Vientiane, Laos
E & O E - PROOF ONLY
PM: I've had a good time being able to watch the Melbourne Cup with our hardworking embassy staff here. It's fantastic to be able to spend some time with our embassy staff here. I try and do it as I travel because I always want to say a very big thank you to them for everything that they do for Australia's reputation around the world.
There's been a few moments off to watch Melbourne Cup but our staff here and around the world really do work very hard indeed, holding Australia's reputation up high, making representations for our nation to governments overseas, supporting Australians who need consular assistance overseas, dealing with migration matters and of course delivering our precious AusAID. So a very big thanks to them.
I'm here for the second day of the Asia-Europe Meeting, and this morning I've had the opportunity to speak in a discussion about global issues. I focused particularly on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
I have been asked by the UN Secretary-General to play a role as a co-chair of a working group, an advocacy group, on the Millennium Development Goals. To say around the world that we need to focus on achieving the most change to combat poverty by the end of 2014.
Tens of millions of kids don't get to go to school. Hundreds of thousands of women die in childbirth and they would have lived, and their child would have lived, if they'd got some basic medical assistance.
These are problems that the world knows how to fix. There are very effective programs out there. And today I have been advocating that we focus our efforts, focus our drive, on achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
I understand what it's like as a leader of a nation to struggle with budgets and priorities, but this is an important moment for the world to focus on delivering the most effective form of aid to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Yesterday, at the Asia-Europe Meeting, I had the opportunity to talk about circumstances in the global economy, and circumstances in the two regions of the world that come together at this meeting.
Europe faces challenges with recession, with no growth, indeed with negative growth, with not enough jobs, with people experiencing the misery of unemployment and Europe has a journey of building to create jobs and prosperity for the people of Europe.
Much has been done already to stabilise the situation and through the actions of the European Central Bank. But individual nations and Europe as a whole is looking to add to growth to create jobs.
The nations of Asia face different challenges. Many are continuing to grow rapidly even though growth rates have moderated somewhat. But that growth means that increasingly nations in our region, in Asia, need to turn their eyes to domestic demand and increasing it, to the establishment of social safety nets, to investment in infrastructure, and to ensuring that they don't get trapped on a middle income path, that they keep increasing productivity and move to a higher income path.
These are different problems for nations and regions to face, but they require nations to have a plan, regions to have a plan, and for the world to have a plan to promote jobs and growth.
Our nation comes to this meeting with its own plan for the future, the White Paper in the Asian Century, which I delivered, which is about jobs and growth for Australians in the future. And so it's been great to be able to contribute to the discussions on the global economy here.
I've also had the opportunity to engage in a range of bilateral discussions. I met with the President of Burma, of Myanmar. I met with the President of the European Council. I met with the Prime Minister of Cambodia. I met with the President of France and I met with the President of the European Union.
So, it's been good to be able to engage in those bilateral discussions as well.
JOURNALIST: You talk about the need for a plan to revive the world economy. Do you think that this meeting, this summit, is going to develop that plan?
PM: Well, I think these discussions are always useful as the world struggles with the challenges that it faces post the global financial crisis. The premier economic forum is the G20, and this meeting is responding to the G20's calls for a plan for global growth. I think it is important that nations come together and talk about what each is doing to achieve growth and jobs, what we can better do together regionally and what we can better do together globally.
I've certainly taken the opportunity to speak about the white paper we've delivered, our plan for Australia's future and our plan to be a winner in this century of growth and change in our region. There's been interest in that and interest in Australia's economic circumstances and of course we come to this meeting with a strong economy.
JOURNALIST: There's talk here about China doing more to assist with the Eurozone crisis, perhaps by using some of its financial reserves to support those Eurozone emergency funds. Does Australia support that idea? Do you think that there's a role for China to play?
PM: Well, I think that there's a role for China to play in the global efforts to enhance growth and jobs, and China has been involved in those discussions at the G20 table. It's been involved in and active on issues like IMF resourcing, so what further it chooses to do, obviously I'll leave to the leaders of China to speak about. But China has been active at the G20 table and beyond as the world has sought to work together to overcome the impact of the global financial crisis.
And whilst our economy is strong and we've got, you know, low unemployment rates by the standards of the world and low inflation, we're a growing economy, we need to remember that around the world, tens of millions of people are still paying the price of the global financial crisis, in the form of unemployment with all of the misery and desperation that comes with that.
JOURNALIST: You also met the Pakistani Prime Minister.
PM: Yes. Sorry if I neglected to say that, I should have. Yes.
JOURNALIST: Can you also just mention, what exactly did you say to him and what guarantees did he give you about Australian sheep?
PM: We had a broad-ranging discussion, including discussing questions of Afghanistan and our engagement there. But I did raise with the Prime Minister of Pakistan my concern about the graphic and very cruel images we've seen of the treatment of Australian sheep.
I explained to him that Australians are distressed to see these acts of cruelty and that I wanted the matter investigated. He responded that he would investigate this culling of Australian sheep which has been done in circumstances that rightly distress Australians.
JOURNALIST: So what sort of investigation would he undertake? What could it lead to in your view?
PM: Well, look, he undertook to investigate the matter. I can't prejudge or pre-empt that, or say what structures will be used to do that.
But I was very clear about Australia's concerns, very strong in raising those concerns and very clear that this is something that has distressed the Australian people.
JOURNALIST: Do you believe this live export industry is sustainable? Or do you think, as some people called for, that it, maybe we should see an end to it?
PM: Well, we've been working hard to ensure that this is a sustainable industry, with appropriate standards for animal welfare. We responded to acts of cruelty in Indonesia and we put in place a supply chain assurance scheme so that we can now work through and track where animals are being slaughtered and whether or not the circumstances of that slaughter meets international standards.
This issue with Pakistan is a different one. This was a false claim about disease in the sheep, and the industry has already voluntarily responded by suspending live sheep being sent to Bahrain and to Pakistan. These sheep were originally due to go to Bahrain and then ended up in Pakistan, so the industry has already responded.
JOURNALIST: On interest rates, they're on hold, what does that say about the Australian economy?
PM: Well, the Reserve Bank sets interest rates independently and explains its reasons in the RBA Minute and my colleague Senator Wong will be speaking directly about these matters in Australia today. Indeed, I suspect she's already done so.
But what I would say about the Australian economy is we have a strong economy. We are looking forward to growth which is in line with the general trend of growth. We've got low unemployment by the standards of the world, low inflation and a family with a $300,000 a year mortgage is $4,500 better off a year under this Government as a result of lower interest rates.
JOURNALIST: Is it a sign that your fiscal strategy isn't working?
PM: Our fiscal strategy is appropriate for the circumstances of the economy now. The Reserve Bank sets interest rates independently, which is appropriate. But our fiscal strategy is right and it is right to give the Reserve Bank the maximum room to move should it choose to do so.
JOURNALIST: The Governor's statement raises some questions about where growth is going to come from, once the investment boom subsides. Where do think it's going to come from? What's your answer on where that future growth will be?
PM: First, on the investment boom in resources, we are yet to see the peak of this investment boom. We are seeing projects worth billions and billions of dollars, tens of billions of dollars that are being invested in right now. So we are yet to see this investment peak.
But, when I delivered our national plan to ensure that our economy is strong and is a winner in this century of growth and change, I specifically talked about the shape and sources of strength of the Australian economy across this century and in the days that lie beyond the resources boom. Though I believe the resources boom will be with us for a long period of time to come. We haven't seen the investment peak yet and we haven't seen the volume peak.
But our economy is seeing a downpayment now in demand for resources from this century of growth in Asia. That demand will ripple out to our food industry, to our wine industry, to our services sector, legal services, health services, education, customised manufactures, tourism.
All of these industries can benefit from the growth of middle class people in our region, with our region being home to more middle class people than anywhere else on earth. I've charted the future of the Australian economy in the paper I delivered, our national plan for the future.
JOURNALIST: It's now become apparent that Wayne Swan's office commissioned and then gave to the media the costings of the Opposition's policies. Is that a good use of Treasury officials?
PM: Well, it's very routine for Treasury to cost policies that are being talked about in the public domain. And let's be clear here, I understand that the Opposition's involved in a round of look for and then shoot the messenger.
But no amount of spin from the Opposition gets away from the simple fact that three of the policies they say they are committed to have been costed, and they will cost businesses more than $4 billion in the first year.
So, the opposition's out there with a set of policies which would impose a more than $4 billion burden on Australian businesses in year one.
JOURNALIST: Are you disappointed by your horse's race today?
PM: Well, I amazingly managed to pick out of the sweep the same horse that I backed yesterday, Americain, and it didn't come first, second or third.
But I'm delighted that the Ambassador's son picked the winner out of the sweep, I think there's a nice symmetry in that given that I'm here to thank the staff of the embassy and have an opportunity to meet with their families who do amazing things, come and live in so many places around the world. Young kids going to school around the world, including here, so it's kind of nice he picked the winner.
JOURNALIST: Why did you decide to leave the session early this morning to attend the Melbourne Cup? How did you explain that to other world leaders?
PM: We are represented as the session continues and it's the race that stops a nation and when I'm travelling I still consider that it's the right thing to do, to stop for the Melbourne Cup, just like Australians have right around our nation and right around the world.
JOURNALIST: The former AWU official, Peter Trebilco, has said that if he'd been told by Slater & Gordon back in 1995, 1996, they could have acted about that slush fund more quickly. So the question for you is why didn't you communicate to the AWU what you knew about the creation of that fund?
PM: Well, I'd like to be very clear about the timeline here. Firstly let me say I've dealt with all of these matters extensively on the public record and I've dealt with them in parliament. I know the Opposition is making some points about this, but the statement I made in parliament that they are pointing to I stand by and it is wholly true.
Just on the timeline here, in August 1995 it was becoming apparent within the AWU there were some issues here. In September 1995, it was the subject of an internal review in Slater & Gordon. That internal review is out there in the public domain and what I said in that internal review is not contradicted in any way by any other things that have been said. What I said in that internal review is the truth.
JOURNALIST: Do you regret-
PM: Let's just, there's issues here with the coverage, and because of issues in the coverage, there are issues in your questions.
My role here was as a lawyer. I provided advice on the incorporation of an association. I was never connected with the operation of any fund. Never connected with the operation of any fund. I was not an office bearer of the association. I was not involved in its activities. I was not involved in any bank accounts it may have held. I was not an official of the AWU. I was not in charge of the conveyancing file. So you are effectively asking me why didn't I report to authorities things I did not know.
JOURNALIST: One last question on Myanmar, please. Did you raise the issue of the (inaudible) with Thein Sein and, if so, what was his reaction?
PM: I did raise with the President my concerns about the treatment of ethnic minorities in Myanmar, in Burma, and that at a time of so much progress on human rights, we would also look for progress on the treatment of ethnic minorities.
Okay, thank you very much.