PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P. J. KEATING, MP
DOORSTOP, 225 ST GEORGES TERRACE, PERTH, 9 MARCH 1994
E& OE PROOF COPY
PM: I just had a discussion with a very representative group about the
labour market and the Green Paper proposals that the Government
has published to deal with the problems of the long-term unemployed.
I had a chance there to listen to what particular sectors involved in this
this is the technical and further and education, TAFE; the Salvation
Army; SkillShare; the Labour Council; the employers; Chambers of
Manufactures so one does get a fairly, I think, representative view. I
regard this as valuable because picking up some of the texture and
text of this discussion is very important in thinking about how such
changes ought to be made. That is, how do we make the long-term
unemployed jobs ready again? How do we train them and give them
confidence and give them the prospects of getting employment? And
do we make a national commitment to them? I think, the answer is
those questions have all got to be answered in the affirmative and, I
think, the group I have just seen are suggesting ways where we can
make the labour market programs work better; how they are better
understood by business; how they are more readily taken up; and I
regarded that as a very valuable and helpful discussion.
J: Prime Minister, on Medicare, is there room for a change in the way that
the levy is applied at all?
PM: This debate seems to be running around the columns. Look, the
Government has had a look at the health system every year it has
been in office from the day Medicare was first set up. But there is
nothing around at the moment to promote major changes, that warrant
an increase in the levy.
J: Mr Keating, can you categorically rule out any increase in the
Medicare levy?
PM: I was saying, there is just nothing around that warrants a change to the
levy of the kind described.
J: What about a-phased increase similar to the tax rates?
PM: Yes,' but you can ask me about every other tax in the system too. I
mean, there is just no point in me trying to give you answers to them.
J: You said earlier today that it was undecided..
PM: No, no, no, not undecided about the Medicare levy. What the
Expenditure Review Committee does every year is look at the health
system because things change all the time and every year we look at
the changes. I have seen in the last ten years the mechanical costs of
pathology and diagnostic imaging drop enormously as we've seen
miniaturisation and computerisation and medical science change the
productivity of those tests so therefore we pay less. All those sorts of
things are always under review.
JL: So, can you rule out any rise?
PM: You would like me to rule out every tax change and everything else.
No, I don't make statements like that. There is nothing to rule it in, that
is the point.
J: Can you rule out an incremental change just 1.4 per cent for higher
income; 1.8 per cent..
PM: This has been tried on me before by people who have suggested that
higher income earners should pay a higher levy I don't believe that
and I have said that plenty of times.
J: In Fremantle the Liberals are saying that Carmen Lawrence is going to
be your puppet in Canberra rather than representing the people of
Fremantle. What do you say to that?
PM: That is the sort of partisan, biased nonsense you would expect from
the Liberal party. That is what I say to that. Carmen Lawrence was
Premier of this State, she has made a contribution to public life, as a
woman in public life, which stands the test of any in the country and.
she will be a great Western Australian representative in the national
Parliament. Bear in mind that you already have the Minister for
Finance from Western Australia in the Cabinet; you have got the
Minister for Industry in the Cabinet; you have got the Assistant
Treasurer and until recently you had the Treasurer Western Australia
is well represented in the Cabinet of the Commonwealth. Dr Lawrence
will join the caucus of the Government and may, of course, at some
point join the Ministry. In which case she will end up an absolutely tiptop
representative of this State. The Liberals can eat their tiny hearts
out. The fact is, she will better represent West Australian interest than
3
the sort of carping that goes on now by the Liberals under the claim of
parochial interests.
J: Mr Court seems to want to talk to you about _ Mabo. Perhaps he has
painted himself into a corner and is looking for a way out, shouldn't
you offer him that?
PM: You can ask him is he going to drop his challenge to the High Court
case. The answer is no, he is not. The fact is, if I see Mr Court any
more than I've seen him then I will offer him bed and breakfast at the
Lodge. Honestly, I keep bumping into him at lunch, at breakfast and
everything else. I am a pretty reasonable person. I'm sitting for lunch,
I can always take time off to discsuss Mabo or anything else.
J: If he drops the challenge will you talk to him?
PM: But he has never raised these questions with me. But if he drops the
challenge he can then be part of the co-operative scheme. Remember
this, this is a Commonwealth law carried by the House of
Representatives and the Senate. It has been complied with by all
other States bar Western Australia. If Western Australia complies the
structure is set up for certainty, sense and a decency and the
management of the native title issue.
J: So the conditions are that you will talk to him if he drops theHigh
Court challenge?
PM: Just remember this, that I offered his government and his bureaucracy
access to all of the Mabo discussions all last year and he would not
participate. They would not send their bureaucrats to the multistate/
commonwealth meetings.
J: Prime Minister, by coincidence there has been, as of yesterday, as
native title claim, a very nice stretch of the river front in the Fremantle
46 dcfnate. -Have you been briefed -on that all
PM: Howard Sattler asked me about it this morning. Who owns the land at
this stage?
J: I think it is public open space, but your view on that is quite
coincidental, there seems to be..
PM: Look, if there is any grant of interest by the State or dedication of the
land that means that any native title claim is subordinate to that. That
is what it means. But the thing is, this can be all decided in the
Western Australian Supreme Court, if the Court government complies
with the Commonwealth legislation. Otherwise it will be decided in the
Federal Court of Australia. Again, the Federal Court of Australia will
hear it here in Perth.
J: spending a lot of time with Carmen Lawrence on this particular
campaign. Is that because you are worried about your low popularity
or the Labor party is worried about your low popularity in WA?
PM: We have got to get past the point where the Liberals feed you dunce
lines and you all repeat them. You are paid to think, to be jolly, to be
looking at the big scene and to pick the right things out, not to be
parrots for the Liberal party. The fact is, I am seeing Carmen at a car
plant later. I saw her yesterday. She and I have had a good
discussion about the issues here. In campaigning for her today I have
dealt with Commonwealth issues on a large rating and popular radio
program. Last night she and I shared our campaigning responsibilities
and she went to one function and I went to another at the Notre Dame
University Graduation and we are doing the things which have to be
done in a campaign. We don't have to be walking side by side
everywhere to put the Commonwealth interests. This is nonsense stuff
from the Liberals. Where are the Liberals today? Here is Peter Reith
saying, look, we have had a gut full of all of this he said about the
Liberal party leadership and we have got this what you might call play
ground rules. Andrew has had two goes, so I want two goes says
John Howard. Andrew has had two goes, so little Johnny Howard gets
two goes. Hewson is saying no, no, no it is still my go. Reith is
saying, look, we have had a gut full of the whole lot.
The truth is the Liberal party doesn't know where it stands in policy;
where it stands philosophically; Malcolm Fraser said a week ago in a
national newspaper none of us know a year after Fightback was
dropped any policies that the Liberal party stands for. The Liberal
party today has leadership troubles because it has no policies. Now,
here we are in a by-election four by-elections in fact with the other
major party, Coalition parties, having no policy and a dispute about the
leadership and they are worried about whether I am here walking
shoulder to shoulder with Carmen. They have major troubles.
J: Would you be expecting then a swing on Saturday?
PM: I think Dr Lawrence has a huge standing in Western Australia. I think
the Labor party is very privileged to have her as a federal candidate. I
think the people of Fremantle will be well served by her as the Member
for Fremantle and I expect her to be returned well. Now, Dr Hewson
has just taken a punch on the nose in the Werriwa by-election and now
we will see what will happen in Fremantle, but I bet you pounds to
peanuts, it will only lift the debate within the Liberal party about how
much longer Dr Hewson stays.
ends