E&OE.........................................................
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, do you think you're getting your message across?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, I believe I'm getting my message across. That doesn't
mean to say that everybody is agreeing with me but it's been
a great opportunity over the last few hours to listen to people,
to answer their questions and to put my own point of view. I'm
a great believer in this kind of campaigning and politicking. I
think that's the best way. You go and look people in the eye,
you hear what their complaints are, you answer their questions,
and you say no when it's not possible to say yes, or it's
irresponsible to say yes and over time you have a much greater capacity
to explain yourself and to persuade people than through other methods
of communication. Although they are important too. I wouldn't
down play the importance of other methods of communication.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think you've won any votes?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh, look I don't know. It's too early to sort of make
judgements about that. This is not the first time I've been
to regional Queensland. I've been a regular visitor to regional
Queensland all my political life but I dealt with some issues both
this morning and last night that needed to be dealt with arising
out of the events of the last few weeks and I'll go on doing
that. I just deliver the message as I believe it to be without any
embellishment.
JOURNALIST:
Do you see this as an uphill battle though? Given what people have
been saying to you.
PRIME MINISTER:
I never concede anything's an uphill battle, Fleur. I'm
a supreme optimist and all my political career I've been told
that things have been an uphill battle and I've managed to
get up the hill.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, do you think you are just giving One Nation more credibility
by describing them now as one of the four main parties?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it is one of the four main parties in the State house in
Queensland. Look, you can't deal with something unless you
deal with reality. 23% of the Queensland people voted for the party
in the last election. I don't agree with their decision but
it is only going to add people to those ranks by behaving in a,
how shall I put it, contemptuous way towards those people. You've
got to understand why they did it and try and persuade them not
to do that at a general election, at a federal election, and that
is of course my main aim. Many of those people are people who voted
for the Liberal and National parties in the past and I want them
to vote Liberal and National at the next federal election. So
you don't sort of start off by insulting them. You start off
by saying, right you've got a perfect right in a democracy
to express a point of view. I want to talk to you and say why the
next time you have an opportunity to express a point of view you
ought to express in our favour.
JOURNALIST:
With Queensland now a Labor State, you've got two of the big
mainland States - Labor Governments. Is that going to make a difference
in a federal election?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't know. I will deal with the elected Government of Queensland...
JOURNALIST:
No, in terms of, you know, their sort of, you know, Howard speak
from the (inaudible) as it were to have....
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't know actually, I'm not quite sure that it works
that way. Sometimes it's been known to work in the opposite
direction.
JOURNALIST:
Are you disappointed Mr Beazley has in fact been able to form Government....?
PRIME MINISTER:
I accept that the Queensland people voted in a certain way and
he's now the Premier. I'm sorry that Mr Borbidge is no
longer the Premier. I though Mr Borbidge was a very good Premier,
I had a very good working relationship with him. He displayed considerable
courage on the gun control issue and I therefore regret that he
is no longer in charge, but I'll work with the new Premier.
I congratulate Mr Beattie, and naturally as Prime Minister, I will
work with the elected premiers of all the States.
JOURNALIST:
... is it something of a relief for you not to have to defend the
Borbidge Government propped up by One Nation?
PRIME MINISTER:
I never denigrate Liberal or National Party Governments. But the
people of Queensland have spoken and that's it. I'm not
going to hypothesise about what may have been. It's not. Queensland
has a Labor Government and it is quite obvious that the high vote
recorded by One Nation was a major cause why Queensland has a Labor
Government. Now, I'm sure that a lot of the people who supported
the One Nation Party will ponder that over the weeks and months
ahead.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Costello is saying that it is a whole of Government thing, that
it should be a whole of Government thing to place One Nation after
the ALP. Does that present a problem for the Nationals?
PRIME MINISTER:
There were some aspects of his interview were rather beaten up
by one of the major media outlets this morning so I think you ought
to go and talk to him about that.
JOURNALIST:
Do you agree with him on the point that Hanson should...
PRIME MINISTER:
I think principle... I thought I spent a great deal of time this
morning talking about principle.
JOURNALIST:
Is the outcome in Queensland the best result in terms of stable
government in Queensland?
PRIME MINISTER:
The best result is to always have a Coalition Government.
JOURNALIST:
But given what the options were?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, that's the hypothesising about the past. Mr Borbidge
gave stable government. It's obviously desirable that you have
clean cut results. The situation now in Queensland you can't
describe as clean or clear cut because neither of the major party
groupings has an absolute majority and I better than anybody in
Australia know the liability of not, well in our case, controlling
both houses. But I accept what the people have decided. You have
no right in a democracy to say well, - to the people - you got it
wrong. The people never get it wrong when it comes to election outcomes
because in a democracy the people have the say.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard could you tell us if there's any progress on the
Wik negotiations? How long [inaudible] before you have to say, well,
no more?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm continuing to have discussions with Senator Harradine.
JOURNALIST:
Is the deadline the end of next week or...
PRIME MINISTER:
I continue to have discussions with Senator Harradine.
JOURNALIST:
With the result in Queensland... since you've been here, what
implications does that have for the federal Government at the next
federal election?
PRIME MINISTER:
I remain confident about the outcome of the next federal election
but as I've said from day one, I don't take the Australian
people for granted, I'm not complacent. There are a number
of messages that have come out of the Queensland election. One of
the messages that I've mentioned before and I would mention
again this morning, is that people are tired of the overtly confrontational
style of national politics. I don't think anybody wins any
votes with the fifteen second biff on evening television in Parliament.
My view is that the public gets the impression that people are playing
games while their problems are being ignored. Now, that is not true
but that is the impression that people often get, and I have a very
strong view that we should change and both sides of politics have
an obligation to change that. It may take, in the eyes of some,
a little colour out of question time, but the public wants a serious
addressing of their problems and they want to believe that there
problems are being addressed seriously all the time and if a perception
is given that they are not, then that weakens their respect for
the system and it weakens their faith in the Parliamentary process,
and as somebody who's a passionate believer in the Westminster
system of parliamentary democracy I think that's an unfortunate
thing and I think we should all make a contribution to that.
JOURNALIST:
Will you be holding a series of public meetings like this throughout
the election campaign. Is this the way you think is the right way
to go?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I haven't given any real thought to the detail of the
election campaign but I like public meetings as you can see. And
I think they are a very energising part of the political process,
but I haven't got into any detailed planning about the campaign
and it is premature of me to start talking about it.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, workers are concerned that they're going to
lose valuable Asian contracts because we now have an One Nation
Member here. How concerned are you that that could happen.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, no Asian investor, or no Asian purchaser should be concerned
about making contracts with Australian companies. As Prime Minister
of Australia I just make it plain that Asian investment, Asian contracts
are extremely important to this country, and indeed, a company like
Walkers is living proof of the importance of the regional connection
to Australia's economy, living proof of the wisdom of the Australian
Government helping to sustain the economies of Asian countries.
Those who run around saying that we should not give help to the
ailing Asian economies fail to realise the way in which they help,
those Asian economies, help communities like Maryborough by buying
the cars and so forth that are manufactured here. I mean, here's
a direct living proof of the importance of that link.
JOURNALIST:
But Walkers have just retrenched 300 workers which the third of
their work force the economy as a result is collapsing. What is
the Federal Government going to do?
PRIME MINISTER:
When you say the economy is collapsing, that was not the message
I got from the management or the work force today. I think that
is an exaggerated thing to say, and I don't accept it. But
what the point I was making is that the importance of the Asian
economic link and therefore the need to nurture that link and to
be receptive to it and to be encouraging to it, is really driven
home in an area like Maryborough. I mean, here you have what 600
people, the largest private sector employer probably in the region,
this has now got the biggest iron foundry in Australia, and they're
selling their product to countries like Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Now, if you wanted a practical demonstration of the stupidity of
discouraging foreign investment or foreign associations or Asian
economic links, you've got it right here staring you in the
face. Thank you.
[ENDS]