Subjects: Drought relief measures; national security; Iraq; Prime Minister';s XI cricket match.
E&OE...........
LIEBMANN:
We';re joined now from Canberra by the Prime Minister. Mr Howard, good morning to you.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning Steve.
LIEBMANN:
Can I ask you for starters, how quickly this assistance is going to get through to farmers and small businesses because that';s been the problem up until now - the time lag, and of course bickering between the States and Canberra.
PRIME MINISTER:
Very quickly Steve, these entitlements will run from yesterday and because of the loosened criteria for the income support assistance, that';s effectively the unemployment benefit level for six months, people can start applying for that immediately. The small business interest rate subsidies are immediately available in areas that have already been declared as having Exceptional Circumstances and as other areas become entitled to that assistance, it will also be available. In summary it will flow very quickly. There are eligibility criteria. Obviously if you';ve got a sizeable off-farm income and assets then you';re not entitled, and that';s only fair. The situation with something like this is that it';s always necessary to make certain that the assistance goes as quickly as possible, but to those people who are entitled to it, and I believe that the way in which we';ve restructured it, the way in which we have liberalised the criteria because of the particularly severe character of this drought and its widespread nature, that has already been welcomed by farmers and it will be very widely welcomed as people get to know more of it.
LIEBMANN:
Not all farmers though Prime Minister. For example, farmers in Victoria';s worst drought hit areas say they miss out on the Federal relief package. Farmers in Queensland are saying that the package doesn';t include areas from north of Rockhampton through to the Stanthorpe shire on the border, but it includes parts of north Queensland which haven';t been officially drought declared. Here';s what Larry Acton from Agforce in Queensland told us on our program earlier this morning. Just have a listen to this.
ACTON:
So we';re actually analysing that right now. We hope that in the next two days we can send a list of shires to the Federal Government that we believe need to be included because I would argue that the conditions in Queensland have been as bad for longer in most cases than New South Wales. So we need to get that right.
LIEBMANN:
Can they get it right Prime Minister? How flexible are the criteria?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the point I';d make to Larry and to listeners in all States is that the principle is being applied equally across the country. If you have a rainfall deficiency of one in 20 years and they understand that lingo over a nine month period, then wherever you are in Australia you get the assistance. So there';s no discrimination against Queensland or Victorian farmers. We have said that because 80 per cent of the farmers in New South Wales come within that criteria of drought affected, then we';re going to declare the whole State. But we';ll do the same with another State if 80 per cent of the farmers are likewise affected. So I want to assure Larry Acton that there is no discrimination against farmers in Queensland or Victoria. Obviously you can always say the criteria could be even more liberal.
LIEBMANN:
Sure.
PRIME MINISTER:
Then you could have a situation where you just don';t have any criteria at all. But I do have responsibilities to other taxpayers and in all of these things you have to balance generosity to people who need help with an eye to others. And I also noticed in the paper this morning that some people were criticising this package because it was too generous. I noticed that somebody said it was fostering a handout mentality. So I guess if you get a little bit savaged from both sides, you';ve probably got it about right.
LIEBMANN:
The point that the New South Wales Farmers Association makes - they say you should be giving farmers cash because anything else is useless, anything else won';t put food on the table or feed in barn.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the interim assistance is cash. I mean it';s $600 a fortnight. It';s not a king';s ransom, it';s not a huge amount, but it';s the basic benefit that people out of work get, and that is putting food on the table, that is helping. That';s just not right to say that';s not cash. We';re not asking for that back. I mean it';s there - they keep it, they live on it, it helps them to live. Now in relation to the interest rate subsidies, we decided to give interest rate subsidies rather than direct grants. One of the problems with direct grants is that once again you';ve got to strike this balance between caring for the people who need help, but also having some regard to the position of other taxpayers who have legitimate claims on Government largess.
LIEBMANN:
Prime Minister on another matter, yesterday a Federal parliamentary committee that';s reviewing Australia';s readiness for increased terrorism was told that we need a single integrated national security and counter-terrorist unit under a single commander. That';s a reasonable call, isn';t it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well yes, it';s a reasonable call as far as it goes. I';m looking at different ways that we might reorganise our intelligence and security responses, but it misses the point that we already have a very highly coordinated arrangement. And there';s no magic Steve in new titles and new positions in dealing with intelligence and security. Providing the agencies are working together, then you have an effective response. Now I';m not ruling out some reorganisation. Maybe there is some merit in that. But I think there is a real danger in the wake of things like we';ve been through recently for people who are thinking if you get a new title, a new office, a new description, then everything is solved. I mean in the end it is still the most effective use of the men and women available at a given time in response to a challenge that';s important.
LIEBMANN:
Prime Minister, in the event of an attack on Australian soil - heaven forbid - but in the event of such an attack, who calls the shots? Is it you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well obviously if there is an attack on Australia. But Steve look, there is no likelihood of an attack on Australia in the conventional sense. Indeed the analysis we have had over recent weeks indicates that the likelihood of an attack on Australia in a conventional sense is even more remote now than it has been for some years. Now that';s not to say that I';m complacent about it. It';s not to say that I say it will never happen. I';m simply making the observation that the challenge Australia now faces and the more immediate real challenge is the unconventional threat of terrorism and we have to find ways and responses for that, that we haven';t been required to do so in the past.
LIEBMANN:
Final point. Baghdad';s arms declaration is now at the United Nations headquarters in New York and Iraq is saying it has got no weapons of mass destruction. America says it does. Shouldn';t the Bush administration produce the evidence publicly before it goes to war with or without the support of Australian troops?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Steve the first thing that must happen is that the Iraqi declaration should be examined carefully and until it has been examined, people shouldn';t jump to particular conclusions. We should examine it very carefully. I do make the observation that Iraq has lied about these things in the past, but I make that as an observation. The Americans have indicated overnight that subject to protecting the security of their sources, they are prepared to make information available to the weapons inspection system within the United Nations. I think that is the right thing to do. They must protect their sources but equally if they can provide material which contradicts what the Iraqis have said, then that ought to be provided. I think that is sensible. And what I hear is that the Americans are taking a measured approach and I support that. That is our view. We';ve got to look at this declaration but we';ve got to look at it with a very cold, hard eye - understanding what Iraq';s track record is - and we shouldn';t be bedazzled by bulk and fooled into believing that because there are tens of thousands of pages, that it might not contain inaccuracies. But it';s got to be gone through very carefully. I';m not at this stage giving a response because I don';t know what';s in it, and until I know what';s in it and I know what the Americans and others have said about it, I';m not going to be speaking for Australia in relation to what is in it.
LIEBMANN:
But are you saying you would expect to see what is in the report and the evidence that America says backs up its position? You would expect to see that, to be shown.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well of course. I would expect to know of it. I mean I won';t be able to read tens of thousands of pages, but I would want to know what the UN assessment, I would want to know what the American and British assessment… I would want our own Australian assessment.
LIEBMANN:
Okay.
PRIME MINISTER:
That';s very important, of what is in that, and I';d want to know what is said in reply by the Americans. But I don';t see any unwillingness by the Americans to do that. In fact I saw Richard Armitage saying in Tokyo that that is exactly what the Americans would do.
LIEBMANN:
Right. Well without wanting to appear flippant, given the subjects we have been discussing this morning, it doesn';t look like your cricket match is going to go ahead.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Steve I said last night at the reception that for the first time in my life, I had a genuine conflict of interest between rain and a cricket match. On every other occasion, I have preferred the cricket match. On this occasion, speaking as Prime Minister of Australia, more than anything else this nation needs rain and we will take it whenever it';s available.
LIEBMANN:
I hope you';ve got the bar stocked at the Lodge.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
LIEBMANN:
Thanks for your time.
[ends]