I)
TRANSCRIPT OF DOORSTOP, RESIDENCE OF THE AMBASSADOR OF
THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, CANBERRA
3 OCTOBER 19190
E OE PRCOOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what does unification mean
to Germans : Living in Australia?
PM: I imagine it's a source of great pride for them. It
should be. As it is for the 78 million people in
Germany. It's important for them. Very important for
Europe. Important for the world.
JOURNALIST: Is it something we should fear?
PM: No, no. As I said in my speech, I was, I think, one
of the first to say when the changes occurred in East
Germany that the reunification of Germany was both
inevitable and proper. Of course there's nothing to fear
about it. The German leadership and the German people I
think are totally sincere in acknowledging the past and
responsibilities to the past and they have a total
commitment I believe to working for peace in their
immediate region and globally. Certainly that's the
direct tenor of the letter that I've received today from
my friend Helmut Kohl.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, do you expect Mr Keating to
be your Treasurer going to the next election?
PM: You krLow, one of the funny things about you mob here
is that you get down on a corner and you go beat, beat,
beat, beat, let's beat up something. And then you expect
me to add something to your beat. You go away in your
corner and beat, beat, beat.
JOURNALIST:: This afternoon
PM: what that adds to is I don't deign to give any
credit to your well I won't use the word I was going to
because it could be misinterpreted your self beat-ups.
I mean if you want to do that, you do it, but don't
expect me to take you seriously.
JOURNALIST: In about an hour's time Mr Murdoch is
expected to announce the closure of most of his Melbourne
and Sydney papers and replace them with just one 24 hour,
seven day aL week paper. Is that a good development for
the media in this country?
PM: Well for some of those who might be rationalised out
of a job I suppose they would have a particular view
about it that it wouldn't be good for them. But it seems
to me that it has the possibility of benefit for people.
JOURNALIST: In what way?
PM: Well I mean you'll have certain rationalisation of
resources. You'll probably have the capacity for more
editions of papers. So I don't tend to be an expert on
these things. I mean I'm sure many of you are. But it
will probably mean a loss of jobs for some people but as
far as the community generally is concerned they probably
will get a better service.
JOURNALIST: You don't think the contraction of the range
of opinions will be damaging?
PM: Well, you know, if I look at the sort of opinions
that come out of the Telegraph and the Mirror and out of
the Sun and the Herald and the two city papers down
there, I don't sort of perceive an enormous divergence of
opinion in the past.
JOURNALIST: What will be your response to the NFF's
request to ease monetary policy?
PM: Let's see them first, let's see them first.
ends