E&OE……………………………………………………………………………………
PRIME MINISTER:
Any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister the National Crime Authority, if you’re re-elected will you do away with it and what is the plan to integrate more policing powers at a federal level?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we haven’t said we’d do away, we’d look at its role. One possible course of action is that, another course of action is its absorption into another body. We need to look at the options, I'm just not satisfied that the Commonwealth, under the existing arrangements, has all the power and freedom of movement it needs in relation to criminal challenges of a national character. We’re not seeking to take from the states their normal policing roles but we’re not completely satisfied that the cooperative arrangements involving the national crime authority work effectively and we’re going to look at them and the right forum in which to do that is a meeting of the Premiers and the Chief Ministers of the territories. And one of the first things that I will do in the early weeks of re-election is, if I’m re-elected that is, is to put in train the convening of such a meeting.
JOURNALIST:
Have you any comment on the opinion polls this morning?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don’t give commentaries on opinion polls. This is going to be a very tough election for us. Look you get a couple of good polls, you get a crummy one in the next few days. I regard this as a very tough fight.
JOURNALIST:
Do you get worried when you see the good headlines?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I just don’t want anybody who’s a Liberal supporter out there to think this is anything other than a very tough fight. And it is a tough fight because national polls can sometimes not fully project the outcome in marginal seats. And I just think everybody has got to keep their feet on the ground, the Labor Party has got a lot of money and they’ve got the unions and everything else so it’s a very tough fight and I don’t take anything at all for granted.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible).
PRIME MINISTER:
I beg your pardon?
JOURNALIST:
Is that why you’re back here in Petrie for a second time?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh I love the place.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard would you consider a referendum to get more power federally to attack crime? Or are you simply confining it to a reference of powers?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Michelle I think the first thing to do is to have the meeting and just see what comes out of that.
JOURNALIST:
Would you consider it though?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well what I’m considering at the moment is to have that meeting, I’m not at this stage committing myself to doing that, I don’t need to.
JOURNALIST:
… Mr Howard of what sort of…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it’s not absolutely certain that the Commonwealth has the necessary power, complete constitutional power, as I’m advised, to deal in the way that it might think appropriate for a terrorist attack on a particular part of Australia. I mean that’s one of the things that’s been thrown up. I mean one of the things you’ve got to remember is that we face some new exigencies and challenges and therefore we have to make certain that we have the right framework. I repeat it’s not a criticism of the states and I would hope none of the states sort of retreat into their shell and say we’re not going to concede anything to the Commonwealth. We’re talking here about getting the best outcome for Australia, irrespective of where people…
JOURNALIST:
…people smugglers as well?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the people smuggling issue is not quite as potentially difficult as some of the others. But they’re the sort of things we need to discuss. But it’s certainly not a takeover of normal state policing functions, it’s just to make absolutely certain that some of the areas where the cooperative arrangements may not work properly, where there may not be an amplitude of Commonwealth power that it is there because nothing is more important than internal security and protection against some of these new challenges.
JOURNALIST:
To what degree are your thoughts on the NCA influence by Gary Crook’s support for a heroin trial?
PRIME MINISTER:
Not at all.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister there are reports from America this morning that there are warnings of a possible new terrorist attack within the next week. Have you been briefed about…
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes I have, I’ve been told a statement was made by the United States Attorney General in which he lifted the level of alert. And I’ve asked for ONA and ASIO to give me a briefing on that, apparently the decision was made in response to what was described as credible intelligence. I don’t want to sound alarmist about that when I say I’ve asked for a briefing, it doesn’t mean for a moment that the same threat automatically exists in Australia. It’s very important with these things that we take all necessary precautions and we are alert but by the same token we have to make certain that we don’t overreact but I’ve sought advice from ASIO and from ONA and when I have that advice if it’s appropriate for me to say something more I will.
JOURNALIST:
Have you had any second thoughts of reconsidered the worth of selling the second part of Telstra?
PRIME MINISTER:
You know our position on that.
JOURNALIST:
No second thoughts…
PRIME MINISTER:
Our position is that we won’t sell another share until we’re satisfied, completely satisfied that things in the bush are up to scratch. I think the person’s whose got to answer a question about Telstra today is Mr Beazley, doesn’t he? I mean doesn’t he have to tell us whether he had that meeting with Mr Prescott?
JOURNALIST:
Why is the government….
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I understand it was asked at a press conference.
JOURNALIST:
Why has the government valued Telstra at $35 billion when the current market value appears to be between $28-$29 billion?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the circumstances in which those figures were calculated is something that you’d have to ask the Treasurer and the Minister for Finance about, the Minister of Finance about. I can’t answer that question. But what I can say is that we're not going to sell anymore of Telstra until such time as circumstances in the bush are up to scratch.
JOURNALIST:
… the Besley…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the government will. Government’s make all of these judgements.
JOURNALIST:
On what basis.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I do a number of things, I mean to start with we’ll talk to community bodies, we have Besley and Besley’s made recommendations and we’re beginning to implement them, the NFF, we’ll talk to our colleagues, we may talk to a lot of other people but I can assure you we won’t be moving an inch until we are completely satisfied that things in the bush are up to scratch. But in the meantime I would like to have an answer from Mr Beazley, did he have that meeting with Mr Prescott or not? I gather he was asked about this, I mean he's the one that sort of brought this issue up. And it goes to credibility, it goes to question of hypocrisy, he said at the weekend as I recollect without having looked at the transcript that not only would he never contemplate selling Telstra he said he never did. Now if he said that he had that meeting with Mr Prescott then he’s got a problem of credibility. And I’d like it explained.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard you say that if the Australian people know what you stand for, do you stand for the full privatisation of Telstra?
PRIME MINISTER:
I stand for fixing things in the bush before there is any further movement on that front. That’s what I stand for. Those words sound familiar.
JOURNALIST:
The bush got a social bonus last time from the first sale, would they expect one from a further sale, or could they?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that presupposes there will be one.
JOURNALIST:
But it’s also part of a formula for…
PRIME MINISTER:
No, that presupposes Matt and the position is we won’t move an inch on that until such time as we are completely satisfied that things in the bush are up to scratch. And while I’m talking about things of national interest can I say what a great trade result it was? The eighth consecutive month of a trade surplus, exports up two per cent, terrific further news of the quality of the Government’s economic management. A really fantastic result, fuelled by the fact that we no longer have embedded indirect taxes in the cost of exports. You can thank…
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible).
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I tell you what it will go on much longer if we’re re-elected. I can assure you of that.
JOURNALIST:
You seem to retreating from your long held commitment to the full privitsation of Telstra.
PRIME MINISTER:
I am repeating the policy, Michelle.
JOURNALIST:
Which is for full privatisation.
PRIME MINISTER:
I am repeating, the policy is that we don’t sell another share till we’ve fixed things in the bush.
JOURNALIST:
And then you sell.
PRIME MINISTER:
Michelle you can say anything you like, I’ve answered your question, I’m not adding anything to it.
JOURNALIST:
… election be difficult (inaudible) Democrat and Greens preferences?
PRIME MINISTER:
This election is difficult because of the pro-Labor decision of the Democrats. The Democrats have made a blatantly pro-Labor decision in relation to the allocation of preferences, now that is their right but they can’t run around talking change politics and pretending that they are the party in the middle when in reality they have, under Natasha’s leadership, they have displayed a more pro-Labor bias than any bias to either of the major parties was displayed by any former leader of the Australian Democrats. I thought their policy was to have split tickets, she told me that, twice, and I’m disappointed that her will has not prevailed or that they have seen fit to change their position. But it does make it hard for us, very hard and that is why I’m saying to you this is a very tough fight. I mean you can have a poll in a newspaper which is a generic outcome but as you know you form government’s by winning seats.
JOURNALIST:
Have you spoken to her since…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I haven’t spoken to her since, I mean clearly a decision has been taken. I have previously spoken to her on a couple of occasions in relation to that but I mean that’s their decision, I’m just making the point that having made that sort of decision and shown such an obvious bias to Labor the Democrats can no longer say that their the party of the middle and that they’re separate and apart and they don’t have anything to do with all this alleged…
JOURNALIST:
They’re as dirty as the rest of you.
PRIME MINISTER:
I beg your pardon?
JOURNALIST:
They’re as dirty as the rest of you.
PRIME MINISTER:
That’s your comment Matt, not mine.
JOURNALIST:
Is the Government considering any sort of proposal from the Ansett administrator?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we have responded in a positive fashion to all of the proposals that have been put by the administrator.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Beazley said he’d support a proposal that’s…
PRIME MINISTER:
Mr Beazley, I mean he runs around singing Telstra billboards and then he runs around signing cheques for companies. I mean that’s no way to govern a country, I mean we can’t have a situation where governments are making equity injections in a company. I mean where will it end.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard…
PRIME MINISTER:
I think we’ve done extremely well, this will be the very last question, because it’s the Courier Mail man we’ll have, and this is Queensland, we shall have another question.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard do you think it’s possible that Australia could have a part public, part private Telstra for many years to come?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well look I’m not going to talk about that beyond repeating what the Government’s position is. Thank you.
JOURNALIST:
Was Mr Ruddock’s intervention proper?
PRIME MINISTER:
Mr Ruddock is always proper.
[ends]