Subjects: Prime Minister';s XII; bushfires.
E&OE...........
PRIME MINISTER:
Well ladies and gentlemen I';m delighted to announce that there';s going to be a rematch of the Prime Minister';s XI versus the Chairman of ATSIC';s XI on the 8th of March at Manuka oval. I thank ATSIC and particularly its Chairman Geoff Clark for helping us arrange this and also very particularly the Chairman of the Australian Cricket Board, Bob Merryman and his colleagues, because this fixture is going to be conducted under the patronage of the Australian Cricket Board and also the ACT Cricket Association. It was a huge success last year and the two teams will once again compete for the Mullagh trophy as a mark of the desire of the government and I know the Australia Cricket Board and I know ATSIC to the further involvement of indigenous Australian cricketers in the sport. We all want to see more of them participate. The team did very well last year as Mr Clark will be ready to remind me and it was a great win and it was a great match and we';re going to have it at Manuka again in March and probably the year after we may find another location. But I';m delighted that we';ve been able to do this again and the Australian team will still be abroard in March but I';m sure there would be plenty of others to draw from and I';ll be working very hard in consultation with the ACB selectors to ensure that we get the team that might beat your mob on this occasion, Geoff !
CLARK:
Prime Minister as you know you are known as the come back kid now, they sort of all dismissed you last time but we hope that this will be a repeat of last year. We';re very pleased to be able to play the Prime Minister';s XI, that he';s accepted the challenge once again. It';s a continuing process of reconciliation, reconciliation doesn';t stop today and finish tomorrow, it';s a process of change and I think that change has been embodied by the Prime Minister and giving opportunities for representation in a particular sport and this time it is cricket. I know that we';re disappointed that the Chairman';s Allstars and the Carlton team';s not going ahead on the 26th of January. But I think other than that this will be a great game and we encourage people to come along. I think on one note Prime Minister we';d like to announce some sort of donation, possibly to the fire appeals as part of the gate possibly… if you would be agreeable.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes that would be a good idea.
CLARK:
And I think that would be a nice gesture and we';d like people to come along and support that as well.
JOURNALIST:
Any suggestion of maybe moving it to a weekend to attract a bigger crowd this time?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we have to pay some regard to the available calenders and with other obligations. We';ve fixed on the 8th of March, we think that';s a date that suits everybody.
JOURNALIST:
Just on another issue Prime Minister there';s reports out of the United States that the owners of the sky crane have already had preliminary discussions with the Federal Government about buying a couple more of these ‘Elvis'; helicopters. Is that the case?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I indicated yesterday that we wanted to help, they don';t necessarily need to be bought, they can be leased. What we will do, as will the New South Wales Government do, is take the advice of the experts. And the thing is being discussed by the New South Wales Government with its experts. We felt as a gesture, given the seriousness of the fires and the way in which they have affected so many communities on the eastern seaboard of Australia that it was a contribution the Commonwealth could make. The actual details and the need and the arrival and the arrangements and everything will need to be worked out on the advice of the experts.
JOURNALIST:
The reports suggest that the helicopters could actually get to Australia within four to six days. Do you think it';s something that you';d like to see fast-tracked?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well once again I';ll leave that to the experts and I am not a firefighter and neither is the Premier of New South Wales and both of us will be taking the advice of people like Phil Koperberg. I just wanted to indicate by what I said yesterday a willingness by the Commonwealth to help because anything that can be done will be done and we want to work with the New South Wales Government because they are the principal authority but we';re there to help because it';s a very serious community challenge.
JOURNALIST:
To combine cricket and bushfires, do you see merit in Steve Waugh';s idea for a benefit match for the firefighters?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that';s, once again, it';s a great gesture, let me say thank you, I think we should assess the final wash up and damage and so forth. But it';s a terrific gesture and once again we';ll just see how it all works out. I want to thank Steve Waugh for that offer of assistance.
JOURNALIST:
Can I ask you just again on a cricket matter, do you have some sympathy for the South African Team';s attempts to move towards multiracialism? It may cause difficulties for them in a competitive sense on the field at least initially, but do you have sympathy for the aim…
PRIME MINISTER:
I think the aim of having a team that is reflective of a society is a very laudible aim. As to other arrangements, I';m not going to start commenting either way on the selection on the basis on which overseas teams compete against Australia are selected. But I would clearly come down on the side of wanting to see cricket spread throughout the entire population of South Africa and not be something that is just limited to the white population of South Africa and narrower portions of the non-white population.
[ends]