GRIMSHAW:
Prime Minister, thanks for joining us. You have interrupted your leave. You've cancelled the leave of SAS troops. Can we be said now to be moving towards a war footing?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I certainly hope not. We want the weapons inspection process of the Security Council to work and we still have a while to go before that process can be regarded as having been given a chance. I'm disappointed at Iraq's rather stubborn and disinterested approach and unless there is a change of attitude on the part of Iraq towards those weapons inspectors, then the prospects for resolving this issue peacefully will be lower. But I haven't lost hope and the last thing I want is a military conflict, but in the end the world may have no alternative because you cannot ignore the possibility of weapons of mass destruction, now in the hands of rogue states, falling for example into the hands of terrorists in the future.
GRIMSHAW:
Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix says Iraq is not cooperating fully enough, but he says that they have found no smoking gun. Would you need a smoking gun to commit our troops to Iraq?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it really, as far as the inspection process is concerned, that's really a matter for the Security Council. It's pretty obvious that Iraq is not cooperating and it's also obvious that the weapons inspection process should be given a reasonable chance of success. It could be weeks, even months, before this process is finally resolved and we know how it's going to work its way through.
GRIMSHAW:
What would be the trigger though that you would need to commit our troops? Would it be America going in? Would it be the nod from the UN? What is your trigger?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I want to first of all give the Security Council resolution an opportunity of succeeding. It's very important when you're dealing with an issue as sensitive as this not to deal in hypothetical situations. We have a weapons inspection process. I want to see that work. That involves a reporting to the Security Council. There will be a major report on the 27th of January. That shouldn't be regarded as the final word on the subject, but it will be a very important report. And then the Security Council is obviously going to have a look at it. In the meantime, we are preparing in case there were some kind of Australian military involvement. But it remains the priority of the Government, the desire of the Government, the overwhelming desire of the Government, to resolve this issue without military conflict.
GRIMSHAW:
Have you communicated to the United States the level of commitment that Australia is prepared to make to any war in Iraq and does it fit with their expectations?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the question of any contribution we might make is ultimately a matter for us. We've had discussions - I indicated that some time ago - about all sorts of possibilities, and I indicated earlier today that if there were to be an Australian involvement, it wouldn't as some have suggested be like Vietnam, it wouldn't as some have suggested involve a light armoured brigade. It would be in the same order of magnitude similar to, not exactly the same as, but similar to the involvement in Afghanistan.
GRIMSHAW:
Which you say at this stage there's no chance that it might expand?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I think the sort of contribution we ought to make is something that is similar to the contribution we made in Afghanistan.
GRIMSHAW:
You talked about preparations being underway. How soon would you anticipate that our men and women would move to take up posts in preparedness for any war?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I would expect over the weeks ahead that there will be some forward deployment. Exactly when and who and what precisely the circumstances are is something we would announce at the time. But it only makes sense that if there's a possibility then you should give the men and women involved the best possible opportunity to do it properly and to do it without unnecessary danger by getting ready. This idea that you in some way undermine the drive for peace by preparing for the worst case scenario is of course an absurd proposition. But I stress we have taken no decision to involve ourselves in a military conflict and I hope that that won't be necessary.
GRIMSHAW:
Can we turn to North Korea. Australia has been playing a diplomatic role which I understand is about to be ramped up. Do we hold a diplomatic key in this crisis or potential crisis?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we have a different position than some countries such as the United States. We're one of the few western countries that has diplomatic relations with North Korea and we did that quite deliberately because we thought Australia in the region could play a special role. The Foreign Minister announced late this afternoon that we'd be sending a senior diplomatic mission to North Korea, be leaving very soon, and it will not only go to North Korea but go to neighbouring countries. At this stage we're trying, as indeed we are with Iraq, we're trying to resolve the thing in a diplomatic fashion. But there are some similarities between the two positions. You have rogue states in possession of weapons of mass destruction and you simply cannot ignore those issues. They don't go away if you ignore them and I for one hold the view that perhaps North Korea may not have been as truculent to the rest of the world if it hadn't seen signs of hesitation by many countries around the world in dealing with Iraq.
GRIMSHAW:
What is your current reading of the situation in North Korea? If Iraq is currently the world's global flashpoint, is North Korea the next if something isn't done?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think what you have to try and do is deal with each according to its merits and its circumstances. I think it would be a mistake on North Korea's part to assume that the world, and in particular the United States, can't deal with two challenges at once. Obviously the North Korean [inaudible] has only, quote, just broken out, whereas Iraq has been a running sore now for some years. We have to be patient but we have to be resolute. The history of diplomacy and mankind struggle with these sorts of things over the years, centuries has been, you have been very patient, you have to keep trying, you make incremental progress. Sometimes you succeed without military force, on other occasions you don't. But certainly when you have countries such as North Korea and Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction, the last thing you can do is to just close your eyes and hope that the problems will go away because they never do.
GRIMSHAW:
Just another couple of final points, a ricin plant has been found in London in the past few days. Are we on alert for something similar here? Do we have the expertise, the technology, the raw materials for that sort of thing here?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we are on alert, there have been no indications of that thus far and I hope that remains to be the case. I believe we are prepared and I don't want to alarm people by you know over exaggerating the risk but those sorts of things are part of the new reality with which we must live and one of the reasons why you can't leave a stone unturned in preventing weapons and capacity for mass destruction falling into the wrong hands.
GRIMSHAW:
Prime Minister, Pat Rafter announced his retirement today. How do you feel about that personally?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I'm not surprised but I'm sorry and Pat thank you for everything you've done for world tennis, for Australian tennis, for Australian sport. You've not only been a great player, you've been a great role model, you've behaved well, impeccably, you've set a good example. When you win we're happy for you, when you lose you do it graciously and your family will all be very proud of you and Australia thanks you for what you've done.
GRIMSHAW:
Mr Howard thank you for your time.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[ends]