3 December 1997
E&OE..........................................................................................................................
(Tape begins)...because of a sudden change in the weather, for the worst. And, of course, tragically two firefighters died near Lithgow. Because of a change in the wind direction the wall of flame just turned back on them which is just an absolutely horrible circumstance.
SATTLER:
And they’ve had to call in help from interstate too, I understand.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, there are literally hundreds of firefighters coming from Victoria and it has been an incredible volunteer effort in the best of the Australian tradition. Australians always get together and help people out who are in difficulty and they do it magnificently. It is something that makes me immensely proud to be an Australian.
SATTLER:
Well, I suppose there’ll be some talk of compensation down the track but at the moment it’s the emotional trauma that these people have got to contend with.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, there are standing compensation and emergency relief arrangements in operation between the Commonwealth and all of the State governments. I’ve spoken to the New South Wales Premier, Mr Carr, about this twice and obviously the Commonwealth will do what’s appropriate. And the New South Wales Government and I, we’re working together on this, and I’m quite certain that the New South Wales Government will handle the matter correctly.
SATTLER:
On the other issue which could see you going to the polls, you taking Australia to the polls - the Wik native title legislation, the amendments you’re trying to get through. We’ve just done a snap poll here and I asked people based on what they knew and we talked with three sides on the issue. We talked with your Aboriginal Affairs Minister. Then we talked with the pastoralists and then we talked with people representing the Aboriginal interests here. So people got to hear three sides of the issue. And we just did a snap poll and overwhelmingly your Government would be voted back into office on this issue. How do you feel about that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I never get too, sort of, moved by polls either way. However, I intend to maintain the Government’s position on this legislation because it’s the only way that we can settle this thing fairly and decently for everybody.
I tried to explain it as best I could in my address to the nation last Sunday night. We’ve already compromised. You may remember that there was a lot of debate inside the Coalition earlier this year and there was a lot of criticism of the position that I put because they thought it was too conciliatory towards the Aborigines.
SATTLER:
Well, you have compromised on the pastoral leases versus native title claims, haven’t you? I mean, now you’re saying there should be a right to co-exist, is that right?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well yes, but, I mean, what we have preserved is the right of a native title claim to be made over a pastoral lease.
SATTLER:
That’s right and that’s not what the former Prime Minister, Paul Keating, had us believe.
PRIME MINISTER:
No it is not, it is completely contrary to what Mr Keating and Mr Beazley said and completely contrary to what everybody believed but that belief was overturned by the High Court in the Wik case and what we are endeavouring to do is to keep faith with the Mabo Case, which we have done completely, but also to get a fair balance. We’ve said to the farmers and pastoralists: ‘you can’t have blanket extinguishment but you are entitled to a guarantee that you can carry on your activities without interference’, and we have said to the Aboriginal community: ‘you can continue to make native title claims but they have got to be within very strict parameters, they have got to be fair dinkum and you can’t interfere with the pastoralists operation’.
Now underpinning all of that we have said that if any native title rights are impinged they will get compensation. Now for the life of me I can not understand how anybody can say that is unfair.
SATTLER:
And when you talk compensation, you are talking money aren’t you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well if your title is taken away, whether it is a common law or a native title, you are entitled under the law of Australia to compensation. That’s an Australian principle.
SATTLER:
Now if I could just ask the Aboriginal industry people or one of them here why he couldn’t live with a sunset clause of ten years and he said: ‘well they would still want to be able to make claims in 50 years time’.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I find that, most Australians find that a bit hard to wear and that’s why, I just say again, it is a fair compromise. And what the Government is now being asked to do by the Labor Party and by our many critics in the community and perhaps not by the average Australian.
SATTLER:
No, I don’t think you are going to be criticised by most average Australians.
PRIME MINISTER:
And what we’re being asked to do is to compromise on a compromise. Now, if I had been cynical about this, what I would have done is to have said right at the beginning, my position is that we are going to extinguish native title and then sort of settle on what I have now put forward. But I never believed that was just and I was never prepared to do that. But now I am being asked to compromise further and I am being attacked by some very irresponsible people for racist motives, which is of course ridiculous, and we have just got this orchestrated campaign in some sections of the media to denigrate the Government’s position.
Now I just want to make it very plain now that we spent an enormous amount of time on this issue this year and I believe that we have got it right. We have got a fair decent, honest balance.
SATTLER:
All right, so you have gone as far as you are going to go?
PRIME MINISTER:
You’re dead right.
SATTLER:
I appreciate your time today at short notice.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[Ends]