MARTIN:
Prime Minister, happy Australia Day.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you Ray. Happy Australia Day to you and to all of your viewers.
MARTIN:
Would Steve Waugh make a good Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
I';ve never really thought about it!
MARTIN:
You';ve never spoken to him about politics?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no, no. Not in a personal sense. Steve of course is one of those people who belongs to all Australians, irrespective of their politics.
MARTIN:
So you don';t think he';d make a good Liberal Party Member?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh no, no, no. Leave the parties out of it please.
MARTIN:
He certainly has leadership qualities though?
PRIME MINISTER:
He';s got great leadership qualities. He';s very focused, he';s very single-minded, and he';s got that no-nonsense tenacity that Australians quite like.
MARTIN:
What about this noise? I thought you were a man of power. Can';t you stop this noise?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no, it';s a state matter!
MARTIN:
Is that right… it';s Bob Carr';s problem? Is 2004 your final election year?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh Ray, my position is that for so long as the party wants me to lead it and it';s in the party';s interest to do so, I';ll continue. I don';t know what the final year in my political career will be. I';m just focused on winning the next election, which will be very hard.
MARTIN:
But will that be the final election?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Ray, I can';t say more than I';ve just said.
MARTIN:
Why did you begin this year with such divisive comments about public education?
PRIME MINISTER:
I was not being divisive. I was just asked a question as to why I thought an increasing number of people were wanting to send their children to independent schools and I gave some of the reasons. I didn';t make a generalised attack on government schools. I went to a government school and a very good one, and sent my children to government schools at a primary level and they were very well educated there. But I also believe very strongly in choice and I don';t think the right response of people on this issue is to get all defensive and say isn';t this outrageous. And I think we should debate these issues and I think people should understand that when, in impressive numbers, people opt to go out of the public system, then it may well be that some of the reasons they advance are worth looking at and some of the concerns they express should be listened to.
MARTIN:
What did you mean then though in terms of ‘antiseptic';, and what are the values that are missing from government schools?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well people come to me and say all sorts of things, and I mentioned some of them and I don';t have time on this program to go through all of them, and I';ll develop some of the things during the week. But obviously those concerns are not valid in relation to all schools. They would only be valid in relation to some schools. And obviously they';re not meant to denigrate people who teach in the public system.
MARTIN:
But it looks like you';ve thrown a bit of a cracker and then stepped away.
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no. I never throw crackers and step away. I mean what I said, I meant. Don';t think for a moment that I';m stepping away from what I said.
MARTIN:
What';s antiseptic John?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I mean if you are neutral on something, if every attitude and every way of life is exactly of equal value, and equal worth, that in my view is being antiseptic.
MARTIN:
But it sounds, it has been suggested that it sounds like the sort of thing Pauline Hanson or One Nation…
PRIME MINISTER:
Can I…. I mean that is outrageous. I mean, people say things…. I mean when you say “it sounds”, you mean people say that. You don';t seriously think that that';s true.
MARTIN:
But you don';t seriously think that government schools don';t have values?
PRIME MINISTER:
What I seriously say is that parents express views to me and I was asked why do parents exercise that choice, and I was expressing their views. Now part of my job is to listen to people. When asked to articulate what those people';s concerns are, I don';t necessarily share all of them. I share some of them. Any institution in our society is accountable and the idea that you can';t say anything critical at all of government schools without being accused of being divisive or something, that';s absurd.
MARTIN:
Germaine Greer…
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes.
MARTIN:
A famous Australian, says Australia is boring, sports mad and suburban, too relaxed to give a damn.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah I read that piece. I thought it was hopelessly out of touch. I thought it was pathetic. I really did. And so condescending. I mean what she basically says was that the average Australian is too stupid to think about anything that is the least bit philosophically important or important. I thought that was just so condescending and quite frankly she is just so out of touch, and if she wants to stay in another country, good luck to her. MARTIN:
I was going to say spend too much time living in England.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well just spent too much time away from her own country, and I mean there';s nothing wrong with that. It';s a free world, you can go where you like. But please retain a bit of relevance to what our country is like. It is anything but the way she described it and I thought that was a particularly patronising, condescending, dare I say, elitist article.
MARTIN:
What do you hope for most in 2004 and what do you fear most?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I hope for a prosperous and happy Australia. I hope for a continuation of our strong economy. I hope for a continuation of our domestic stability and cohesion. What do I fear most? I guess at the back of my mind I worry about a terrorist attack. I think any democratic leader of a western country has to. I hope I';m wrong. I devoutly hope that. But at the back of my mind, every so often I think that';s a possibility.
MARTIN:
Thanks for your time.
PRIME MINISTER:
Okay.
[ends]