E&OE...............................................
JOURNALIST:
How would you describe what you've seen here today?
PRIME MINISTER:
Heart breaking. To walk into somebody's home and to see the absolute
destruction and to hear the tales of how a house that's taken
people five years to lovingly put together wiped out in a few minutes,
I think it's very heartbreaking. But what is uplifting at the
same time is the tremendous spirit of these people. They're determined
to overcome the setback and the adversity. And I just want them to
know that the rest of Australia is thinking of them. I mean, it's
an act of God, a natural disaster but the rest of the country feels
for them and the rest of the country, through the Government, is willing
to do practical things to help them.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, can you elaborate on what options you expect this meeting
with the banks and the insurance companies to come out with?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, there's a problem and it's a problem that's got
to be addressed by the Government and it's a problem that's
got to be addressed by the sections of the business community, in
a broader sense, that are there. The insurance companies and the bank,
I just want to sit down and have a talk to them. I think there is
a particular problem and it needs to be addressed and at a time like
this everybody's expected to play their part.
JOURNALIST:
The business people are worried about being offered yet more loans.
PRIME MINISTER:
I understand that and I listened very carefully to what they had to
say. I'm not at this stage going to pre-empt what is going to
come out of that discussion. But let me make it clear that it's
one of these situations where everybody's got to pitch in and
make a contribution. The Government is willing to do that. The Northern
Territory Government, under the leadership of Mr Stone and Mr Reid,
the local member, have done a magnificent job. I mean, as I've
gone around Katherine today every single person I've spoken to
just about has said, please thank Shane Stone and Mike Reid for what
they have done and how they've shared the pain and the suffering
and the difficulty of the citizens of this town. And they've
done their part. We're willing to play our part. And there are
others that I hope I'm sure will play their part as well.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, just on another thing. What are your thoughts overnight
on the waterfront issue?
PRIME MINISTER:
This country needs a more efficient and a more competitive and a more
productive waterfront. And I fully support the efforts of any Australians
who want to go into business on the waterfront and provide competition
and provide better services. And we have changed the law of this country
to allow that to happen. And I simply say to everybody involved, play
according to the law, remember the Australian national interest and
not your own personal interests all the time and we'll have an
outcome that's good for Australia and good for the economic future
of this country in a very uncertain economic region.
JOURNALIST:
What legal advice, if any, has the Federal Government been seeking
over this matter?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm not going to go into all the detail of that. I mean, look,
as far as the law is concerned, we made a new law, it was passed by
the Parliament and it's a very effective new law. I mean, I particularly
applaud the decision of the full bench of the Industrial Relations
Commission on the Rio Tinto case. It's a benchmark decision.
But we have got a new law, a better law, a law for the future. And
providing people act within that law they are perfectly entitled to
start new businesses.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, there was a report this morning in the Sydney Morning
Herald that the Government's prepared to offer up to $100
million to stevedoring companies if they were to make MUA members
redundant. Are you able to comment on that?
PRIME MINISTER:
I haven't read that report. I think you ought to ask Mr Reith
that.
Thank you.
[Ends]