high
investors in the United States. The United States is also a
very high investor in Britain, which we velcome. There has
been a very, very successful start and I'm sure that that
atmosophere will continue through the rest of the visit.
Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Prime minister can I ask you what your reaction
is to the first reported executions of people involved in
the unrest in China?
THATCHER: Utterley appalled. Just exactly as Bob Hawke
pointed out, the punishment is totally out of proportion to
the crime and we are calling on them not to persecute those
who are merely trying to have better arrangements for
democracy. it just shows you that the depth of what has
happened in China is something which we hoped would never
happen and which we still can't quite believe has to the
extent that they are repressing anyone who merely wants to
enlarge human relations.
JOURNALIST: Did you make any progress on reassurances you
might offer the Hong Kong people?
THATCHER: we obviously talked about the Hong Kong people
because we both feel the same way and understand how they
must be feeling. We cannot go any further than that at the
moment. We also have a very avid difficulty in Hong Kong
which we are working together on the Vietnamese boat people
and Australia has been really very, very help about that.
Australia has also had a considerable number of people from
Hong Kong, particularly those involved in industry and
taking up residence in Australia, which has been of great
comfort to the Hong Xong people and I think also of big
benefit to Australia.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke what about Hong Kong. What do you
think should be done about desires to have the right to come
out of the country if things get worse?
HAWXE: Obviously as far as this is directly a matter for
decision by the United Kingdom as to the request by those
people to exercise what they may perceive as their right to
come here, that is a matter for decision and judgement by
M'rs Thatcher and her Government. All that we are concerned
to say is these things. First, that we express our
understanding of the pressures, the problems that confront
the United Kingdom in a situation where they had properly
thought that through detailed, unremitting negortiation with
the Chinese authorities that a position of being reached in
which you could have confidence for the future of the people
of Hong Kong. Well that basis of confidence has gone after
the 4th of June and what has transpired since then. Now
live said to Margaret that we will do what ever we can in
the approach together that we will adopt towards China to
try and create the basic improvement that is necessary.
That is to try and create a situation whereby the time we
get up towards ' 97 there can be a much sounder ground for
saying to the people of Hong Kong, have confidence in the
future. That's what constructively must be the basic
approach. But in the meantime we have indicated for
instance in this financial year which is just concluding,
we've doubled our intake of people from Hfong Kong. We will
look sympathetically at any approach on this matter in terms
4.
HAWKE ( cont): of that other aspect of the question that
Margaret has referred to, that is the Vietnamese refugees.
our assessment is identical. There shouldn't be any doubt
about this because there are amongst our friends a
reluctance to understand the realities. The realities are
these, that the people that are flooding into Hong Kong now
from Vietnam are not political refugees, they are economic
refugees. And as that is the case, then a different
approach is required and we are at one on that and I believe
that as a result of the approach that we are adopting in
consultation with others, and including what's happened in
Geneva recently, we can have a more appropriate response to
what is an unacceptable influx of these people into Hong
Kong. JOURNALIST: I just wanted to ask Prime Minister, whether
you've both thought about how you ought to be reacting to
China now, given that the United States are taking some
measures? THATCHER: we have in fact spent I think about an hour
talking about that subject alone because it is so important
and of course we also keep very closely in touch with the
United States.
HAWKE: May I just add to that. It's not as though it is
just the United states that's taken decisions. The
Government of Mrs Thatcher has already taken decisions in
the area of supply of arms and so on, they've taken
decisions, so have we. It's not a question of the United
States being in front. If anything they are catching up
with us.
JOURNALIST: on the environment. Did you discuss
Antarctica and what is your attitude now in light of the
agreement between the French Government and the Australian
Government to oppose mining there?
THATCHER: We both have the same objective in Antarctica.
it is a very important environmental area. There of
different. France did of course build a very considerable
air strip there compared to recently which is not
necessarily the best thing to do.
JOURNALIST: Can I take this opportunity about why you did
so badly in the European elections?
THATCHER: Because insuffienct. of our supporters came
out. The time when we did best in the European elections
was in 1979 when a far bigger proportion of those supporters
cane out. just exactly what I said to you the day before it
happened, it's an organisational election, it depends on
which side can get most of their supporters out. That's an
absol. utely correct judgement.
JOURNALIST: Did you get it wrong..
THATCHER: The message we had was the bigger proportion of
our people were intending to come out but it did not turn
out to be the truth on a very hot, nice warm day.
JOURNALIST: Did you yourself get it wrong over Europe, do
you think?
THATCHER: No, no. Not at all.
HAWKE: You ought to try the Australian system Margaret. We
make them vote, it's compulsory.
ends TOTAL PAGE. 0096' TW*