Subjects: Income tax, Skase, Tristar, homelessness.
E&OE................................
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister how solid is your commitment to give income tax cuts if you win the next federal election?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the commitment is very strong. If there is a surplus available we'll give it back via income tax cuts. The story in The Australian today didn't really alter that. I made that very plain last week. Tax is a central issue. It's very much at the centre of the agenda and the difference between us and Labor is that if they get their hands on a surplus they're going to spend it. We're going to return it in income tax cuts.
JOURNALIST:
Are you backing away ...
PRIME MINISTER:
No. I don't know where that notion came from.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Skases's death, are you dissappointed or was the Government saddened by this?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't wish to say anything insensitive about the death of anybody. Obviously there are issues relating to assets and so forth, I don't want to talk about it beyond pointing out that you should talk to Senator Ellison and the Attorney-General about that matter.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think the assets should be pursued?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well there's a legitimate public interest in that, yes.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister in the Tristar Dispute, have Minister Abbott's comments made a positive contribution or had a negative impact?
PRIME MINISTER:
Tony's comments have not been negative in any way. He's made the point that this is an unwanted strike. It hurts workers. It hurts workers and I can't understand how anybody can go on strike in circumstances where it can lead to the standing down of thousands of their fellow workers in other parts of the country. In an industry where it is critical that we present a united, cohesive forward-looking front, to the rest of the world. And that was driven home to me very strongly in the context of my visit to Tokyo last week and it's just tremendously important that people understand that strikes in industries like this, indeed anywhere, are very unhelpful. Most importantly of all they are unhelpful to Australian workers.
JOURNALIST:
Will the Government be intervening in the case?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well if we do, that would be a matter that would be indicated in the appropriate way by the Minister on behalf of the Government.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible) on Australian homelessness some gaps between homelessness and what's being provided can only be addressed with increased funding. Was your speech, just then, saying that that increased funding should be coming from the business community more so?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I've already indicated, the Government's indicated, via the budget, increases in a lot of areas of social welfare. Senator Vanstone will be saying more about that report over the next few days.
[ends]