24 May 1996
E&OE
JOURNALIST: ( inaudible).... because you referred to it in your speech.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, I was, that's right I did.
JOURNALIST:
So were there... can you confirm that those meetings did take place?
PRIME MINISTER:
I met lots of people including that person. Yes, I did.
JOURNALIST:
Was it as serious as it was made out to be?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, how serious was it made to be?
JOURNALIST: seen the story?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I haven't actually. Look, can I..
JOURNALIST: Well, the report goes that eight now..
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I wasn't at that meeting.
JOURNALIST: No, there was no implication that you were. But at least eight Ministers....
PRIME MNISTER:
Ministers? Eight Ministers?
JOURNALIST:
Now Ministers, were aware that there were some serious meetings with an engineering company about Holsworthy. Is that the case?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I don't know of that meeting beyond what you've just told me, but can I just tell you and tell everybody else just for the record, I did meet some people who were interested in the Holsworthy thing in October of 1994 before I became Opposition Leader. I met, can I tell you, scores of people, hundreds, thousands of people who put all sorts of propositions to me. There was no understanding entered into, there was no secret deal, there was no conspiracy, there were no promises. It's the job of a Member of Parliament to hear propositions. The situation is quite transparent. We are having an EIS into both Badgerys Creek and Holsworthy. Our preferred option remains very strongly Badgerys Creek, but quite sensibly we are including Holsworthy so that if Badgerys Creek falls over then we don't have to start all over again and we'd lose time. But any suggestion that we made some commitment to interests associated with Holsworthy before the election is completely and utterly and totally wrong.
JOURNALIST:
The suggestion is that this company will save $ 5 billion on the Badgerys Creek deal.
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I don't know that. You'd have to talk to the company about that but I just want to put the...
JOURNALIST:
.....put to people who are now senior Ministers in your Government.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, look, I don't know what was put to other people. I can just tell you what was put to me before I became Opposition Leader, and people were advocating Holsworthy and people were advocating other locations. People advocate things to me every day. The point I'm simply making is that there were no deals, no undertakings, no conspiracies, no heinous closed door arrangements, no Kirribilli pact, nothing.
ends.