E&OE.............................................................................................
Like millions of Australians over the past four days I have followed
with anxiety and despair the tragic events in the Sydney-to-Hobart
yacht race, and on behalf of the government I want to express my
condolences to the families of those who died, they lost their lives
following a sport they loved but the loss will nonetheless be very
heavy for their families.
I also want to express on behalf of the entire nation my immense
admiration for the rescue operation that was mounted. The Australian
Maritime Safety Authority, which had overall responsibility for
it, performed its task magnificently and I don't think there'd
be an Australian who watched a television set over the last 48 hours
that wouldn't be filled with admiration for those men and women
who went down to winch the sailors, the yachtsmen, to safety. The
way in which people in our volunteer services, our navy our police
and all the rescue operators private and public the way in which
they continually risked their lives to help others is something
that fills me with great respect and admiration and I want on behalf
of a very grateful nation and I know the families of many people
who've been rescued to express my respect and my profound admiration
for the professionalism and the bravery of the efforts that they
undertake They yet again remind all of us of how dependant we are
on many people who put their lives on the line to help us carry
on our daily lives and to pursue the sporting activities and the
pleasures that we all love.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard are you keen to see an inquiry investigate this tragedy?
PRIME MINISTER:
I thought the inquiries that have been established by the Cruising
Yacht Club of Australia and also the coronial inquiry are adequate,
I am quite certain that they will get to the bottom of anything
that needs to be investigated. I think it's important to have
a calm examination and to leave it to those who organise the event
and the normal authorities to investigate things rather than calling
for special separate inquiries.
JOURNALIST:
Don't you think there should be a public inquiry?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think what is proposed is suitable. The coroner will inquire
in the normal way and I don't think it's appropriate for
me to be suggesting anything else.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think, considering the weather conditions were known a day
in advance the race may... possibly should have been called off?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I have every sympathy for the organisers of the race when
something terrible like this happens. People immediately say well
this or that should have been done. I'm not a yachtsman, I
have to respect the views of people who are and who understand the
sea. It sounds pretty sensible to me that the only principle you
can work by is that each skipper is in command of his own ship and
he alone has to decide what that boat is going to do and I'm
persuaded by that.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, how did you feel when you first heard reports that there
could have been up to 10 people missing and boats missing?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I was, like everybody else, I was terribly upset and disturbed.
And it's...I mean the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race is part
of the Christmas New Year period of Australia, it's part of
our way of life and these people have lost their lives following
a sport they love. That doesn't make it any easier for their
families and I think it's just a miracle, for which we should
be very thankful, that more lives weren't lost and the people
you can thank for that are very much the people in the rescue operations.
I think they are magnificent. They risk their lives in a quite unselfish
way and they deserve our thanks.
JOURNALIST:
Does it cast a cloud over the race in the future?
PRIME MINISTER
Oh look, I don't think so. I...it's a tragedy but
there are many, tens of thousands of Australians who are very keen
sailors and yachtsmen and they'll go on and they'll want
to go on and that's...and I'm quite sure they're...those
who have been touched by this tragedy would want them to go on.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, on another matter, the situation in Yemen, what do we
know about that, and will you be making any government to government
talks about it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the Foreign Minister will be saying something about it this
morning, I know that tragically an Australian has been killed, apparently
in crossfire between his captors and the army of the Yemen federation.
Apparently there were two Australians who were kidnapped by an Islamic
extremist group that's having a running battle with the Yemeni
authorities and tragically an Australian has lost his life as a
result. Now the Foreign Minister will be pursuing the matter very
vigorously with the government of the Yemen. It should stressed,
of course, that the group responsible is a group that's very
antagonistic to the government in that country and is regarded as
a terrorist group in that country. But I do take the opportunity
of issuing a general reminder to Australians travelling overseas
to seek consular advice if they are in any doubt as to areas they
visit. The Department of Foreign Affairs regularly advises people
against travelling to certain parts of the world because certain
parts of the world are dangerous and I just think it's important
that people understand that and that if they do take risks and travel
to areas that are dangerous then tragic events could unfold.
JOURNALIST:
[inaudible] hostages, kidnappings, but we've never had a death
before. Do you think the Yemen security forces mishandled this?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, Australians have lost their lives at the hands of terrorist
organisations before. This is not the first time it's happened.
It may have been the first time in that particular country but Australians
have lost their lives in many countries at the hands of terrorist
activities and I mean the point is nonetheless valid that people
should be advised by the Department of Foreign Affairs about what
places are safe to travel to and which aren't. I'll take
2 more questions.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister are you going to be speaking to Mr Thomson about
his comments that the Olympics should perhaps end in 2004 which
have antagonised IOC members, Mr Gosper and Mr Coates.
PRIME MINISTER:
No I'm not. He's a backbencher, he's entitled to
express his view.
JOURNALIST:
Is it not up to the Sports Minister now to be speaking about...
PRIME MINISTER:
He's entitled as a backbencher to express a view, I mean it's
obviously not a view shared by the government but he's entitled
to express his view and I won't be speaking to him, no.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister do you know whether the rescue attempt in Yemen
was a result of the kidnappers' starting to kill their hostages
as the Yemeni officials say?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm not advised of that at this stage so I can't answer
yes or no about that, I just don't know. I'm getting information
and I think you ought to put a tab on Mr Downer's news conference
later this morning.
[ENDS]