PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW WITH STEVE LIEBMANN, A CURRENT
AFFAIR, 22 AUGUST 1990
E OE PROOF ONLY
LIEBMANN: Prime Minister thanks for joining us.
PM: It's a pleasure.
LIEBMANN: Last night Treasurer Keating told the people
of Australia that their faith in your Government is now
being repaid and yet we' re told that living standards are
going to fall and unemployment's going to rise and I'm
sure a lot of people are saying today hey that's some pay
back. PM: Real disposable income will, in per capita terms,
will stay at about the same level. What we've had to do
Steve and it's not an easy job, but we've had to impose
sufficient restraint so that we're not going to be as a
nation importing more imports that we can pay for, but at
the same time not be so tough as to plunge the economy
into recession. Employment will still grow during this
year, we'll bring down our current account deficit and
inflation will come down.
LIEBMANN: But a lot of Australians are going to say how
much tougher does it have to get. You walk through a
suburban shopping centre, every second shop's empty. You
talk to housewives, the supermarket bills are going up.
The stories of bankruptcies and business collapses are
continuing. How much tougher has it got to get?
PM: Well let's put that in perspective and I don't Steve
in any way want to minimise the hurt that some people
have suffered. But let's remember this, that we have had
up until a recent period the highest levels of investment
in our country's history. And that investment which has
flowed from our economic decisions which has involved
restraint in wages, a move to profits and into
investment, that has involved the fundamental process of
restructuring of our economy, adding to our capital stock
which is making us more competitive, which is now
producing a situation where the Treasurer's able to point
to the fact that in this next year, with the restraint in
domestic demand the whole of our growth is going to come
from net exports. We are becoming more competitive in a
situation where employment will still grow in 1991. So
these things have been done to create an Australia which
can continue into the future to be more competitive. Now
I simply ask the Australian people to say well look do
you know Hawkey, he's been around in public life now for
over thirty years. I've never once tried to do something
which is going to be against the interests of my country.
LIEBMANN: Prime Minister, there's probably two million
Australian pensioners today who would say we thought we
knew Hawkey until last night.
PM: No, no. Let me be quite clear about that. What we
did last night was something which in fact was absolutely
necessary and which will be in the best interest of
pensioners. Well let's go to the two things Steve. I
don't say things lightly. There are two things. There's
the pharmaceuticals.
Q LIEBMANN: They would say that's a broken promise.
PM: No, not at all.
LIEBMANN: Didn't Brian Howe say before the election no
charges? PM: What in fact is going to be the situation is that no
pensioner will be worse off. The most Steve, I ask you
to understand the most, in my judgement, perhaps the
single most important statistic in Paul Keating's budget
speech last night was this one, talking about the
pharmaceutical benefits scheme. It took nearly 40 years
for the cost of that scheme to reach half a billion.
That was from 1948 to 1985. In the next four years the
next half a billion. Now what had to be done, and this
is recognised by all independent commentators, and may I
say totally accepted by the Opposition, everyone
understands that that couldn't go on.
LIEBMANN: But why did Brian Howe just a couple of months
ago then, I mean if this was becoming apparent to you and
the Treasurer, why did he say there'll be no charges?
PM: If we'd just put charges on and done nothing else,
then that would have been a contravention of all that had
been said and all we stand for. But the $ 2.50 increase
in pension will not only compensate but for very very
many pensioners will mean they are better off. They can
only pay $ 130. Once they reach $ 130 they don't pay
another cent. And yet in the year they get that $ 130 by
way'of pension increase.
LIEBMANN: Do you acknowledge though that you may be
imposing unnecessary trauma, anxiety, confusion on them,
that coupled with
PM: I understand. I understand that for our elderly
citizens, change of any kind can always be worrying. I
mean I would be the last person in the world to want to
impose an unnecessary hardship upon a pensioner.
Uncertainty there will be, but I believe that through the
processes of our public servants in the Department of
Social Security, through welfare organisations, through
the media, that our pensioners will understand why these
decisions were right and necessary and how, in fact, in
regard to the other factor, the deeming, what decisions
they will need to take to take advantage of the decisions
LIEBMANN: But they're hard decisions for someone who's
plus. I mean one pensioner organisation today on that
budget provision about the $ 2000 plus and the
interest is saying that it's piracy.
PM: Well it is not piracy. The piracy that's been going
on is as far as the banks are concerned. I'm not saying
they are pirates but it's been just a straight out
subsidy by the elderly of the banks. The banks getting
their money from the elderly, three to four per cent and
then lending at 18%.
LIEBMANN: But how do they decide where their money is
safe? I mean we're talking about senior citizens now.
PM: Ok. What we've done there is significantly to
increase the financial counselling services within the
Department of Social Security so that our elderly
citizens who may be uncertain or confused can go there
and get competent professional advice as to what they
need to do.
LIEBMANN: Yes, but I've got to say to you, I mean, we
had a Victorian Treasurer who was telling people that
their money was safe and look what happened.
PM: That is no response to what I'm saying because there
is no financial commentator today you get any financial
commentator you want, get onto your program and say, with
competent advice, within the banking system, I mean
banking system, can you get 10% on your money safely and
securely and everyone will say yes you can.
LIEBMANN: Alright, finally on the Middle East crisis.
Are you any more confident today than you were when
Kuwait was invaded that this crisis can be settled by
diplomatic solution?
PM: If we were dealing with a rational man then my
answer would be an unequivocal yes. Because what's
happened since the invasion would lead any rational man
to the conclusion that the interests of his people could
only be served by a withdrawal from Kuwait.
LIEBMANN: But?
PM: But you've got to say that on the evidence of
history, where this man has engaged in an eight year long
war with Iran, where he's gassed his own people, the
evidence is that the man is not entirely rational. My
hope is that there will be sufficient people around this
man who will understand the truth of what I'm saying,
that they will be able, if he doesn't come to that
conclusion himself willingly, to be able to force him to
that conclusion.
LIEBMANN: But in the meantime our Australians sit there.
What do we say to them? Be strong, be firm, we're
confident we're doing all we can to get you out?
PM: That's right. We are doing everything we can to get
an end to this horrific situation.
LIEBMANN: Prime Minister, thanks for talking to us.
PM: It's been my pleasure Steve.
ends