PRIME MINISTER:
Ladies and gentlemen, the Foreign Secretary and I have had the opportunity today to have a good discussion about the post-conflict phase in Iraq, and the relationship between the coalition as the administering authority and also the United Nations, and as I have indicated to the Secretary General of the United Nations in New York yesterday, that there is a very significant role for the United Nations. It has to be on the basis of an understanding of the reality on the ground, but I am very hopeful that that will be the case and that there can be a very strong contribution from the United Nations.
We are both very strongly committed to working with the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations to secure the implementation of the road map for a Middle East peace settlement. Australia is a very strong supporter of Israel but we also for a long time have supported the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. And I welcome very much the commitment of President Bush to that objective. He made that very clear to me in our discussions at his ranch in Crawford in Texas a few days ago, and I think it's important that the world understand the very strong commitment of the American President to securing a peace settlement.
Can I just finally say that it has been a particular experience and privilege to work with the British Prime Minister, with his Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and his Defence Secretary Geoffrey Hoon in the recently concluded coalition operation in Iraq. I have said before and I'd say it again that I have very great respect for the strength of leadership that Mr Blair displayed on this issue, and the close relations between Australia and the United Kingdom in so many areas, so many areas for so long, have been reinforced by this experience. It was a just cause that brought liberation to an oppressed people and something of which both the British and Australian publics can be immensely proud.
FOREIGN SECRETARY:
Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, it has been a great honour for me to see Prime Minister Howard again. As he has explained, we have covered a range of issues including obviously Iraq, the Middle East and the issue of Zimbabwe as well. As he has explained, our troops from the United Kingdom, Australian troops and those of the United States have worked seamlessly in Iraq and all have acquitted themselves extremely well. It's just less than four weeks now since the regime of Saddam Hussein started to fall. It's an astonishingly short time in which life across Iraq is gradually being normalised and great efforts are being made by the coalition - US, Australia and the United Kingdom, and by many others working on the ground - not to re-establish government, but to establish good government and to pave the way for the Iraqis themselves to make their own decisions about their future for the first time in a generation.
On the Middle East, as the Prime Minister has said, we are committed, like Australia, to the full implementation of the road map. It was a start, but a very, very important start, that after the reforms by the Palestinians, we've got to the point where it's been possible to deliver that road map and we now look forward to both sides, and the Arab States as well, delivering on it. Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER:
A couple of questions. The Foreign Secretary has questions, and I would never want to keep him from them.
FOREIGN SECRETARY:
Questions from the House of Commons.
JOURNALIST:
Foreign Secretary, the discussions about Zimbabwe. Where are you going in terms of Australia and Great Britain, in terms of the Commonwealth's reaction, continued implementation of sanctions against Iraq?
FOREIGN SECRETARY:
Sanctions against Iraq or Zimbabwe?
JOURNALIST:
Sorry...
FOREIGN SECRETARY:
Okay. Well I think we're in exactly the same place on the issue of Zimbabwe. We were extremely grateful to Prime Minister Howard for all that he did at Coolum to ensure that there was a successful agreement between those three heads of Government to secure the continued suspension of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth in the light of all the failings we know all too well about by the Zimbabwe Government. In the European Union, we have reflected that determination as well by putting sanctions on in February of last year and renewing them in February of this year. Both of us note developments, but we know that there will only be a serious change when the people of Zimbabwe are able fully to express themselves, and they have our full support in that.
JOURNALIST:
The Evening Standard is reporting that the Olympics decision is about to be announced. Did you discuss the Olympics with the Prime Minister considering their success in Sydney, and one other question - have you been putting pressure on Secretary of State Powell to release prisoners from Guantanamo Bay?
FOREIGN SECRETARY:
Right. So far as the Olympics is concerned, we didn't discuss this. In a sense we didn't need to because Australia ran the Olympics so brilliantly. But I may say that when I had responsibility for sorting out some difficulties in respect of the Commonwealth Games which were held in Manchester so successfully, I got a team of people over to Sydney to talk to the Australian Government, to learn the lessons from how Australia had so successfully run such a major set of games. Your second question was about Guantanamo Bay. I continue to have discussions with Secretary of State Powell about the British detainees in Guantanamo Bay.
PRIME MINISTER:
One more.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, do you agree with now several of your Ministers that the Governor General should be examining his conscience and deciding his future?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't have anything to add to what I've previously said on that issue.
JOURNALIST:
Why not Prime Minister? You're the elected head of a country whose head of state is... the position of head of state is in great question. It's the national conversation of your country. Why have you nothing to say?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't have anything to say beyond what I've said.
JOURNALIST:
Do either of you have a birthday message for Mr Blair?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I do have a birthday message and I also have some very fine Australian red wine to go with that message, and I'm sure that the Prime Minister in some quieter moments will have the opportunity of enjoying one of Australia's famous exports, and might I say a remarkably successful export in this country, despite a few trade restrictions of the European Union which I won't go into the detail of...
FOREIGN SECRETARY:
Please do because we're on your side.
PRIME MINISTER:
... on this very pleasant occasion. That's good. Well I think one more. Have you got time for one more?
FOREIGN SECRETARY:
One more, yes.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, what plans do you have for Australia to play in the post-war Saddam in Iraq, and Mr Shaw, the international peacekeeping force which is supposed to be taking over in Iraq, is it supposed to replace the fighting forces in there?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well so far as our own position in the post-war phase in Iraq is concerned, although we will not be providing a large number of peacekeepers, as we have indicated that we wouldn't be able to do all along, we will have a significant presence during the transitional phase. We have made commitments in a number of niche areas - in agriculture, in water and sanitation, we've provided air traffic controllers at Baghdad airport, and there are a number of areas in which we will contribute and go on doing so, and we accept our responsibilities as part of the administering authority.
FOREIGN SECRETARY:
As you may know, there was a conference held by the British Ministry of Defence last Thursday in which we had offers of assistance, military assistance, by a wide range of countries. Those are currently being processed. What they will lead to over time is other countries putting in troops and other military facilities to support the post-conflict situation in Iraq. As that happens so US, Australian and UK troops can be drawn down.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister on Guantanamo Bay, the Americans have released now some of their prisoners. Your Government has said for the last few months that the Australians were being held there while active service was still underway in Afghanistan. Secretary Rumsfeld has now said the major part of the operations in Afghanistan have ended. Two Australians are being held without charge, without legal representation, without access to their [inaudible]. What are you going to do about them?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I indicated to a similar question when I was in the United States that discussions are underway between the Attorney General, that's our Attorney General Daryl Williams, and the relevant authorities in the United States. And that's the appropriate level and the appropriate way that that should be dealt with, and because those discussions are underway, I don't have anything to add. I think we should conclude it there and let the Foreign Secretary go and answer questions.
FOREIGN SECRETARY:
Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[ends]