PM Transcripts

Subjects: troops; election campaign; soccer.
PRIME MINISTER:
I just wanted to make it known that the advance party of the SAS that are going to join the coalition effort in Afghanistan left Perth earlier today. It';s expected that the rest of the contingent will go in about a week';s time. They will be based initially in the gulf region, I don';t want to be me more specific at this time as to where. This of course is a special force commitment that could be involved in stages of the operation, involved in direct action against some of the hard core terrorist groups, the pursue and capture of which is the prime goal of the coalition operation in Afghanistan.
JOURNALIST:
How many soldiers departed today?
PRIME MINISTER:
The advance party is about 30 and the total contingent is 150. It is important to remember that although the military operation overall is going very well for the Americans and for the coalition in Afghanistan, the prime objective is still the pursuit of bin Laden and Al Qaida, their apprehension and destruction or bringing to account and that that still remains an unrealised objective and it shouldn';t be assumed that because the military operations are going extremely well for the Americans that the need for special force presence, not only from Australia but also from most particularly the United States and others is still there.
JOURNALIST:
So what exactly is their mission?
PRIME MINISTER:
I beg your pardon? Well their mission remains as I outlined some weeks ago when I announced the Australian Military commitment. They will be involved in the operations of special forces, particularly relating to the pursuit of the Al Qaida hard core which, the capture of which, is the ultimate objective of the operation.
JOURNALIST:
So they';ll be on the ground in Afghanistan?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well they are going to the gulf and from there their deployment will be a matter of discussion between our force commander and the Americans. And I don';t at this stage want to say any more than that but special forces are not normally sent anywhere unless the objective is for them to be involved in actual operations, there is not to be a limit on their involvement, they are to be involved in operations as distinct from just search and rescue missions.
JOURNALIST:
And do you believe that the coalition forces are actually closing in on bin Laden and the Al Qaida network?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think the military campaign is going extremely well.
JOURNALIST:
Were you able to speak to any of them this morning Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I didn';t, it was not my intention to do that because the arrangement was that there should be a formal farewell to them a few weeks ago and the reason for the delay has been negotiating the basing arrangements in the Gulf, there';s been no hesitation on our part.
JOURNALIST:
The fall of the Taliban so quickly, does that leave open options that the rest of our military commitment might not need to be deployed, our Navy and our Air Force?
PRIME MINISTER:
All I can say at the moment is that the military operation has gone very well. It';s premature to speculate as to what about impact that will have on the time that our people are going to be over there but it has gone extremely well and everybody will of course welcome the possibility that there may be a shorter involvement. But it';s too early to make that comment. The history of military engagement in the last 100 odd years is that quite often the final achievement of the goal is delayed long months, even years by the presence of a hard core that refuses to yield.
JOURNALIST:
Just on another issue, Mr Crosby this morning suggesting how the economic issues and the economic management of the Government really contributed to its success in the election. Do you stand by that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Mr Crosby will be having quite a lot to say about this at the Press Club and I don';t want to pre-empt his line. But I';ve said all along that one of the strong weapons politically that the Government took to the last election was its economic management credentials and this morning the OECD is giving us a thumping endorsement. What the OECD is saying is that Australia is better placed than most to not only weather the international economic downturn but also to get lift off, better lift off than any other industrialised country when the world recovery comes. Now that';s not an accident, that';s the result of five and a half years of excellent economic management by the Howard Government.
JOURNALIST:
But the fact that more than 75 per cent of the population supports strong border protection policies, doesn';t that suggest to you that that was a key, if not the key element, in your re-election?
PRIME MINISTER:
Alexandria, Mr Crosby will be addressing the Press Club and he will do it with great skill and panache and flair.
JOURNALIST:
Cabinet today Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, we';re not meeting today, no.
JOURNALIST:
Cabinet announcements today?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh, the announcement of the new Cabinet. No, it won';t be today, look it';ll be tomorrow or Friday. But you';ll have it by the weekend and they';ll be sworn in on Monday, but I';m not going to tie myself down to an exact time. It won';t be today, it will be tomorrow or very possibly on Friday and sworn in on Monday and there we go.
JOURNALIST:
And you wouldn';t be tempted to bring Parliament back just before Christmas?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, there';s no occasion to bring Parliament back before Christmas. Parliament, the last parliament sat more days than any national parliament since 1946 to 1949 so we';re not slackers when it comes to parliamentary sittings. I mean you love reporting us so much you want us back before Christmas. No, we won';t come back before Christmas Alex. But we';ll be back strong and active in the new year and there';s a lot of work to be done and there are a lot of items on the reform agenda so you won';t be wanting for things to report, I can promise you that, it';s going to be a very active government.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister you were at the Socceroos last night, what was it like?
PRIME MINISTER:
Fantastic. It was a tremendous shot in the arm for Australian soccer. They were a very happy, not exultant because we';re only at half time, but I saw them in the dressing room afterwards and they were pretty happy and it was a great spirit, it was a beautiful evening and there';s nothing quite like the Melbourne Cricket Ground, there';s no better sporting arena in the world than the Melbourne Cricket Ground and it';s just a fantastic atmosphere and I wish them well for Montevideo and it';ll be tough but they';ve certainly got the advantage not allowing the Uruguayans to score a goal because of the scoring system. If they'd have scored a goal they';d have got double the credit for it. We really do go into it with a great deal of enthusiasm but it will mean a lot for Australian soccer if we can qualify because it being such an international game, international recognition and achievement is really the key to the long term vitality of the game in Australia.
[ends]