Subjects: opinion polls; CHOGM; military assistance for United States; science in Australia; Ansett; conscription.
E&OE................................
JOURNALIST:
What did you think of the polls today Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh look I would counsel people not to take too much notice of those. It's volatile. We're facing when the election comes, we're facing a tough fight. We live in a very volatile political climate and the last thing I'm going to do is get carried away with any fits of hubris as a result of polls. We have a long, tough fight ahead of us and I say to all of the Government's supporters around the nation this election will be hard to win and we have to work hard, we have to stay disciplined and we have to respond to the concerns as well as the aspirations of the Australian people.
JOURNALIST:
. CHOGM security yet Prime Minister? Have you had a briefing on the security of CHOGM and its possible cancellation?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I haven't. Obviously it's a situation we have to keep under review. We would like the meeting to go ahead. However we do have to take account of any security or other considerations or the intention if it became apparent of some of the participants not to come. We just have to keep monitoring the situation on a daily basis.
JOURNALIST:
Is there a briefing going on today?
PRIME MINISTER:
I get briefing on a lot of things every day.
JOURNALIST:
Any request from the United States for military assistance yet?
PRIME MINISTER:
No we haven't received any requests from the United States. If we do we will consider it, we'll consider it sympathetically but it depends on what it is. I've indicated in the past and I repeat today that we are willing to participate and help the United States within the limit and according to our capability. But I have not received any request to date.
JOURNALIST:
What would you nominate as one or two priorities facing Australia that science can tackle?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well obviously one of the big things that science can tackle is the problem of salinity and water quality, the whole question of the environmental balance. There are a whole range of things. I think the capacity of researchers and scientists in Australia to contribute to our future and that of the whole of mankind is enormous. We've always punched above our weight when it come to research. And these federation fellowships which are very competitive by international standards, they are the richest and most valuable fellowships ever offered in Australia's history and they are really designed to make sure that the brightest and the best of our researchers are either kept here or come home and that is a wonderful goal for this country to have.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister Daimaru has decided to pull out, that's a thousand Jobs in Australia. And also Coles Myer cutting another thousands jobs today. What's your response to those issues?
PRIME MINISTER:
I hadn't heard of that first one.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible).
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I haven't seen it, they haven't approached us. The Government's position in relation to Ansett is that we're very keen that the administrator and Qantas reach an agreement as soon as possible and I again ask them to pull out all stops to get additional aircraft in the air so that the needs of Australian travellers can be met. The most important thing at the moment is to meet the demands of Australian travellers. Now we're coping pretty well considering the circumstances but we could cope a lot better if those wet lease arrangements were finalised and I just ask the administrator to understand his responsibilities, Qantas to understand its responsibilities as well, sink their differences and get those aircraft in the air. It's in the national interest that that happen.
JOURNALIST:
Will you rule out conscription?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes.
[ends]