TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, AUCKLAND GOLF CLUB, 3 FEBRUARY
1990
E 0 E PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: H-ow was the golf game this morning, how did
it go?
PALMER: It was a very nice day, lovely weather, honour was
totally satisfied trans-Tasman. The Prime Minister of
Australia and the Prime Minister of New Zealand are all square
after 18.
HAWKE: So the series remains two/ one.
PALMER: Yes. It will have to be resumed at a later date.
H-AWKE: I had to par my last two to catch him though.
JOURNALIST: You started off well though.
HAWKE: Yes, started off well I was three up on him going
into the start of the second, then he had a real recovery,
got two up on me and I had to win the last two.
JOURNALIST: How did you find the course this morning, Mr
Hawke? H-AWKE: Very pretty course. Yes, very pretty course. The
temporary greens, the two temporary greens but is
is a very, very attractive course. I enjoyed the game very
much indeed.
JOURNALIST: Can you say what you each went round in?
HAWKE: Very respectable.
PALMER: Yes, very respectable.
HAWKE: When you are playing match play you don't have to
count every one.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, were you aware that Australian
pilots apparently followed you across the Tasman?
HAWKE: What a joke.
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JOURNALIST: Did you see their greeting this morning?
HAWKE: I mean, they are a joke. I mean, who takes them
seriously?
JOURNALIST: The events in South Africa cause for
encouragement? H-AWKE: Yes indeed. Geoffrey and I have had the opportunity
of having a talk about it and let me say unequivocally that
I welcome the measures that have been announced by President
de Kierk and I believe they substantially meet the conditions
of the Harare Declaration which means now that the stage
can be set for negotiations between the Government of South
Africa and the representatives of the non-white population.
And I trust that this will mean now that serious negotiations
will commence with a view to the abolition of apartheid and
the creation of a democratic multi-racial society in South
Africa. That means that the Commonwealth will have to look
now very closely at what follows in South Africa. There
is no doubt that the actions of the Commonwealth, supplemented
as they have been by other nations in imposing pressure,
and a considerable pressure upon South Africa, has been
responsible for this move. There is no doubt about that
at all.
JOURNALIST: Is now the time to ease that pressure?
HAWKE: Now is the time, I believe, to signal our preparedness
to ease if the next steps are taken. It would be churlish
in the extreme if we weren't to acknowledge the significance
of what's been done. I certainly acknowledge that
significance and I believe the leaders of the Commonwealth
will now be ready to start considering the easing of pressure
if the next steps are taken and the indications are, I
believe, that they will be.
JOURNALIST: Sonny Ramphal was urging caution and not getting
too over-optimistic about it. Is that a view you share?
H-AWKE: I think, I think cautious optimism is the way I'd
put it. I mean, one's got to recognise that the pillars
of apartheid haven't been touched and that the state of
emergency hasn't been removed. So we welcome what has been
done. It is significant, but there is much still to be done.
I acknowledge that President de Klerk probably has to consider
his own flanks to some extent and there is, I believe now,
a stage set for negotiations. Up until now that hasn't been
possible and that's an important development.
JOURNALIST: When you talk about easing of pressures, do
you mean sporting links as well as air links?
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HAWKE: I mean that the time will come now soon when the
Commonwealth should be in a position to look at all its
measures, but not to say simply because of what has happened
that those measures can be lifted. But certainly we should
be honest enough to say that significant change has taken
place and that has been acknowledged by, for instance, Alan
Boesak and Archbishop Tutu and other spokespersons. So the
logical, intelligent thing is to acknowledge that as a
Commonwealth, say now we are in a position to be prepared
to look at the easing and to signal to South Africa that
we are prepared to now look at that if they are moving
further. They've set the stage and if the negotiations now
take place on that stage that has been set, then it would
be appropriate to start easing pressure.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, Laurie Oakes ran with a story last
night on Nine news that the election would be on April 7.
Can you confirm that?
HAWKE: I must thank Laurie for that. He hasn't been in
touch with me to tell me. Thanks, thanks very much, Laurie.
JOURNALIST: Is that the truth?
HAWKE: Do you think that's the way I'd announce it?
JOURNALIST: How are you feeling, a campaign looming? Ready
for it?
PM: Yes, I feel very fit and healthy and well.
JOURNALIST: Do you think Andrew might have gone, run his
race too early? You know, he was out on the hustings earlier
and had a few gaffes?
HAWKE: Well, you'd hardly say that the last two or three
weeks have covered the Liberal Party with glory, so it doesn't
seem to have been terribly effective, but you know, that's
their business.
JOURNALIST: What lessons could the Melbourne organisers
of the hope for Olympic Games there learn from the way the
New Zealanders have organised this Commonwealth Games?
HAWKE: I don't know the specifics, Denis, that they would
want to pick up. I'm sure they'll talk with them, but one
of the things that's impressed me, as no doubt you, is the
if I can put it this way the lack of fussiness. I mean,
they just seem to have gone about it in a very straightforward
sort of way. I think it was probably typified by the opening
ceremony. It didn't have the massive expenditure, for
instance, that was obviously involved, for example, in
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Los Angeles and Seoul. But there was a character about it
which I think impressed everybody ari& those are the sorts
of things that I think we can learn from New Zealand.
JOURNALIST: What's your thoughts on Australia's performance?
HAWKE: Tremendous. I'm very proud of them and I had the
opportunity yesterday, as you know, of meeting with them,
a lot of them in the Village and I just want to say this
to my fellow Australians there was a lot of talk there
before the Games started about behaviour. Let me say to
you, as Prime Minister of this country, if you'd had the
opportunity, as I had, of being with them there, seeing these
kids particularly the young ones they are tremendous.
They are magnificent ambassadors for Australia on and off
the field. They've done our country proud and I want to
say, Geoffrey, how much I've appreciated the reception that
the New Zealanders have given the Australians. It's been
great and I think in a number of contests the Aussies and
New Zealanders seem to have, sort of, cosied up together
against some of our competitors.
JOURNALIST: ( inaudible)
HAWKE: Beg your pardon?
JOURNALIST: On the topic of behaviour, Senator Amanda
Vanstone had a bit of a go at you concerning your description
of Andrew Lloyd yesterday as a no bullshit fellow
unparliamentary language
HAWKE: I wasn't in parliament.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, you must be pleased that the tramways
dispute seems to have been sorted out in Victoria?
HAWKE: Yes, you're right. It hasn't been good for the people
of Melbourne, hasn't been good for the Government of Victoria
and, I suppose, in a sense, you know, it hasn't been good
for us. So I'm certainly glad it's over, yes.
JOURNALIST: What do you see as Thomastown by-election
for your Government. Is there any implications at all for
the Federal Government?
HAWKE: No, no There'll be some swing, but there's no
significance for us.
JOURNALIST: What about for Andrew, if he doesn't make, it
you don't see any significance for him?
HAWKE: No, I think he's got his own problems actually in
the Federal sphere. I don't think the by-election there
is important for him or for me.
JOURNALIST: It's been described as his Flinders.
HAWKE: I think that's a bit tough, I think that's a bit
tough. I mean, I think the things that are concerning the
Federal Party and their worries about the Federal Liberal
leadership are self contained, as it were. They are federal
in the implications. I don't think what happens in Thomastown
will really add to or subtract from their worries.
JOURNALIST: Mr Palmer, your views about South Africa, the
developments there?
PALMER: Well, it's clear that this is a positive development,
but it's not the end of apartheid. It's only the beginning
of the end of apartheid. The pressure's got to be kept up
to ensure that apartheid is dismantled. But you've got to
welcome this development, it's a very positive development.
JOURNALIST: Mr Palmer, what did you think of the plane flying
over? Were you embarrassed about that?
PALMER: I thought it was an exercise in bad taste.
HAWKE: And futility.
ends