Subjects: Cricket, Kosovar refugees, lamb exports
E&OE....................................................................................................
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, what about the cricket?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh, what a fantastic result. We really are on a roll and the leadership
that Steve Waugh has given has been absolutely magnificent. His innings
last Sunday evening in the first match against South Africa is as
good a one-day innings as I've ever seen and I guess there'll
be a lot of sleepy heads on Monday morning.
JOURNALIST:
Can we have the day off?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, but you can all stay up, in fact, it's almost a matter of
national honour to stay up on Sunday night and cheer the team on.
And I know that millions of Australians will really be getting behind
the team. It's a magnificent climax to what has been a great
World Cup for Australia's great national sport.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, what is your message to Steve Waugh?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, good luck, the whole country is with you.
JOURNALIST:
Are you asking employers to be lenient on Monday?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, look, I don't get into that trivia. I'm just saying
that everybody will want the team to win and I know that there'll
be millions of Australians watching the match right to the finish
and I'll be one of them.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, what about those Kosovar refugees?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, that matter's being handled by the Immigration Minister,
Mr Ruddock. We have been very generous and open-hearted and I am sure
that the overwhelming majority of the refugees feel that way and perhaps
they are embarrassed by the behaviour of [inaudible]. The refugees
are entitled to move around this country. They are not put in detention.
But, of course, it is for the Government to decide the accommodation
that will be provided at government expense. Nobody in their situation
has a right to demand which accommodation will be provided at government
expense. The accommodation offered to them at Singleton is entirely
appropriate, quite adequate and I hope the matter will be intelligently
resolved and I hope that the Australian community does not see the
attitude of this particular group as being typical of the attitude
of the refugees in general because it plainly is not.
JOURNALIST:
Is there any timetable for their departure from Australia?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I don't want to get into that detail. I think people should,
everybody should co-operate in making this work.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, there's some talk this morning of blocking off
the Homebush site to average Australians who haven't got a ticket....[inaudible].
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I haven't caught up with all the detail of that. You go
and ask Mr Knight about that.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, what about these lamb talks [inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, in a sense no news is good news but we still remain fairly concerned,
indeed, quite concerned and fairly pessimistic because there's
an enormous amount of domestic pressure being applied to the American
administration. But there's a very clear choice here for the
United States and for President Clinton. If it wants to continue to
lead the world towards freer and more open trade it must practise
what it preaches at home. And if it imposes a quota on Australian
lamb exports it will send an appalling signal to the rest of the world.
It will say to the rest of the world you have a ready made excuse
for your own protectionist approaches. But we have done everything
we can and we will continue to do all we can to secure a fair deal
and a fair go for Australian lamb exporters.
Thank you.
[ends]