JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, there has been a call by the Opposition for an inquiry into our security relationships with other countries. What is you reaction to that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well our security relationships with other countries, particularly with the United Kingdom and the United States, couldn't be better.
JOURNALIST:
I think he's concerned more about the relationship with the French.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the relationship between Australia and France is very good. It's obviously not as intimate as it is between Australia and Britain and Australia and the United States, but if there's a contemplation in relation to Mr Brigitte in that question, then if there was a communications breakdown, it was between certain agencies in the French Government, not between Australia and France.
JOURNALIST:
What's the significance of the war memorial that will be dedicated on Tuesday? We can look forward to that.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it's a very symbolic and I think moving reminder of the shared sacrifice of Australia and Britain and their common defence of liberty over a long period of time in World War I and also in World War II when there weren't many countries standing at one stage against Nazi Germany except Britain, Australia and a few other countries. And we will always be part of that and I think it will become a focal point for Anzac Day celebrations in London. It's a long overdue tribute to those tens of thousands of Australians who died fighting alongside British forces, particularly in two World Wars.
JOURNALIST:
Is it important in that regard to re-establish the Australian relationship with Britain in light with the growing...
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't think the relationship needs to be re-established. It's never been broken. It's a contemporary relationship, as well as being a relationship built on history and sentiment and shared values and shared traditions. Nothing will ever break the relationship. It will obviously change and respond to modern circumstances, but it's an extremely contemporary relationship and I think one of the values of the leadership dialogue which Mr Blair and I will launch during the time I'm here will be to emphasise that although our relationship is rich in history, it's also a very modern relationship and we share a lot of similar views about the modern world.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, where is the Indonesian fishing boat which attempted to land at Melville Island?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think the best thing I can say in relation to that is that I've been in the air for 23 or 24 hours, and I'll leave it to either the Foreign Minister or the Immigration Minister, as appropriate, to respond to that question back in Australia. Thank you.
[ends]