Subjects: meetings with business leaders; World Economic Forum; Afghanistan; asylum seekers; trade issues
E&OE...........
PRIME MINISTER:
I';ll just give a brief report on what I';ve done and then you can ask me any questions. As you will be aware my program today, apart from an interview on CNBC, was tied up very much with meetings with business leaders. The forum at the University Club probably brought together in that kind of forum the largest assembly of leading CEOs between the two countries in memory. It was a very large gathering of some 30 leading businessmen and women from both Australia and the United States. It was jointly chaired by Hugh Morgan and Philip Condit. Philip Condit';s the CEO of Boeing. And it talked about the complimentarities of the Australian and American economies and at length of the possibility of a free trade agreement. There';s very strong support for a free trade agreement within the American business community and the Australian business community. There is a recognition that it will be hard but there';s also a recognition that right now is as good a time as we';re likely to have for a long time to get some momentum.
I was particularly encouraged by the high level of attendance of people holding very senior business positions in the United States. It bodes well for the commitment of the business community in this country for the future of a free trade agreement and the fact that the two sides as it were should get together at that high level certainly will give it a boost. I want to publicly record my thanks to Michael Thawley the Australian Ambassador for the tremendous work I know he';s done to try and bring this about. We are very strongly committed to pursuing it. I don';t want to suggest that it';s going to be easy. I think it';s going to be very difficult and it may not come off. But it';s worth a shot. I have a very pragmatic attitude towards trade issues. If you can get somewhere multilaterally you ought to try to do so, if you can get somewhere bilaterally you ought to try and do so, and if you have to do both of them at the same time you ought to attempt that as well. In trade matters it';s a question of finding a national advantage where the opportunity presents itself.
At lunchtime I was the guest of the US Chamber of Commerce at a business roundtable which included a number of the people who';d attended the earlier gathering but a significant number of other business leaders as well. I';ve also had, and will have a number of bilateral meetings with business figures who have investments in Australia. Any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, was there any strategy talked about to try and progress….?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, there were a number of strategies talked about. Clearly a general lobbying effort with Congress is part of it, a focus on better explaining the benefits to the United States or parts of the United States of a free trade agreement. The benefits for Australia are more self-evident because Australia';s a smaller economy and the United States is the biggest economy in the world and it';s a logical thing to say well if you';re an economy Australia';s size and you get access to a big economy like America';s that';s all upside. From the American point of view we need to identify those parts of the country that maybe will benefit more from a free-trade agreement. Obviously there are some areas that are resistant to it. I understand that but I think it is a goal worth pursuing.
JOURNALIST:
Tomorrow morning you address or you speak…..
PRIME MINISTER:
I take part in a panel yes.
JOURNALIST:
What';s particular Australian angle to be put in these discussions at WEF and what do you see coming out of the discussions, what particular advantage to Australia?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the panel is not, I mean my contribution is not intended to be a set piece presentation. I think these sorts of gatherings are rendered close to meaningless if everybody gets up and reads a prepared speech. I';ve never been enthralled with that kind of presentation. I think it';s far better to participate in a panel. What';s the Australia perspective – we';ll bring the perspective of a sophisticated, modern, first world economy performing better than most over the last few years, productivity performance which has outstripped that of the United States over the last ten years, the likelihood according to such journals as the London Economist to be the fastest growing economy in the western world in 2002, a close friend and ally of the United States, but a country that sees itself as having a special, or how should I put it, I';ve frequently said it before – a unique intersection of being in the Asian Pacific region and having the links we have with North America and Europe.
JOURNALIST:
Have you any discussions on the steel issue or any response yet from the President, and have you had a report from Mark Vaile on whether he';s made any progress on that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well in relation to Mark I have spoken to him. He';s discussed it amongst other things in a lengthy meeting with Mr Zoellick, the Special Trade Representative. I haven';t had a reply from President Bush. I wouldn';t have expected one yet. As I said two days ago I only recently just written the letter. Well two days on it';s still fair to say it';s not long since I wrote the letter. Have I had any discussions – no but I will if as I expect I see Mr O';Neill the Treasury Secretary on Saturday I will certainly mention it amongst other things.
JOURNALIST:
And what did Mr Vaile [inaudible] to responses….?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well he hasn';t had a definitive response. It';s still being considered.
JOURNALIST:
Is he more hopeful, less hopeful?
PRIME MINISTER:
I would give a neutral answer to that.
JOURNALIST:
Gareth Evans today has been quite critical Bush';s comment about the axis of [inaudible] calling Mr Bush';s comments as simplistic, [inaudible], counter productive. What';s your reaction to that?
PRIME MINISTER:
There are a lot of private commentators now.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think that President Bush was being too harsh though on …..?
PRIME MINISTER:
No. I think that what the President said was entirely understandable. As I indicated to you I think at the Jewish lunch yesterday I think his remarks were perfectly understandable. As for any further Australian involvement, well that';s a matter that we would look at on a case by case basis.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think there is an axis of evil as Mr Bush said?
PRIME MINISTER:
Anything associated with terrorism is inherently evil.
JOURNALIST:
But do you see those three countries as the axis of evil?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I would certainly, if you look at the record of those countries over the years, see them as countries that certainly in the case of North Korea as a very undemocratic country. But look I';m not going to give a running commentary on the President';s language or the phraseology he uses. I';ve expressed my view of understanding and support but as to whether I would say it in those terms or some other terms, I mean that';s a pointless exercise Lisa. I';m not going to do that.
JOURNALIST:
Just on your meetings today, do you finish the day just with a sense that some of these chief executives will be taking part in this effort…..?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes I do. I thought they were….I mean some of them even suggested the establishment of a formal structure to pursue the cause. There is great enthusiasm.
JOURNALIST:
Is that being installed Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
It will be yes. Yes it will be.
JOURNALIST:
Just a business structure [inaudible] government?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I mean there';s already a government and we have a completely open mind. We are prepared to expand, step up, diversify, our effort in order to achieve the success we want.
JOURNALIST:
Would you hope to have American chief executives go in to bat if you like for Australia on this steel issue and perhaps some other areas like the Farm Assistance Bill and to try and get….?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I would expect them to go into bat on the cause of a free-trade agreement. I mean in relation to each individual trade dispute…..
JOURNALIST:
But no specific lobbying say on the steel issue which is the one that';s obviously on the front burner at present, the one that';s of major concern to the government?
PRIME MINISTER:
I';m not sure that it is necessarily productive for Australia to be seen in relation to each and every trade dispute on a specific commodity to be seen to seeking to enlist the help of individual American companies. I mean it';s quite a separate matter to pursue the cause of a free trade agreement and to try and enlist the assistance of the American business community. I think you would have to look at those two things quite separately. I mean there may be circumstances where on an individual trade dispute there';s a particular reason to try and enlist the help of an American company or companies. But as a general rule of saying well from now on every time we have dispute we';ll ring up every American country we know to get them to lobby, I think you';d run out of coin pretty quickly if you started to do that.
JOURNALIST:
Indonesian officials have said that people smuggling won';t be on the agenda [inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER:
I think the discussions I have with the President would cover all of the things that ought to be covered in such a meeting.
JOURNALIST:
Including people smuggling?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I';m not going to talk about individual things. I';m simply going to repeat that I think that the things that ought to be covered in such a meeting will be covered and I';m sure they will be covered.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard there';s reports today that Afghanistan reverting back to tribal warfare? Are you scared that should that escalate then you can have the same old problem, more Afghans coming to Australia….?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well look Phillip I';m not going to chase every headline.
JOURNALIST:
But it';s quite a prominent, I mean it';s been quite a problem historically in Afghanistan [inaudible].
JOURNALIST:
Well it backs up claims from Afghanistan that they';re not ready yet to take any of the asylum seekers (inaudible) would you be hoping that…
PRIME MINISTER:
That';s argument Lisa. It';s not a question it';s argument.
JOURNALIST:
No, no, the comment from Australia from the Afghanistan (inaudible) is that they';re not ready for…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I';ve seen a lot of comments from Australia. I mean I saw a comment from the Afghan Australia Council saying that they were delighted at the outcome of the meeting I had with Mr Karzai yesterday. It is a difficult issue, I';ve said that. We all know that and I had a very productive discussion with Mr Karzai yesterday, let';s take it one step at a time and I don';t want to make extravagant claims about what was discussed or agreed yesterday, but equally I';m not going to react with excessive negativity to every suggestion that something might be a bit more difficult today than it appeared yesterday. I mean, you';ll get nowhere on that.
JOURNALIST:
One of the issues you raised yesterday with Mr Karzai you told us about was Australia';s concern about opium trade [inaudible] Afghanistan recently. Can you elaborate on that at all for example what sort of advice did you receive from the people involved in the new interim administration might have links to….?
PRIME MINISTER:
I haven';t received any hard evidence of that.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard in the activities today did anybody raise the issue of asylum seekers?
PRIME MINISTER:
There was one reference tangentially to it, and there was no reference to the detention centres but to the issue of immigration. I mean there was quite a discussion about migration policies at lunch but it was not in the context of you know this is a huge problem and what are you doing about it.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard have you got a deadline to that resettlement offer?
PRIME MINISTER:
I beg your pardon.
JOURNALIST:
Would there be a deadline to that resettlement offer?
PRIME MINISTER:
I';m not going to say yes or no to that at this time.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard coming back to the comments about whether Afghanistan is ready or not. I think the doubt was expressed by the Afghan representative in Australia. Are you satisfied from your discussions yesterday that the Afghan leadership is confident that they are able to receive…..?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, look I';m satisfied from yesterday';s meeting about what I reported. The issue was raised, I explained the Government';s policy, I expressed a view that those who were not afforded refugee status should go back to Afghanistan. We both agreed that the Taliban had gone and that that was obviously relevant to whether people should have, should go back. I mentioned the potential for resettlement allowances and we agreed that we would further discuss the matter. Now, it seems to me implicit in that if there was no possibility in the eyes of the Afghani Government that those people could go back at some time in the not too distant future that would have been said yesterday, now look, look you surely understand this is a very challenging situation for the people who run this interim government. It';s a difficult issue for Australia. We don';t intend to change our policy of mandatory detention. We are finding a way of dealing with people who are covered by that policy of mandatory detention who don';t get refugee status. Now, we';re working bit by bit a way of dealing with people who are covered by that policy of mandatory detention who don';t get refugee status. Now we are working, bit by bit. I can';t give ironclad guarantees about this anymore than anybody else could about such a difficult situation.
JOURNALIST:
The other point was you used a figure of 1100 which was people who were either being processed or had been rejected. Philip Rudduck has talked about 4500 which includes people who have been successful but who are on temporary visas. Could you clarify whether you see this being restricted or….?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I see it as applying to 1100. I mean I haven';t spoken to Philip about that but I';ll have a discussion with him about it, but I see it applying to the people who are, to use the vernacular – screened out.
JOURNALIST:
[inaudible] extended to other people from other countries?
PRIME MINISTER:
We';re just talking about Afghanistan at present.
JOURNALIST:
You can understand though people say from Iran, Iraq who are in refugee camps seeing this offer being made to the people from Afghanistan.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I haven';t had any discussions with the leaders of the Iranian or the Iraqi government.
JOURNALIST:
Have you got any more figures, any more figures how much it would be per person.
PRIME MINISTER:
No. No I don';t have anything more to say about that.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister just back to the trade issue. Can you clarify the support the government might be looking to give to this, to this forum – lobby group – can you just expand on that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we are prepared to support whatever expansion of the lobbying or advocacy effort we think might be successful. Now, I suppose I';m tempted to say how long';s a piece of string. We just prepared to put resources into improving and lifting the lobbying effort. I mean it';s been done very well by the Embassy and by others. And I';m very grateful for the work that Hugh Morgan, in particular, and other Australian businessmen but Hugh was the Australian chairman of the Forum today and I';m very grateful for what he';s done. But we, I don';t have anything in particular in mind but..
JOURNALIST:
You were talking about establishing a structure…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, look let me put it in, to use the modern jargon, we';re prepared to put assets in the way of some greater effort, whether it';s a structural, or whether it means you send some more people to Washington, or you do this or that. I don';t have a fixed view about that. I want to talk to my advisers about that, but in principle, and unambiguously we will put whatever additional resources are needed to mount a more effective lobbying effort if we believe that';s necessary and it can yield results.
JOURNALIST:
Perhaps Tim Fischer could be brought back?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don';t have anything, sorry, I apologise, still I';m sorry. I don';t have anybody or thing and I mean Tim is a great man, a great Australian and he';s a wonderful advocate of a lot of causes.
JOURNALIST:
Tomorrow Mr Howard at the Forum are you likely to sort of, you';ve mentioned a couple of times this week about the benefits of globalisation. Is that something that you';re likely to be raising there that more effort needs to be made to sell the benefits?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it';ll depend on the context. I';m not going to promise (inaudible).
JOURNALIST:
Did you have much time today to chat to Mr Murdoch and Mr Packer?
PRIME MINISTER:
We just exchanged pleasantries and chatted about a few things.
JOURNALIST:
What were those things?
PRIME MINISTER:
We didn';t discuss cross-media ownership.
JOURNALIST:
[inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER:
Look a private conversation is a private conversation.
JOURNALIST:
[inaudible] FTA with Mr O';Neill if you do get to….?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes. Look I expect to see him on Saturday and I, of course, will raise that with him.
JOUNALIST:
With Indonesia, are they likely to get some increased assistance for [inaudible] stopping people smugglers or…..?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think, in the past we';ve indicated the willingness to work but as to what might come out of the meeting next week, as I said in answer to Lisa question that I would expect my meeting with the President to cover the sort of things that you would expect to be covered at such a meeting.
JOURNALIST:
You said earlier that you hadn';t received a request from [inaudible]. Does that mean that you did receive a request from other countries that you might be contemplating?
PRIME MINISTER:
In relation to what?
JOURNALIST:
To resettlement packages.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, let';s just deal with one country at a time. I think we might go. Thanks.
[ends]