Subjects: Meeting with President Clinton - trade issues; security
arrangements; Care workers
LIEBMANN:
Mr Howard, good morning..well good afternoon to you.
PRIME MINISTER:
How are you Steve?
LIEBMANN:
Now Prime Minister, last Thursday you were calling the lamb decision
hypocritical and appalling, and now it's just an odd difference of
opinion. What happened to your anger?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it's not an odd difference of opinion. I told the President both
in a private discussion and also during our luncheon, our working
luncheon, that this decision had caused more anger in Australia on
trade than any other decision in the time that I'd been involved.
So I don't know that there's been any alteration at all.
LIEBMANN:
How did the President react?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well he understood how upset we were. I mean look, we have to be realistic.
He's taken a decision based on domestic political considerations and
Australia has been hurt in the process. And he's aware of that. I
made that very plain to him both publicly and privately. And it remains
what I described it to him and that is a decision that has upset Australia
on trade more than any other decision that the American...this or
any other American administration has taken. But what I was at pains
to say today was that there are other aspects of the relationship
that oughtn't to be contaminated by this decision. Now that doesn't
in any way diminish the concern and sense of frustration that we feel
about the decision. We can't reverse the decision and I think anybody
who suggests that we can is deluding themselves.
LIEBMANN:
So does the American President still support, in spite of the lamb
decision, does he still support a more open trading system?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well he told me that he did and I was asked about this by the press
afterwards and I said well, it's a question of reacting to outcomes.
I mean he told me that he remained committed to achieving a more liberalised
trading environment out of the World Trade Organisation. He said he
would be coming to the APEC meeting in New Zealand in September, that
he was attracted to the idea of a leaders' declaration supporting
freer trade out of that meeting. He said all of these things. Now
people will make their own judgements about that. I think my judgement
is that I will see what happens. But I can only repeat what he said
to me and what I said to him. In the end we are all judged by our
behaviour and the outcomes we achieve rather than by the words we
use and that applies to him as it does to me or indeed any other political
leader.
LIEBMANN:
But I'm wondering whether we can read into that: yes he still supports
a more open trading system unless it impacts on American producers.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think people in Australia would be entitled to read that into
it. I mean there's no doubt that America has taken a decision on this
issue which looks after Americans and has adverse consequences for
Australians. Now of course they have.
PRIME MINISTER:
So Prime Minister, in the course of your discussions with the President
you didn't perhaps feel inclined to remind him about our security
relationship and the fact that he's got a couple of bases on Australian
soil?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I didn't, and I don't believe I should. And the reason for that
is that it's not in Australia's interest to do so. Some people in
Australia have the quite erroneous idea that the security relationship
between Australia and the United States is all one way in favour of
the United States. The reason I'm not prepared to put the security
relationship on the table is that that would hurt my country, that
would hurt Australia. That's why I don't put it on the table. And
people who argue that you should put the security relationship on
the table in discussions with the Americans are really ignoring the
national benefit to our country of the security relationship.
LIEBMANN:
Prime Minister, just finally, what about Steve Pratt and Peter Wallace?
I know you discussed their predicament with the President. Is he going
to do anything for them?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I discussed their predicament with both the President and also
with the Secretary of State. Now Madeline Albright, who I saw last
night, I went into some detailed discussion with her. Both of them
have undertaken to do what they can in discussions not only with the
Yugoslavs but also with others to try and secure their release. Now
I don't think either of them can wave a magic wand. In the end they
will be released if President Milosovic of Yugoslavia can be persuaded
to release them. I operate on the view that the more people you have
working to achieve that the better but I don't think there's any magic
wand that Clinton or Albright can wave around, and I don't think anybody
should imagine that that is the case. I don't know precisely what
combination of circumstances is going to trigger a change of heart
on the part of the Yugoslav President. We remain hopeful. Our best
on the ground diplomatic advice is that they will be released but
it's an awkward situation. They are being held unfairly and wrongly
but we've said all of that. We'll continue to raise it, we'll continue
to mention it and talk about it to anybody who we think can have some
influence.
LIEBMANN:
Okay. Prime Minister, I know you're r
Okay. Prime Minister, I know you're rushing off to another engagement.
Thank you for talking to us.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[Ends]