PM Transcripts

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PRIME MINISTER
STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P J KEATING, MP
THE COALITION'S CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM AGENDA
It is littlo wondor thc Coailition heis split over its cobbled together
Constitutional reform package.
In their poll-driven haste to find an alternative to the Government's
considered interest in Constitutional reform, the Liberals have come up with a
mish-mash of measures, some of which nobody could accept not even the
National Party.
Over the past 48 hours we've seen Mr Reith isolated as the only supporter of
Citizen Initiated Referenda described by National Party Leader, Tim
Fischer, as " law-making cancer."
Mr Downer a born-again Constitutional reformer has walked away from
Mr Reith on CIR, after originally countenancing the idea.
Mr Downer reportedly continues to support a range of measures, none of
which addresses the principal flaw in the Constitution that our Head of
State is not an Australian.
So the Opposition's approach to Constitutional reform seems to be that if the
Government has an agenda, they had better have one too never mind if it
is a zany and untenable one.
Just when it looked like the Opposition had finally come up with a policy
the first since the arrival of the " new" leadership team it turns out to be a
divisive and untenable pot pourri.
Sydney 27 July, 1994 17 i 4 1 4 N 0