E&OE................................
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, you obviously heard the reports this morning on the accident in East Timor. Very concerned about it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I am very concerned. I've been briefed. Apparently there are two Australian soldiers who have been seriously injured. There were about ten altogether. It was an accident. There's no suggestion of any hostile enemy behaviour, any hostile behaviour of any kind. But it's nonetheless a very disturbing, upsetting incident. I've sought more details of the condition of the two men who are seriously injured. They're all being properly cared for in Dili and naturally if it becomes necessary they will be medically evacuated to the mainland..to Australia, and they will of course receive the best of medical attention. I just underlines of course that even without hostile fire it's a dangerous operation and I'm very sorry and I express my very great concern to the Army and to the relatives and loved ones of those personnel who've been injured.
JOURNALIST:
Have you sought any explanation on the circumstances that led to the accident? Was it a treacherous piece of road?
PRIME MINISTER:
I have been told that it was an accident, that the driver behaved in a responsible fashion and did his best to limit the injury and the damage. I don't know any more than that. I will get a further report but I emphasise on the information I have there is no suggestion of any sabotage, no suggestion of any hostile behaviour, and that it is a very unfortunate accident and we can only hope that the people involved make a full recovery. I am concerned about the fact that there are two on the serious list.
JOURNALIST:
Have you had any feedback on the declaration of yesterday, in particular Indonesia? Have you had any word from Indonesia on...?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I've not had any word with Indonesia and I would not expect there to be any grounds for reasonable concern in Indonesia. The discussion was upon the basis that Indonesia retains sovereignty over West Papua. That was certainly the view that I put very strongly and that's a view that's been accepted by the other members of the Forum. So in those circumstances there are no reasonable grounds for any expression of concern by Indonesia. We have always taken the view that West Papua is an integral part of the Indonesian republic. We have never advocated anything to the contrary and we won't because the circumstances of West Papua, the history of it and the history of its addition to the republic of Indonesia is quite different from the history of say East Timor.
JOURNALIST:
The West Papuans are reading this a lot differently. They're saying the fact that it was even discussed is ground breaking for the Pacific Islands Forum and that they're now going to pursue this matter with Australia. They were quite impressed I think with the stance taken, the strong message given.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well they can pursue anything they like. I mean people are entitled to pursue things with Australia because we're an open democratic society and people can put their view, put their view quite strongly. But it has to be on the basis that we regard West Papua as part of Indonesia and we won't be advocating anything designed to undermine the authority of Indonesia.
JOURNALIST:
Did the West Papuans ask you to meet with them [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I haven't ..well I'm not meeting them. They may have made some proforma request but I won't be meeting them because they don't have any status. They've come here as an ad hoc addition to one of the delegations. Now that's something that that delegation decided to do. I don't make any comment on that but I won't be talking to them because it would not be appropriate and it would be contrary to the stance that Australia takes in relation to the sovereignty of Indonesia.
JOURNALIST:
They seem to have been instilled now though with the sense of hope that they will succeed in their push for independence and that that sense of hope has come from Australia and from the Pacific Islands Forum.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the situation remains that West Papua is part of Indonesia and all of the discussion yesterday was on that basis. And I don't really think in those circumstances I can add any more. People may build a hope on the basis of certain things. That's a matter for them but they should understand that the Australian government regards West Papua as part of Indonesia and that my comments yesterday and my interventions in the discussions yesterday were all upon that basis and that has been our position all along. And we have not changed that position and there is no reason to suggest that we will in the future.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, no a domestic matter, it appears that the Opposition and the independent Peter Andren are working on a bill or bills for greater review and scrutiny of parliamentary entitlements for MPs and Senators. Would the government support that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don't know anything about it. I can confidently predict though that the Labor Party will be utterly opportunistic at every turn.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, petrol prices here are 79 cents a litre after being shipped 4,500 kilometres from Australia. Do you think we'll ever see prices of that level in Australia again?
PRIME MINISTER:
I would hope so. In fact we had prices of that order not so long ago. I would hope that we would see some improvement, I certainly do. But of course these things are governed by world markets. They're not governed by government fiat and there are variations around the world that generally speaking Australian petrol is still much lower than petrol in other countries. But that of course is no comfort if it's higher than what it used to be in Australia. I understand that. Those international comparisons don't mean a lot unless they are reflected in a return to lower prices. But right at the moment petrol in Australia is still much cheaper than it is in Britain or most of Europe. Not as cheap as it is in the United States. The cost of crude oil which is the driver of world petrol prices has doubled virtually in US dollar terms over the last 12 months so that's the reason and we must hope that that situation turns around. It's been complicated a bit by the variation in the exchange rate of the Australian dollar against the American dollar. Now they are the reasons why petrol is dearer in Australia than I would like. And I don't like the high price of petrol in Australia and I am at one with the Australian public and the Australian motorist in not liking the fact that world oil prices have driven up the price of Australia petrol.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Reith still enjoys your full support Mr Howard?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, yes.
[ends]