PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCEj PARLIAMIENT HU~
BRISBANE, 30 OCTOBER 1990
R3A019 PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: What sort of a day did you have?
PM: It was an excellent day. You'll appreciate that
it's not appropriate for me to go into details about
what's been done because while we've covered the agenda
there is some fine tuning to be done on the communique
and that will be considered by my colleagues tomorrow
morning. we anticipate we'll be in a position to have a
joint press conference, myself with all the other
Government leaders, I would think not long after
10.00 o'clock tomorrow morning and we will then of
course, go to all the detail of the issues on which we've
agreed. But may I say this that the meeting has exceeded
my expectations and you know by nature I'm pretty much an
Optimist. Those expectations have all been exceeded and
I certainly want to pay tribute as I'll do in more
detail tomorrow to my colleagues from the States and
the representatives of Local Government. The meeting was
characterised by a totally constructive spirit and in the
result we have been able to make a range of decisions
which without any question will significantly improve the
governance of Australia and I believe will lead to
significant improvements in terms of economic
performance, of competitiveness, and very importantly, in
the delivery of services to the Australian people.
JOUR~ NALIST; Why can't you tell us what they are, Mr
Hawke? PM: Because there's a finalisation of the communique
that has to be undertaken and there will be another
session tomorrow morning. It's conceivable, Laurie, that
overnight in regard to some of the issues there'll be
some desire to re-word some of the positions that we've
got and I don't want, by saying something tonight about
details, to pre-empt in an~ vay the capacity of the
leaders to address some points of detail tomorrow. But
and I mean I'm not trying to I can say to you that
if you go to the agenda areas, first of all in the area
of Commonwealth/ State financial relations that there has
been agreed a process to the satisfaction of both the
commonwealth and the States whereby those issues of
concern to the States and ourselves are going to be
reviewed with the aim of redressing the concerns that
exist. In the area of micro-economic reform, significant
decisions have been made in the area of rail and road
which details we'll give to you tomorrow. And
JOURNALIST: But all we're getting is rhetoric the same
as we got thi~ s morning.
PH: That's if you want to be cynical about it.
JOURNALIST: I'm not being cynical
PM: Well you are being cynical because you will not
listen to you don't want to accept the indisputable
point I'm making to you that there'* s another session of
the Conference tomorrow morning and we have reached
positions which are to be finalised in the statement of
outcome tomoi'row morning..
JOURNALIST: Is there anything outstanding in the fiscal
0 investigation area though, Hr Hawke, or is that finished?
PH: No, we've got no further discussions on that and I
JOURNALIST: So could we get the details of that?
PM: No, I'm saying that the finalised communique is
being prepared tonight arnd I can't, you know, take the
view that when that's being considered tomorrow there may
not be some finer paints of detail that my colleagues may
not wish to clo to. But what I can say to you and
because I don,' t want to pre-empt any rights they may want
to exercise tomorrow morning that I believe their
concerns and ours in regard to the area of taxing powers.
and examination of that issue has been satisfactorily
arrived at arid also the processes for looking at tied
grants that that's been satisfactorily arrived at. As
I've gone to already in the area of micro-economic
reform, in the area of road and rail, significant
decisions have been made there, including I'll give you
this detail, there will be signed tomorrow agreement on
the establishment of a National Rail Freight Corporation.
Also agreemnent in the area of work on looking at the
question of complimentary arrangements in the area of
electricity generation. In the area of moving towards
national standards and national uniformity in the area of
road usage and charges for road usage. So those areas
which you know are on the agenda have been the subject
now of agreement by the Commonwealth and the states.
JOURNALIST: Largely in the form that they were in the
agenda? PH: To a very substantial extent but this is why I must
reserve the right to go to the final details of these
matters tomorrow because
JOURNALIST: how much do you
PM: Just let me finish.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister
PM: Look, I'm just saying to one other interjector could
I finish the answer to the previous question and that is
JOURNALIST: We can't hear you very well, Mr Hawke.
PM; Well I'm sorry about that. Where there has been
some departure or addition to what's been in the working
papers that you've seen, that is now being refined. Some
of the language is being refined overnight and it may be
that in their consideration they may want to change some
of the areas that I think we have reached agreement on.
I'm simply being very cautious in this because I don't
want to be in a position where it can be said by my
colleagues who are going to meet again tomorrow morning
in session at 9.00 o'clock that they have in any way been
pre-empted. They will obviously have no objection to the
indications that I've given in this Conference so far to
the areas of agreement and the nature of agreement.
JOURNALIST: Do you accept the basic principle sought by
all the States and that is that they should have revenue
raising powers which are comparable with their functions
and responsibilities?
PH: What you will find has been accepted is that there
should be an aim to reduce the level of vertical fiscal
imbalance and that the working party that we establish
will be directed to achieve that objective consistent
with as we've made clear from my speech first in July
consistent with the necessity for the Commonwealth to be
able to retain its capacity to undertake macro-economic
management. And that point has been accepted by the
States.
JOURNALIST: So you think you can make progress on
PM: I think we can, yes.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why was the discussion
knocked back by the Premiers on the area of education?
PM: Well they believe, I think, that sufficient momentum
is underway in terms of the Hobart agreement where there
is cooperation taking place on the questions of
curriculum and associated areas. They seem to be
satisfied with the progress that has been made under that
agreement and they didn't want to go further on that.
a~' JOUN~ 34-. a'~ ee . you,.-happy . Lwthr-zhat-;' reaponse'?
PM&_* W4: l.; vw4fthought ' that'this, provided,-pexhaps another
incentive--to movement-but-when it was clear that the
States didn't want to accelerate those processes that are
already underway well we weren't unhappy about that.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, you ' ve made a quite strong push on
our industrial relations performance, our transfer of
powers. What
PH: wait a minute. You say I've made a strong push on
that. You look at what I've said is that, from my point
of view, I think this is an area where there could be
change and somes reference to powers. live made it quite
clear from the beginning that I understand that there is
reluctance in the States on that area. So, as far as I'm
concerned, what I wanted to ensure was that we could, at
least, continue the significant moves to further
cooperation in this area that are already underway.
That's what-the outcome will be.
JOURNALIST: Hr Hawke, timetable do you see f or the
implementation of any decisions made by the taskforce
looking at f iscal relations. When do you think decisions
will be implemented?
PH: We've got a timetable there, and it's accepted by
the States, thiat there's considerable complexity in this.
They accepted that the most appropriate way of going
about this is with a progress report to the first Special
Premiers' Conference in May and finalising the matter by
the November Special Conference.
JOURNALIST: So the decisions would flow after the
November Special Conference.
P14: We would hope so. Yes.
JOURNALIST: The terms of reference have been somewhat
watered down or broadened since the States' paper though,
Mr Hawke. What was the main reason for doing that?
PH: They've ' been what, I'm sorry
JOURNALIST: Broadened or watered down from the States'
paper whidh, for example, included an aim of reducing
tied grants to 30 per cent.
PH: When you say broadened or watered down, I mean, you
really need to make a choice about which one you are
talking about. There is no conflict between the
commonwealth and the States on the way this should be
handled. There's an acceptance that it would not be
appropriate to tie ourselves down to a particular
percentage. If you did that and the working group showed
that it wasn't appropriate, both in the interests of the
States and Commonwealth, to, in the end, have that target
you don't want stencilled in a certainty of failure. I
mean, what they are happy about, what they wanted was a
clear statement of commitment -by. the . CommoinweaIt-h---to a*-
reduction. We've given that clear commitment and they
are entirely happy with that.
JOURNALIST: about some form of income tax sharing.
PH: I'm not -in a position where I say I've got a
committed view about that because, and I'm not trying to
dodge the isslue, what I've said and what's been accepted
without quest-ion by the states is that the commonwealth
has got to retain the capacity to conduct the
macro-economic management of the Australian economy.
That's precisely why we are going to have the working
party in which the best resources of our Treasury and of
theirs will examine these issues. I don't think you can,
without that detailed examination, say what the most
appropriate outcome is. But we have accepted and it,
You'll see, will be reflected in the communique that
there is high commitment to aim at a reduction of the
imbalance. Now how that will be done is precisely a
matter for consideration by the working party and a
progress report to us in May and hopefully then, as I
say, final determination in November of next year. There
is an acceptance of the complexity of this issue. I
don't think the States, for instance, will be saying it's
appropriate to give an answer in advance of that working
party. JOURNALIST: Prime minister
PM: Now just a minute. Go on.
JOURNALIST: Apart from the National Rail Freight
Corporation do you expect any concrete results to be aeen
within the next six months?
P14: Yes, indeed. There is a number of areas in which we
are wanting reports, in say six months, in which we want
reports by our next Special Conference meeting which is
in May and certainly a number of areas we will be getting
decisions by that time.
JOURNALIST: It looks like there are going to be about
seven or iight, you know, committees and working groups
set up in those process. is there a danger that this
is going to look like you've just set up a whole new sort
of bureaucracy
P34: No. Use your loaf. Use your loaf. Look-at the
range of issues. Do you think you'd have one committee,
for instance, looking at tax powers, tied grants, road
charges, rail, regulatory reform, environment, industrial
relations? Do you think you're going to have one working
party dealing with the whole lot of them? You know, by
definition the issues are of such importance and, in
: their-way of-.:. peciality, that you'* ve got have. a working
party . dealing . with each of them. It would be -an -entirely
stupid -expectation, * which * 1' mn-sure you -wou4nt -hav
because you're not a stupid man, that you would have one
committee examiining those disparate issues.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, just on the environment. The
agenda paperis canvassed the option
PM: Are you happy with that answer. Yes good.
JOURNALIST: The agenda papers canvassed the option of an
inter-government. agreement on the environment. Do you
still think that's achievable?
PH: Well you'll see that there's agreement on
establishing a relevant working party to move towards
that position.
ends