JOURNALIST: Prime Minster, are you disappointed that the President didn't refer the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Doha round of trade talks?
PM: Can I start by saying I'm very thankful for the opportunity I had this morning to meet with President Obama. I was very grateful for the amount of time that I had the opportunity to meet with him in total.
We had an extensive bilateral discussion, followed by travelling to and from the Wakefield School together, and I did enjoy our discussions with the history students there. They knew a little about Australia, but not a lot, but it was a fantastic opportunity to be in a classroom talking to American students.
On trade, during our bilateral discussion we did comment on President Obama's aspirations for significant progress in the Trans-Pacific Partnership by the meeting of APEC in Honolulu later this year, and we also talked about the need to conclude the Doha round.
I've consistently said in Australia ‘trade equals jobs'. We are a great trading nation, so we join with President Obama in his desire to see the Trans-Pacific Partnership make significant and real progress by the time that APEC meets later this year, and we are maintaining our pressure for conclusion of the Doha round.
JOURNALIST: Did (inaudible) the Treasury Sec?
PM: We just had an opportunity to meet with the Secretary of the Treasury. We've compared the performances of our economy. I particularly asked him for his views of recovery in the American economy. As people would be aware, recently employment growth has taken the unemployment rate under 9 per cent, so that is welcome news.
We talked about the perspectives for further growth, so here in the United States, dealing with a different set of economic conditions from Australia, are still waiting to see further jobs growth, and of course managing a difficult budget debate through the Congress.
In Australia, we are managing what will be differential growth rates around the country, what I've called the patchwork economy, and I did take the opportunity to explain my determination to bring the budget to surplus in 2012-13.
Yes, Hugh?
JOURNALIST: President Obama is (inaudible) likes outcomes from these meetings. (inaudible)
PM: Well, today's meeting was one to yet again remark on the strength of the alliance between Australia and the United States. I took the opportunity to say the alliance is 60 years young. We have much more to do together, so we did talk about the Global Force Posture Review, and our cooperation on the Global Force Posture Review.
We did talk about working together on trade in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and in the Doha round.
We shared perspectives for the forthcoming G20 and East Asia Summit, as well as dealing with a number of issues in our world - climate change, the circumstances in the Middle East, our shared mission in Afghanistan.
So, for us to be able to have leader-to-leader dialogue with our closest ally is important to Australia, and that's the opportunity I had today, not only in the formal bilateral but also in the informal discussions to and from the school, as well as the delightful experience at the school.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: In the Review?
The Global Force Posture Review was the subject of some discussion at the Ausmin meeting late last year in Australia, which was attended by Secretary Clinton and Secretary Gates. We are working with the US on what may mean for its posture in our region and for Australia itself.
Certainly, we are a country that is well used to joint exercising and joint work with the United States, and we'll continue to work productively as they go through the Global Force Posture Review to determine what that may mean for American visits to Australia in the future, joint exercising in the future, and the like.
We'll just go over here and then we'll come back. Yep?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, did President Obama have anything to say about the decision for a carbon tax, and how would you rate his ball skills?
PM: Well, I taught the President to handball. He's a pretty good athlete, so he took to that pretty quickly, but had a predisposition to pick the football up like that, which of course, isn't the way we do it in Aussie Rules.
On climate change, we did discuss climate change briefly. Clearly, President Obama has said to the American people that he is focused on a clean-energy future, and so am I for Australia.
Yes?
JOURNALIST: On Libya, Kevin Rudd's put out another statement today and he's sounding quite hawkish when it comes to this no-fly zone. Are you on the same page as Kevin Rudd (inaudible) in regards to Libya, given that there (inaudible)
PM: Well, I think you've heard President Obama's words direct today at the end of our meeting, when he spoke generally to the media, he made clear our joint calls to Colonel Qaddafi that it is time to go, our joint calls that Colonel Qaddafi and his henchmen stop using violence against the Libyan people, and that all options are on the table to deal with this situation.
One of those options that is being discussed, including by Foreign Minister Rudd, is the prospect of a no-fly zone.
JOURNALIST: But on that issue, it sounds to me like there's a bit of freelancing from Kevin Rudd on this issue, because he seems to be going far in advance of what you might be prepared to say publically?
PM: Look, I don't agree with the characterisation in your question at all, and we're all on the same page about our revulsion for the regime of Colonel Qaddafi and its violent current actions, and all on the same page about exploring options for dealing with this violence, including a no-fly zone.
We'll just take one question from Phil Coorey, then we'll have to go.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) coming under any pressure or any suggestion being made about the US expanding its permanent presence in Australia, or military bases, not just joint exercises and temporary things, but actually re-locating in a significant way (inaudible)
PM: Look, it's a question of discussion between great mates with two militaries that cooperate every day. We fight side by side in Afghanistan in terms of our new platforms for our Australian military. We are getting platforms overwhelmingly that can operate with American platforms - the Joint Strike Fighter is just one example of that. We are well used to joint facilities on Australia, we have them now. We are well used to American visits, including visits by ships. We're well used to joint exercising, and so we are enthusiastic and I believe the United States is enthusiastic about looking at ways we can further that cooperation into the future.
JOURNALIST: But can you answer his question, which is are you under pressure to-
PM: -Well, my answer was meant to be clear, Matthew, but if it's fallen foul of your standards I'm very sorry about that, but I'm using the language of enthusiastic deliberately. There is no sense of pressure here. There is a sense of enthusiasm about how we could work together, more ways that we could work together.
JOURNALIST: What did Mr Geithner say about the prospects for a budget outcome this year or next that doesn't actually undermine their efforts in relation to (inaudible)
PM: Clearly, the American administration and the Congress are working these issues through. I don't want to say anything about that domestic political debate, but Secretary Geithner is very focused on achieving the fiscal consolidation that America is looking for.
JOURNALIST: Will it affect Australia-
PM: -And it's being dealt with through America's proper processes, but certainly President Obama and Secretary Geithner have been very publically clear about their desire for fiscal consolidation.
Thank you.