PM Transcripts

BEVAN:
Now we';re joined by the Prime Minister, John Howard. Thank you for that, sir.
PRIME MINISTER:
How are you Philip, or is that David?
SATCHELL:
That';s David, and this is Philip, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER:
How are you?
BEVAN:
I';m the good-looking one!
PRIME MINISTER:
I could hear that!
BEVAN:
Prime Minister, one of the things that you';re doing in Adelaide today is announcing a program to promote racial harmony. Now, how';s that going to work?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it';s a continuation of a Living in Harmony project that we started a few years ago and I think at a time like this when it';s very important people not see the concern over terrorism as a concern about Islam and people of Arab descent. Australians whose parents or they themselves have come from the Middle East, I think it is very important that we emphasise that this is a tolerant and open society and everybody who';s an Australia, irrespective of their racial background is part of our community. I just think it';s a good idea and there';s a responsibility on political and community leaders to emphasise the cohesive nature of our society and I certainly would see this program, which will be implemented if we';re returned, and I think it';s something that will be supported by the entire community. I think it comes at a good time.
BEVAN:
And how exactly will it work? You';re going to spend $3.5 million?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, you do it in a variety of ways. You have some promotion with the media, you encourage at a grass-roots level people of different backgrounds to get together, and merely by publicity being given to the program, you';re reminding people that this is a country made up of many parts and people have come from different parts of the world but they';re here and they';ve embraced Australian values and the Australian community. They';re entitled to retain a place in their heart for their homeland and that';s only natural. But we';re all part of the broader Australian community and the point should be made that there were hundreds of people of Islamic faith who died in the World Trade Centre. It wasn';t just Americans of different extractions and backgrounds and other religions. So, it';s a point that we should constantly remember and not allow this awful period that the world';s going through at the moment to be defined as the rest of the world against Islam. It';s not, because what happened there, is as repugnant to the fundamental values of Islam as it is to the values of Christianity and Judaism or indeed to the values of people who don';t hold any religious faith at all but who believe in a common humanity.
BEVAN:
Prime Minister, I think it';s fair to say those tensions that you';re talking about, talking about racial harmony and the tensions that we';re feeling in our community at the moment, that they';ve been … well, if they haven';t been complicated, they';ve certainly been intensified by the problem of asylum seekers. How long can we keep sending asylum seekers to nearby nations?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don';t think if you reversed that policy you would lessen the, any difficulties that exist at present. I think it may in fact, it wouldn';t help at all. It might in fact go in the other direction. But could I just sound a word of caution about the question of the level of tension? It';s, we shouldn';t make the mistake of saying there';s a lot of tension. There is some, but most Australians are responding, I believe, quite magnificently. They';re being open and tolerant and not seeing people of Islamic faith as being in any way associated with terrorism. I think the majority of Australians understand, they';re as appalled as the next person about what';s happened. I think it would be a huge mistake for us to throw up our arms and say, ‘isn';t this terrible, everybody';s tense, everybody is intolerant';. They';re quite the reverse. There are a few people on the fringes, and they';re the people we';re trying to influence in what we say and what we do. But the great majority of us, and as always, are responding in a very decent, open fashion.
BEVAN:
Regarding the asylum seekers, you must have been given some advice about the life of this current practice of sending them to nearby nations. Have you been given … what is that advice?
PRIME MINISTER:Well, there are a number of countries that we';ve negotiated agreements with and there are some others we';re talking to. We don';t, to answer this as best I can, we don';t have precise advice about exactly how many and so forth. It';s not the sort of thing that is done with that kind of precision. What we have done has been, or all of my advice has been, to reduce the number of illegal, would-be illegal immigrants, entering the pipeline. I can';t guarantee that there won';t be more boats but I can guarantee that there are fewer people going into the pipeline as a result of what we have done and we';re going to persist because we don';t think you can have a situation where people effectively present themselves at our borders, and irrespective of our immigration laws and our refugee principles, require entry.
Now we are generous to refugees. When people criticise what we';re doing, they really have an obligation of suggesting what the alternative is. Now, if somebody imagines that by dropping the policy we';re now following, that would discourage people from coming, they couldn';t be more wrong. It would in fact massively increase the number of people who would want to come and the situation would become infinitely more difficult ... [interjection].
BEVAN:
Well, we spoke to Con Sciacca. We spoke to Con Sciacca, Labor';s immigration spokesperson this morning. Now, he says Labor wants to stop the practice of sending asylum seekers to nearby nations and he hopes that an agreement can be reached with Indonesia within days of taking office, should they take office.
PRIME MINISTER:
Can I just say, that is just an absolute pipedream. Does he seriously imagine that the only thing that';s holding up an agreement between Australia and Indonesia is the political complexion of the Australian Government? I mean, that is insulting to the intelligence of the Australian people. The idea that just all you have to do is vote Labor and you get an agreement, I mean that really, I mean that is on a par with Mr Keating';s remark in the 1996 election campaign when he said that Asian leaders wouldn';t talk to me. I mean that';s ridiculous. That is just, I mean, and right at the moment Indonesia has a lot of internal challenges. We are endeavouring to get Indonesian cooperation. I would suggest that if there were a change of Government on the 10th November it would be no easier for a Labor Government to negotiate an arrangement with Indonesia. Or if it would be easier, then what sort of undisclosed commitments does the Labor Party have in mind to give to Indonesia in the process? I mean it';s just … it defies all logic to suggest that all that has to happen is that you have a change of government in this country. The Indonesians don';t operate that way.
SATCHELL:
Prime Minister, if we could talk about you now. This debate, most people seem to say that, pundits seem to say that Kim Beazley came out on top. How does that, I suppose two questions really: how does that personally affect you? But I suspect it would change your tactics?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, Philip, the question of who won it or who lost it is really a matter for individuals and I';m not going to give a commentary on the commentary. That really is a matter for individual people. It hasn';t altered my tactics. I';m still doing the things that I plan to do. I';m not only talking about our record but I';m also talking about our future agenda and I unveiled quite a lot of it in the business tax area yesterday and will, of course, continue during the course of this election campaign to reveal more policies. But I see no merit at all in trying to score myself. That';s silly. That';s for others to do, and after all, on the 10th of November I get scored by the entire community.
SATCHELL:
Prime Minister, I think it';s also true though, to say that, and I think everyone agrees, that you should never be underestimated as a campaigner. I suppose this is really what I';m getting at. Is there … I suspect there could be another really big rabbit coming out of the hat at some stage?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I always like to have a few surprises - good ones. And I think as the campaign goes on there';ll be some initiatives that we release that people will like very much, but …
SATCHELL:
Is there a big one?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, neither side can afford a really expensive policy speech, we really can';t. We will maintain a balanced budget but the capacity for really large, additional promises with big price tags is simply not there. We have spent quite wisely additional resources on things like defence and roads and salinity over the last 12 months and that';s all been well-targeted expenditure, and rural health and a whole range of other initiatives that everybody has supported. There isn';t therefore, an enormous amount of money left and that of course is a discipline on us as well as on the Labor Party. But within the scope of that, I hope there are some initiatives that we have that people will find attractive and they';ll be unveiled as the campaign wears on.
BEVAN:
And Prime Minister, you';re expected to finally officially confirm the submarine contract for Adelaide?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, yes. I expect to sign an agreement later on this morning and this is very important for South Australia. It';s where the contract ought to go because the infrastructure, the facilities and everything are here right now and it makes sense that it continue. There will be some additional maintenance work that can be carried out in Western Australia so that there are opportunities for people there. But this is very good news for employment in Adelaide, very good news indeed.
BEVAN:
And just finally, Prime Minister, there have been lots of reports of anthrax scares throughout Australia in the last 24-48 hours. What';s the latest information you have? Do you know how many scares that we';ve had to cope with?
PRIME MINISTER:
They';ve had, as of 7 … about 7 o';clock this morning there were about 57 incidents. Most of them were reported because the originating postmark appeared suspicious, such as Florida in the United States, and investigation found there to be no problem. There';ve been 7 cases of powder being delivered. Each has been examined and so far, no problem. It';s unsettling but it oughtn';t to alarm people and shouldn';t, I hope, too much. We shouldn';t overreact, but we should be very cautious and I will keep the public informed as I get further information.
SATCHELL:
Well, Prime Minister, thank you for your time this morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[Ends]