E&OE...............................................
PRIME MINISTER:
Today's unemployment figures are very encouraging. They demonstrate
that the employment gains of the past few months have been consolidated.
The level of unemployment of 8.1 per cent is the lowest for over
two years. The outlook over the next few months for jobs in Australia
according to all of the advice coming to the Government remains
very strong.
We do have a robust and strongly growing domestic economy. And
at my first news conference since Christmas and into the New Year,
let me say again how very important it was, given what has happened
in Asia, that my Government took the action it did regarding the
Budget and all the other reforms that we have implemented over the
last 22 months.
And the Labor Party stands condemned on two counts. Firstly, the
appalling deficit of $10.5 billion it left us. And secondly, its
attempts to stop us fixing the mess. Mr Beazley is like somebody
who sets fire to a building and then says: don't bother to
call the brigade and when it comes he cuts the fire-hose, and when
the flames go out he says: well it would have happened anyway.
We took the hard action and by taking that difficult action in
the face of Labor Party obstruction we have provided a protection
for the Australian economy, and we see the Australian economy performing
extremely well in the face of very difficult circumstances. And
today's employment numbers, as I say, consolidate the employment
gains of the past few months and they show the lowest level of unemployment
since 1995.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister are they good enough to go to an election?
PRIME MINISTER:
The only person who is talking about an election at the moment
is the National Secretary of the Labor Party.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, is the Government.. [inaudible]...?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am not going to get into statistical predictions. All I can repeat
is the advice that is publicly available and the advice coming to
the Government, and that is that the domestic economy is growing
very strongly. And there was some data out yesterday that was very
optimistic. Employment is always the last of the indicators to come
right, we have laid the foundations, if we hadn't fixed the
deficit, if we had followed Labor's advice, unemployment would
now be higher because the impact of the Asian melt-down would have
been much more extensive.
The thing to remember is that if the Beazley advice had been followed
the Asian melt-down would have seeped through to Australia by now.
JOURNALIST:
Any further idea, I guess, on how Asia will affect Australia in
the coming year?
PRIME MINISTER:
It will affect Australia a lot less because of the protective measures
that have been taken by my Government. And that is the constant
and that is the most important element of this whole situation,
that if we had not done what we had done we would now be feeling
the pain and the impact and some of the experiences that have been
felt in other parts of the world. But because we took the action
we did, because we made inflation in Australia lower than most countries,
because we cut the national debt, because we are heading for a surplus
budget and not a deficit budget, because we repaired the Beazley
black hole or filled it in, despite his objections, we are now in
a much stronger position than would otherwise have been the case.
And I think that will become more and more apparent as 1998 wears
on.
JOURNALIST:
With a good economic outlook as you described, isn't that
a great time to go to an election?
PRIME MINISTER:
We were elected for three years.
JOURNALIST:
Has Mr Zammit spoken to you yet about his resignation?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am not aware of anybody resigning.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, the situation in Asia does it make the Government nervous
[inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER:
I would be a lot more nervous if I hadn't had behind me the
action taken by the Government. The fact is that we have strengthened
the foundations of the Australian economy, we are growing very strongly
domestically and the outlook domestically is very strong indeed,
for investment, for jobs and consumer confidence. All of the indicators
are very strong and I can only contemplate the completely different
picture we would have faced in this country if we had not taken
the action that we did.
JOURNALIST:
..[inaudible]...worst is over for the Australian dollar, it has
taken a bit of a pounding?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't talk ever about the level of the Australian dollar.
JOURNALIST:
Paul Zammit says he is resigning from the Liberal Party over the
issue of airport noise, do you think that issue will go away? Is
the Government going to change its stance at all?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am not aware of anybody having resigned.
JOURNALIST:
Are you ...[inaudible]...?
PRIME MINISTER:
I meet my colleagues regularly from time to time all of them, you
know it is open house here.
JOURNALIST:
Have you spoken to him?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh I speak to him regularly, very regularly.
JOURNALIST:
What about the issue he raises where he says that the some see
a delay to the flight path as an obstruction at the moment, what
is wrong?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think the plan that we brought down is a very fair plan because
it spreads the noise burden around. But as to its impact on specific
electorates I am not going to talk about it.
JOURNALIST:
Do you support Tim Fischer's view that Aboriginals in western
Queensland are vetoing Australian democracy and economic development
with native title claims, competing claims?
PRIME MINISTER:
I've long since learnt to read what is quoted to me, with
respect, at news conferences about what my colleagues have been
alleged to have said before I comment on them myself.
JOURNALIST:
Were you not familiar with Mr Fischer's views?
PRIME MINISTER:
I repeat the answer I have just given you.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible]...
PRIME MINISTER:
I hold a very strong view that politics and sport should be separately
administered, however, I can well understand the views of many,
and I heard one expressed very cogently and lucidly this morning
on AM by a very prominent Australian sports figure, that when international
bodies have rules those rules should be rigidly enforced. It is
a matter for the controlling body of swimming to determine, as it
is a matter for the controlling body of any other internationally
competed sport. But I don't think it is appropriate for Prime
Ministers or others to give ex-cathedra pronouncements about
what ought to happen. I will deal with the Government of the country,
I will leave it to those who govern sport. The only advice I would
give them is, if you have got a set of rules those rules fall into
disrepute unless you enforce them.
JOURNALIST:
Will it affect relations between China and Australia?
PRIME MINISTER:
No.
JOURNALIST:
Would it be a problem for us if China were banned for four years...[inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER:
That really infringes on what I said I wasn't going to do
a moment ago.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, Indonesia has fallen apart economically and since
the review of the budget was released, are you therefore expecting
a harder impact on Australia than what's earlier predicted?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Indonesia despite her great political importance to Australia
is nowhere near as important a trading partner as, for example Japan
or South Korea. So therefore the direct impact on Australia via
exports and imports from the downturn in Indonesia is nowhere near
as great as you might otherwise expect.
I am pleased that Indonesia appears to be responding to the package
of the International Monetary Fund. And I had a discussion with
President Soeharto about this at the weekend and I urged him to
act in a way that gave a very clear signal to the rest of the world
that the Indonesian Government was prepared to take the corrective
measures necessary to strengthen international perceptions about
the Indonesian economy. Now there are some very encouraging signs
that that is now occurring, and I welcome that, and I congratulate
the Indonesian Government on having taken those steps. It is obviously
a difficult time for our nearest neighbour, and it is a matter of
great political significance that the sixth-most populace country
in the world should be passing through these economic difficulties.
But because our own domestic economy is so strong and because the
trade between our two countries, although important, ..[inaudible]...as
large as, for example trade between Australia and Japan. I don't
think there is any cause at all for any direct immediate concern
so far as the Australian economy is concerned.
JOURNALIST:
Does Australia risk getting its fingers burnt at all by participating
in those IMF packages?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, on the contrary what we demonstrate is that we are strong and
able to help our friends and our neighbours in the region. How much
more ashamed would we be as Australians if we had to say to the
rest of the world: look I am sorry we can't help you because
our economy is so weak and impoverished, we had such a huge budget
deficit. I am rather proud of the fact that my country can help
our friends and our neighbours in their time of need. Our contributions
are appropriate, they are within the framework of an IMF bail-out
package. I remind all of you that until the recent batch the biggest
bail-out by the IMF of any country was Mexico and all of the resources
invested in the Mexico bail-out were, in fact, repaid without deduction
and nobody lost any money at all.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, would it be a worry for Australia if Soeharto goes?
Would you be worried about the stability?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't want to comment on the future leadership of any other
country, it is a matter for the people of Indonesia. President Soeharto
has brought enormous stability to that country. He rescued it from
the brink of chaos in the 1960s. The question of future arrangements
in Indonesia is entirely a matter for the Indonesian people.
JOURNALIST:
Will the Government increase funds for marketing tourism to the
Australian Tourist Commission as the industry has been calling for
today following the....[inaudible]...on flights from Jakarta and
obviously South Korea?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I understand why the spokesman for the tourist industry would
do that, it is a perfectly natural thing. We put a lot of resources
into the tourist industry and we continue to keep those resources
under review. We don't have any immediate plans to respond
to that request but obviously we keep the welfare and the strength
of the industry very much under review.
And I think it is important to take a longer view. I mean a few
months ago people were saying that tourism was drying up because
of certain other things and that proved to be wrong. Let's
wait and see before we respond in any knee-jerk reactions.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, will you rule out an election in July?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am not going to get into any election speculation but I am interested
in what
Mr Gray is saying. What I want for the Australian people is a year
committed to building on the strength of the Australian economy,
dealing with issues like Wik and I'd say again to the Australian
Senate, the public wants Wik behind it. The public is fed up with
this debate. They are fed up with the Senate and the Labor Party
delaying it. Our package is a fair and balanced package. Pass it
so we can get on with the rest of our lives.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, your reaction to criticism of Work for the Dole?
PRIME MINISTER:
My reaction is to say that Work for the Dole is based on a very
important Australian principle and that is the principle of mutual
obligation. And it is very important to understand that Work for
the Dole was brought in, partly, to fulfil that principle. And that
is, if you fulfil your moral obligation as a society to look after
people who can't get work then it is only reasonable that they
be asked to do something in return and the compulsory element of
the scheme was always going to be there. And it will obviously vary
from project to project - the ratio between voluntary and compulsory.
But I want to make it very clear that we have absolutely no intention
at all of weakening our commitment to the Work for the Dole Scheme.
If anything we will be strengthening our commitment to Work for
the Dole over the weeks and the months ahead because it enshrines
a very important principle and that is the principle of mutual obligation.
In a free society governed by decent values you do have to look
after people who can't get work but they in turn have some
obligation to
respond to reasonable requests to give something back to the community
and that is the principle of mutual obligation. We look after people
who can't get work. They are reasonably asked to give something
back to the community. It is a very important principle and we certainly
won't be walking away from it.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible].
PRIME MINISTER:
What I am saying is that the scheme will continue. We are very
satisfied with its progress. There was always going to be a mix
of volunteers and others required to do. And the principle is the
principle of mutual obligation. We look after people who can't
get work but we ask them to give something back in return. Now that
is fair, the Australian people support it and it is the underlying
principle of the whole Scheme.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible]...participation rates...[inaudible].
PRIME MINISTER:
John, you can always say that a figure can be better but they are
a huge improvement and given that we gained 145,000 jobs in the
three months prior to the issue of these figures, today's outcome
represents a remarkable consolidation of those gained. Most of the
experts thought that the jobless figures released in December of
last year would show a significant drop in employment. What happened
was that we had a further gain and we have had a tiny adjustment
today. So what we have essentially done is to consolidate a gain
of 140,000 jobs in a period of four months and we have seen a kick
down in the unemployment rate. Now in relative terms that's
extraordinarily good news.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible]..the trends..[inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER:
I would like to believe it were a trend and I think there is a
lot indication that it is a trend but one has to be sensibly cautious
but I have reason to be very optimistic about the strength of the
domestic economy. It is very strong - the domestic economy - and
I think you will see that strength continue through into the first
half of this year.
JOURNALIST:
Are you worried about inflation...[inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I am not worried about it. We appear to have entered a period
where inflationary expectations have fallen and people no longer
believe that inflation is going to lift. They are a lot more optimistic
about the inflation outlook and the inflation rate in Australia
both underlying and headline is very well within the target of acceptable
ranges of the Reserve Bank.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER:
Well there certainly is some interesting rumbles coming out of
Queensland where Peter Beattie has obviously been listening to the
people of Queensland. And the point about Wik is that what we put
to the Parliament was already a fair compromise. If we had started
off arguing for blanket extinguishment of native title I would understand
the Labor Party's complaint but we didn't. And the only
thanks that we have got for presenting something that was fair and
responsible and decent from the outset is total obstruction and
delay from the Labor Party and I will watch the Labor Party Conference
with great interest.
Having said what he has said, Peter Beattie, he has now got to
deliver on those words. I mean, does he support to the full what
the Labor Party is wanting to do? Does he really believe that it
is unfair, that 79 per cent of the land mass of Australia is potentially
claimable as a result of our legislation? Does he believe the percentage
should be higher? Does he really believe that a pastoralist should
be denied the right to negotiate even though they are leaseholders
and yet native title claimants should have the right to negotiate
over pastoral leaseholders? Does he really believe that pastoralists
should have inferior rights to native title claimants in his state?
Now these are questions that, I think, are obviously exercising
his mind and they are exercising the minds of many Queenslanders.
Now we have presented a fair and decent compromise and we intend
to pursue it and we ask the Senate to reconsider its position and
let the Bill go through in March of this year when it is being presented.
[Ends]