TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, MADANG RESORT HOTEL, J4ADANGSEPTEMBER
1990
E OE PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, is there likely to be any fall-Out
from the Daily Mirror's article
PM: some fall-out within the Daily Mirror. But I've
said all I want to say about it.
JOURNALIST: Is Mr Nainaliu likely to say anything about it?
PM: He was very grateful that I said what I did and I think
he hopes that that will have its effect. It ought to.
JOURNALIST: As it comes towards the end of your trip, how
would you describe it?
PM: It's been eminently successful. It's been frank,,
direct. The Prime Minister and his Ministers have put
themselves at my disposal and all the issues between us have
been discussed in the most amicable and direct and
constructive way. I believe that as a result of the visit
the relationship's on an even firmer foundation and we will
see ways in which the forms of assistance that we give can
be made even more relevant, I think, to the issues and
problems confronting the country.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, have the concerns of the
expatriot Australian businessmen here in any way altered
your perceptions of the problems of law and order in this
country? PM: No. They weren't overboard about the issue. They
rightly and understandably stressed the significance of it.
But they also indicated the confidence they have in the
country. I think they have the right sort of balance about
it.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you said in your speech, you
talked of possible restructuring of PNG defence forces. Do
you think that it's possible that PNG is better served with
a single security force, amalgamation of police and defence
forces? PM: The issue has theoretically been in the minds of some
people. And if you were looking at it theoretically you
could argue that case. But we don't live in a theoretical
world. The fact is that you have now developed two separate
forces, the military forces and the constabulary. I think
the important thing is to look at how the provisioning
aspects of training can be to some extent co-ordinated. I
think there are ways probably and I think our friends here
in New Guinea think that. There are ways in which there may
be able to be some greater degree of co-ordination. But I
think the reality is that the two separate entities would
remain. JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, your discussions on constitutional
change here, does that give you any more confidence that a
halt will come to the turnstile government up here?
PK: What is clear from the conversations I've had is that
both within the opposition and the Government there is a
conviction that there has to be reform followed through
which will bring an end to the possibility of constant
change so that there can be a greater period in which
governments can be sure that they will be immune from these
destabilising no-confidence motions.
JOURNALIST: Any details about helping PNG with the
reconstruction on Bougainville?
PM: No, they didn't want us to pursue that in any detail at
the moment. it was premature. All they wanted to know, and
I was prepared to say, that once they'd settled the issue
between themselves that they should know that we'd be
prepared to help. That's as far as it went.
JOURNALIST: And your assessment now of-the future of
Bougainville? PM: Well one can't be immediately confident. But I would
have thought that now that the people up there have seen the
preparedness of the central government to actually deliver
the goods and services, they were there ready to be
delivered, and the people on Buka, ordinary people seem to
want then delivered, but it was prevented by the
intervention of the BRA. I think that will have its own'
impact in its way.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, have you had a chance to talk
to the new Prime Minister of New Zealand and if so what have
you said to him?
PM: I haven't spoken to him in his capacity as Prime
Minister. Of course I've known him and I've spoken to-him
in the past. I have sent a message to Geoffrey Palmer and
there has been a message sent to Mike Moore. We wish them
all well.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, it's been said in the past that
you were more pessimistic about PNG's future than some other
members of your Cabinet. Are you, after having been here
for four days, been outside Port Moresby, more. optimistic: of
this country's future?
PM: I think the right way of putting it is that I've
probably got a detailed, a more detailed knowledge of Papua
New Guinea, its history, its creation as an independent
nation than probably anyone else in the cabinet. I don't
say that egotistically. It just happens to be the fact
through my long experience going back to the 60s here that
I'm. able to say that. So I was perhaps a bit more conscious
than some of my colleagues of the range of rather deep
problems that confront the country. I think what I can say
is that following this visit I've got a firmer degree'of
assurance in my mind a) of the fact that the leaders here
understand the nature of those problems and b) are committed
to addressing them. That gives me confidence.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, did Mr Namnaliu express to you any
concerns about the sort of media coverage, and in particular
the business at the Travelodge
PM: Yes he did. He was very very upset about it. And in
my opinion, understandably so.
JOURNALIST: Did it concern you though that raskols were
able to break into the hotel, a hotel where the Prime
minister was staying?
PM: Not as much as the absolute misrepresentation and
beatup in the papers concerned me. That was much more of
concern. JOURNALIST: In discussions about the Defence
Co-operation Treaty, were there suggestions that it should
be altered in any way?
PM: Not the structure of the Treaty and the framework
within which we co-operate. The area to which the talks
went were what is the best sort of PNGDF for the governments
of Papua New Guinea in the future to look together at the
issues of what possible changes there may be in training and
so on that will best equip them for that future task. So
that's what the talks were about, rather than changing the
framework within which we operate.
JOURNALIST: equipment too. Was there a suggestion that
maybe there's too much reliance on Australian equipment?
PM: That point wasn't specifically raised. But I think
there won't be any limits to the range of discussions we'll
have. The important thing that's been agreed is that we are
at one in saying that it's sensible to look at how the PNGDF
is equipped, trained and how it operates and are there ways
in which together we can make it better equipped for future
tasks-That has all been on the basis of not us saying
that's what's got to happen but a shared view of it. They
understand that Australia speaks from a position of having
now since independence put something like half a billion
dollars into the PNGDF. So we have a real interests
A 6
JOURNALIST: Is it possible that pol-ice training could
come under the Defence Co-operation program?
PM: We've discussed that and I'd just like to say these
things and I'm sure Rabbie would like to make his
comments. I think it's right to say that we agree that
as far as you can see into the future there will be two
separate PNGDF and there will be the police. But I
think we both agree that there will be a complementarity
of their roles in many respects and that it may be that
you can get a degree of integration in regard to
procurement issues perhaps and some elements of training.
So in our thinking about the PNGDF we'd be thinking about
that side as well.
JOURNALIST: on Bougainville, what is the
Government's stand now that the suspended provincial
government that's refused to recognise the administrator
that you appointed.
NAMALIU: The administrator is appointed under our
constitution under the law of provincial government.
As far as we are concerned, he is the administrator of
the province.
JOURNALIST: control of the situation again. Is that
true? NAMALIU: I think it is more likely to that description
is more apt for the BRA leadership than it is for the
position JOURNALIST: You are not dealing with the BRA.
NAMALIU: That's right.
JOURNALIST: Are you dealing with them?
NAMALIU: The BRA?
JOURNALIST: Yes.
NAMALIU: Well as you know, there are leaders who have
been involved in the negotiations which resulted in the
Accord that belong to the BRA. There are those that
belong to the self-styled government of the republic
of the North Solomons. There are those that come from
the community generally. So they are the leaders that we
were dealing with. They were Bougainville leaders and we
would like to regard them as that rather than belonging
to a specific group like the BRA.
JOURNALIST: Who are they
NAMALIU: You know who they are. You know Mr Kabui, you
know Bishop Singkai, you know Mr Peter sorry, not
Peter, but you know the other people involved. It
includes people who are very close to Mr Ona. But Mr