Fax from85/ 89/ 96 14: 16 Pg:
September 1996 TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIM MINISTER
THE HON JOHN HOWARD, MP
PRESS CONFERENCE, MAJURO
E & OE
Ladies and gentlemen the forum meeting finished this morning, the communique is in
the process of being issued and there will be a briefing by President Kabua. I'd just
like to say a couple of things on behalf of Australia. As you know this is the first
forum meeting I've attended-as Prim6Minister: -As: I i1dicated yesterday, Australia
does regard this gathering as being a very imiportant excpression of Australia's regional
responsibilities. We have maintained a very heavy emphasis on aid for the Pacific area
despite cut backs in other areas of the Budget the amount of aid going to Papua New
Guinea and to the South Pacific has been maintained at virtually the same level as in
1995/ 96. The needs of countries in this region, of course, vary enormously. I'm very
pleased to say that there is an acceptance of the need for ongoing economic reform.
It's very difficult to talk about economic reform when you're addressing some very
tiny island states but even in the smallest of countries there's a realisation that such
things as private sector efficiency and being competitive in world markets is the
pathway to economic growth and employment growth. There is an acceptance that the
world is moving towards an era of much lower levels of protection and tariffs. The
goal of APEC is one of a tariff free environment into the next century and in those
circumstances some of the protective arrangements that have existed in the past will no
longer hold sway. I drew considerable satisfaction from an acceptance by all the
participants about the importance of economnic reform-The forum agreed to
inaugurate a series of economic ministers' meetings which will take place prior to the
annual forum meeting. The first of those will be hosted by Australia and will take
place sometime next year before the annual meeting of the forum which next year will
take place in the Cook Islands. It was also an opportunity for me to have a number of
bilateral discussions particularly with the Prime Minister of New Guinea, Sir Julius
Chan, and at a personal level it was an opportunity for me to meet in most cases, but
not all, for the first time the leaders of pacific island states. I found it a very valuable
learning experience, it was a good opportunity to express on behalf of the new
Government the goodwill of Australia towards many of these tiny countries, the
willingness of Australia to play a constructive aid role but recognising that increasingly
Fax from 05/ 09/ 96 14: 16 Pg: 2
aid provision will be linked with economic reform and economic change. It is not ever
a question of seeing aid as being the salvation of the problems of under-developed
small countries, it never can be. Intelligently used, properly targeted overseas aid can
be of considerable help but without internal economic reform and the acceptance of the
need for that reform long term goals for the achieving of higher living standards are
simply not going to be achieved. I'd be very happy to take any questions.
JOURNALIST: Do you think that some of the smaller states are going to survive in this.. I guess,
harsher new economic world?
PRiME MINISTER:
Well I don't see it as a, so much as a harsher economic world, I see it as a more
realistic world and obviously, and this is acknowledged in the communique and I
acknowledged it during the discussions, that pace of change is going to vary from state
to state but in the long run the nature of the world as we move into the 2 1st Century
will be one of freer trade. I'd prefer to use that expression because it's a more realistic
expression and I believe that the fact that there is an acceptance of that is an important
advance. I also accept that the continued provision of well targeted aid from a country
like Australia is important to the economic future. We give these countries, we give of
course something like $ 300-odd million to PNG and there's a figure of something like
$ 140-odd million going to the other countries. Now that's a very large provision and
it's very important to their future and we place very great significance on it, but hand
in hand with that has to go an acceptance of the importance of economic change and
reform. I think I may have mentioned to you yesterday in the background briefing the
experience of a country like Mauritius which, over the past few years, has followed a
programme of fairly vigorous economic reform and change with low levels of
protection, low levels of Governmnent intervention, and the living standard of that
country has risen quite significantly. Now, that is a big country compared with many
of the countries in this part of the world and I don't underestimate the scale of
difficulty but equally the experience is that if you imagine that the only way to lift up
the economies of tiny island countries is to continually provide aid and assume that will
do the trick, past experience has demonstrated that that doesn't work either. You
need a combination of the two. You need intelligent programme aid which seeks to
improve the infrastructure and you also need intelligent reform programmes. You
can't have one without the other.
JOURNALISTAs a corollary to that would you then say that perhaps in the past some of the aid has
not been spent as well as it perhaps could have been?
PRIME NMSTER:
Oh look I don't want to get into name-calling or aid criticism. I simply express to the
future of our commitment to having well targeted programme aid.
Fax from~ 05/ 09/ 96 14: 16 Pg: 3
JOURNALIST: pressuire over its stand on Greenhouse gas emissions?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I wouldn't say we came under any pressure. Everybody wants, as the
communique says, further progress towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We
all want that. We have come a long way. We've reduced the rate of growth in those
emissions by something like, from some figure of about 3% to 0.5% since 1990 and
we'lve signed up some agreements with a number of the major companies in Australia.
We made it clear in Berlin that the mandatory targets were convenient to the
Europeans and the Americans, but because of the nature of our economy they didn't
necessarily harmonise with Australia's national interest. Now, I made that plain in the
discussions in which I've been engaged. I think there is an acceptance of that. I think
it would be wrong to say that we came under pressure. The issue came up, it was dealt
with in the communique; I explained Australia's position; I associated Australia with
the aspiration of achieving the goal of reduced greenhouse gas emissions but I pointed
out the reasons for our reservations at Berlin.
JOURNALIST: . that the Australian delegation moved to change the wording to ' reduction in
growth', there was considerable argument about that. The final wording was
' lower'._ a vaguer reading but still not as strong as the original resolution that was
put up. Didn't we work fairly concertedly to water down the wording of the
resolution ? 7
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, if we had, that wouldn't be inconsistent with what I've just said.
JOURNALIST: there is general disagreement...
PRIE MINISTER.-
Well, I can only report to you what happened and what I report to you is that there
was a change in the communique, some words that I put in but they were different
from the original words and I had them put in because I wanted our position to be
accurately reflected.
JOURNALIST: Didn't Australia water down the original resolution?
PRIME NISTER:
05/ 09/ 96 14: 16 Pg: 4
W~ ell, you can't, at something like this unilaterally do anything. The amendment I put
forward was accepted and if you are talking about the work that went on at the
officials level, then there was a change made there because the original draft was
factually inaccurate. It did not correctly reproduce what had been said at Berlin.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, France is back in as a dialogue member as of a meeting on Sunday....
PRIM MINISTER:
Well, I didn't know that. I'm grateful for the information.
JOURNALIST: Australian officials have made it quite clear that it would be perhaps more fitting if they
returned next year. What is your position on that?
PRIME MiNISTER:
Well, I don't know exactly what was said at the officials discussion on that but the
indication I gave at the retreat yesterday was that I thought in principle France should
come back and I was very happy to go along with the consensus about timing and if
France... JOURNALIST: So you don't have a problem with them coming back in?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I don't. No look, once a decision has been taken to admit them as a dialogue
partner, I don't think it matters.
JOURNALIST: Buit doesn't it mean that the suspension has no practical effect?
PRIME MINSTERNo
it doesn't because the testing has stopped.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister on your way here you said that you wouldn't be changing the policy on
guest workers. What in once talked about the 1000 workers and their families
coming back from.... .( inaudible)... What have you said to them about this...
PRIME MINISTERFax
from
05/ 09/ 96 14: 16 Pg:
Well, our position is that we have a longstanding policy otf not having guest workers
and there are all sorts of very strong policy reasons for that. We have a nondiscriminatory
immigration policy and I've explained that to the one leader who raised
the matter with me and that people are entitled to apply to emigrate to Australia in
accordance with the criteria of that non-discriminatory policy but it would be very bad
policy for us to water down our long standing objections to anything that represents
the acceptance of guest workers. It would create all sorts of difficulties and wouild
immediately open up requests from other countries to be given a similar treatment and
we would have a whole new boundary of difficulty and argument and discord in
relation to a policy area that is never very free from controversy.
JOURNALIST: Is there point when you see Australia become ( inaudible).., quite a large number of
people coming back so...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I don't know how, as I am presently advised, you can deal with this problem
which doesn't involve the introduction the concept of guest workers. I really don't,
JOURNALIST: ( inaudible).., and it now of growing international concern. Any changes in Australia's
position? PRINIE MINISTER:
No absolutely not. In the answers that I gave yesterday, I think contemplated
possibility of a further strike and what I said in that context stands today. I know that
some countries have been critical or equivocal, others have been quite firmly in
support. I have no doubt at all that the stance the Australian Government has taken is
correct and I've got little doubt that it will enjoy the support of most Australians. I
notice that it has drawn the support of the Opposition Leader, Mr Beazley, I thank him
for that, and it is important on issues like this that as far as possible there be
bipartisanship and to the extent that the Opposition feels able to do that well that is
good for the quality of decision making in Australia.
JOURNALIST:
Do you have any concern the France, Russia and Britain have expressed their
reservations
PRIME MINISTER:
Did you say Britain?
JOURNALIST:
Fax from
Fax from 05/ 09/ 96 14: 16 Pg: 6
Yes, some conservative leaders
PRIME MINISTER:
Which ones?
JOURNALIST: Ted..( inaudible...)
PRIME MINISTER:
Ted is always out of step with the regiment these days.
JOURNALIST: On a personal note are you aware that you are developing a style as Prime Minister
given it is your first overseas trip and if so, how would you define that style?
PRIM MINISTER;
Oh I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to say that I had a quieter style of diplomacy
based on one visit. Perhaps in a year's time you might come back and ask me that
question but I found the experience very valuable. I will as you know, be going to
Japan and Indonesia in about eight days time and that's a very important visit. But it
shouldn't be regarded as this particular visit and this particular forum shouldn't be
played down simply because many of the member states are small. They comprise a
disparate group of nations in a region that the rest of the world sees Australia having
particular responsibilities in and for, and it's very important if we have a proper
appreciation of our role in the world to see that. But give me a year or two and I
might have some reflections on diplomatic styles.
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard Malaysia's dialogue partner to the forum. Do you think that could
increase the scope of the forum countries to influence the Malaysian Governinent in
respect to the activities, some of themn criticised, the Malaysian company,
particularly in Melanesia?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I could, I wouldn't like to jump to any conclusions though.
JOURNALIST: Have you heard the news of the death of senior journalist Robert Haupt and what are
your reactions?
Fafxo/ m09 / 96 14: 16 Pg: 7
PRIME MYISTER:
Well, I have and I'm very sorry to learn of that. Robert, who I knew quite well, I met
him when I first went to Canberra in 1974 when he was a journalist for the Aulsiralian
Financial Review, to which he ultimately returned, was one of the most elegant writers
within the Canberra Press Gallery and generally that I've come across. He did write
very well. In a comment I made last night to one of your colleagues I thought his stint,
the pinnacle of his journalistic career was the time he spent in Moscow when the
Soviet Union was disintegrating and he along with Monica Attard, who was then the
ABC correspondent in the Soviet Union, demonstrated the very best qualities of
accurate, interesting, descriptive journalism. I'm very sorry he died at a very young
age. It is a loss to Australian journalism. He was a quality act as far a5 journalism is
concerned and I send my sympathy to his family and friends. I know he'll be missed by
many of his colleagues in Australia and in other parts of the world.
ends
Fax from