PM Transcripts

Subjects: visit to Indonesia; Wallabies win; John Eales; tax legislation; Telstra price changes.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well can I just briefly say at the beginning that this is an important visit for Australia and Indonesia. It's an opportunity for me just after the installation of President Megawati as the new leader of Indonesia to establish a good personal rapport with her. Our relationship has had difficulties in the past and we don't in any way pull back from anything that Australia has done in the past but we do look to the future and I would like to see relations between Indonesia and Australia be based on realism but positive realism. We shouldn't exaggerate the potential of the relationship nor should we ignore its fundamental importance. We are neighbours, it is a very populist country, we have been willing to help the people of Indonesia in the past and we want to see a prosperous, democratic, growing Indonesia and we'll work to that end and I certainly look forward very much to meeting President Megawati. I'll be the first foreign leader to do and that in itself has great symbolic significance.
JOURNALIST:
What is the symbolism then Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
I beg your pardon?
JOURNALIST:
What is the symbolism do you think of being the first.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it's one of those things that speaks for itself.
JOURNALIST:
What specific issues will you raising with Megawati?
PRIME MINISTER:
We'll cover the gamut of the bilateral relationship. But it is very much a visit which has a symbolic significance, it also has the practical value of giving both of us an opportunity within weeks of her being sworn in as President of Indonesia, and within only a few days of her cabinet, being named it gives both of us an opportunity to develop a personal rapport within the context of a relationship that has to be realistic but a realism that's positive rather than negative or neutral.
JOURNALIST:
Can you outline some of the specific topics that you might.
PRIME MINISTER:
We will just cover all of the things that are in the bilateral relationship.
JOURNALIST:
Megawati hasn't appointed a new Attorney General as part of her cabinet, are you wanting anyone particularly to be in that role.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well heavens above I'm not going to give advice to the leader of another country about who should be in his or her cabinet. That's not the role of an Australian.
JOURNALIST:
But it is.
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm sorry it's not the role of the leader of Australia to tell the leaders of other countries who should be in their cabinet. Any other questions?
JOURNALIST:
Will you be raising any of the issues about the extraordinary violence in West Pupa against independence leaders.
PRIME MINISTER:
We will be talking about a whole gamut of bilateral issues consistent with the sort of things that leaders in this situation discuss. I'm not going to commit myself to any particular issues, I will just let the discussion roam over a whole variety of things. We've got to remember that we are dealing on a basis of respect for each other, no relationship between two countries can be any good if one country adopts an attitude that lacks respect for the other and that is certainly the approach that I will bring. I want to see a stable peaceful Indonesia, I want to see a good bilateral relationship but its also got to be a bilateral relationship that's based on mutual respect, based on a recognition that we are two very different societies and we should understand that but equally we should understand that we have a lot in common, we are forever together in this part of the world and it is very important that we try and focus on the things that we have in common rather than the things that might separate us.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister do you think also that Indonesia's debt problems might also focus at this meeting.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we are naturally concerned to see that Indonesia grows and strengthens economically and I'm sure that the economic future of Indonesia will be discussed. We have been helpful to Indonesia in the past, we certainly see her involvement with institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank being very important. The greater international confidence there is in the new government, the stronger will be foreign investment and therefore the greater will be the growth prospects of the Indonesian economy.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard (inaudible). Are you disappointed that you missed (inaudible)?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well if I'd have known they were arriving right at this time I might have come a couple of minutes earlier but I did get in touch with them yesterday after the fantastic result and I just want to say what a wonderful triumph it is for Australian rugby, they've finally broken the Dunedin whodoo. I watched it on television, it was a great match and a well deserved win, they really are a champion team and it was a nice way for John Eales to finish his international career in New Zealand. I think they'll be not only a big crowd but a very emotional crowd at Stadium Australia on the first of September to see him play his final match as captain of Australia. He's been a tremendous role model, I don't think Australian rugby's had a greater player and even more important than that he's a great role model to younger people generally as to how to play sport. You play it hard and tough, you compete but you're also somebody who can handle the downs as well as the ups and I think he's a real credit to the game and to himself.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister the New South Wales Premier has asked you to review the tax legislation in relation to the film industry. Will you be doing that?
PRIME MINISTER:
No the New South Wales Premier is politically stunting, I've already told him that we're reviewing it. He knows that, I told him, my Chief of Staff, he wrote to me and my Chief of Staff wrote to his a little while ago saying that we are going to review it. What happened in relationship to Moulin Rouge and one or two other films is that a decision was taken by the tax commissioner in accordance with his interpretation of the law. We can't change that ruling unless we change the law. We're going to have a look at it, we want a film industry in Australia, I think the film industry in Australia has been great for this country, it's lead the world in many ways and the potential is enormous. And I certainly don't intend to lose the capacity that this country has. But I think the best way for Premiers to behave on issues like this is to cooperate with the Federal Government and not to run Sunday newspape Government and not to run Sunday newspaper stunts on us. He knows that we're looking at it 'cause I told him so.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister any comment on Telstra's new price changes?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well they're being looked at by the ACCC and that's appropriate.
Thank you.
[ends]