PRIME MINISTER:
Well ladies and gentlemen, I'm delighted to have opened Michael's campaign office. Bass, as you know, is traditionally a seat that's hard fought and this year's election campaign, whenever it will be held, will be no exception. But in Michael, the Liberal Party has a great candidate, somebody who's already distinguished himself in his short career as the Young Achiever of the Year, became head of a mathematics department of a high school, a person who's very familiar with the challenges and problems of the area and I wish him well and he'll have my total support and I know that he's already worked extremely hard and is presenting a very solid alternative to the sitting member.
This election is going to be very close, it's going to be very hard for the Coalition to win, but I think we're starting to see a pattern emerge of an opposition leader who says one thing to one group of people and another to another group of people and it's getting increasingly difficult for people to work out where Mr Latham stands on important issues. Take something like the forestry industry, if I were a timber worker in Tasmania I'd be very confused about the Labor Party. On the one hand Mr Latham assures them that their jobs would be safe under Labor, yet in the next breath he vigorously recruits somebody like Peter Garrett whose views on the industry of course are well known and are not views that are supportive of job security - that's just one example of the sort of confused signals.
By contrast, the Government presents a strong and decisive position on all important issues. The Australian people may not always agree with every position taken in the eight and a half years that I've been Prime Minister, but they always know where I stand on issues. I don't try and have two bob each way, whether people agree or disagree, I state my position and I stick to it and I think that is how the Australian people want it.
JOURNALIST:
Peter Garrett's apparently made some quite negative comments about the (inaudible), handling forest issues here in Tasmania. What is your reaction?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I haven't read those comments, but I do know already based on what I have read is you're getting the Labor Party speaking with false tongues. On the one hand, Mr Latham says to the workers - your jobs are secure under Labor. In the next breath, he's racing around recruiting people like Peter Garrett whose views on job security in the timber industry are well known.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, Brian Harradine has announced that he (inaudible) that you'll hope to pick up?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I hadn't heard that news. If it is true let me first of all place on record my great admiration and respect for Brian Harradine. I think Brian Harradine has been a wonderful Senator for Tasmania and I really mean that. There are a lot of things that Brian Harradine and I would disagree on but there are a lot of things that we would agree on. And I have found him over the years to be an immensely decent committed person; a very fine Australian and somebody who's worked very hard for the people of Tasmania who's shown enormous encourage on issues. There are some pieces of legislation that we would never have been able to get in place at the beginning of our term had it not been for Brian Harradine. I think in particular of the new schools policy, which has meant that the opportunity of voter choice for parents on low incomes is a more real thing now than it was under the former Labor government. I wish Brian Harradine well and I thank him, if he will allow me to do that, for the service that he's given to the Australian people and most particularly to the people of Tasmania. As to his Senate seat, well I don't presume anything. I would never be so arrogant to suggest that that is a seat that would automatically go in any particular direction. We'll work hard to win the support of the people of Tasmania and if in fact Brian is going to finish his political career the middle of next year, I'll have an opportunity to say something more about him. But I do want to take this opportunity of recording my admiration to what he's done and for the great courage he's displayed in his public life.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible) how much support (inaudible) do you think that it is a vote winner?
PRIME MINISTER:
Let's talk about the value of that it might bring to the Australian and Tasmanian economies. If there were to be one on environmentally acceptable grounds, and that would have to be a condition, then it's an extent that it might reduce the enormous deficits we have in that area of imports, it would be beneficial and it would also bring jobs to the people of this area, for the people of Tasmania and I'm in favour of jobs. I think (inaudible) job security to northern Tasmania is one of the most important things that we can do. We've seen an improvement over the last few years. Tasmania has enjoyed the benefits of the national economic prosperity of the last eight and a half years. Had it not been for the low interest rates and strong performance of the Australian economy, the Tasmania economy would not have done nearly as well as it has.
JOURNALIST:
How concerned are you about the nation's childhood obesity problem? And how important that you tackle it now?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I think it's a huge problem and we are going to be saying something about it very soon and we need to get people exercising more; we need to get children playing more sport; we need to stop the drift away from less physical activity and less sport in schools; we need to get people eating better; and there are different ways in which the Government can contribute. And, of course, in the end, it's a challenge to parents because it's parents who determine and set the eating habits of their children and we will be encouraging in all that we do in this area, and it'll be quite a bit, we'll be encouraging parents to set the example to their children. And obesity is not just a problem for young people, it's a problem for older people as well and we really do have to get into the exercise mode a lot more than we do. I mean, it's a paradox this country - we love sport and pride ourselves on our sporting prowess and yet more and more of us are watching sport and not exercising ourselves.
JOURNALIST:
Will you be introducing (inaudible)
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, in the whole eight and a half years we've had special policies to help the people of Tasmania. If you think of the way in which Tasmania's been generously treated out of the sales of Telstra; think of the subsidies we've provided for Bass Strait transport; think of the fact that Tasmania is the only state in Australia which as a state enjoys the $7.50 increase in the Medicare incentive for bulkbilling for children under 16 and cardholders. And if you live in Launceston or Hobart, you get the $7.50. If you live in Sydney or Melbourne, you get $5.00. And yet I heard somebody yesterday say that I hadn't done anything to help Tasmania.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible) environment, surely for Tasmania it'd be good if the (inaudible) were advanced.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, there's been no retreat. We've maintained the commitment we made several years ago. What we are doing is establishing a special technology fund which is going to encourage less greenhouse gas emissions from the use of traditional energy sources. The choice for the future for Australia is not between renewable energy sources and traditional energy sources, the choice is between high and low emissions and all of our policies are directed towards doing that and in particular, some of the changes I announced just a couple of weeks ago will both encourage the use wind power.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible)
PRIME MINISTER:
I come to talk about the future of Bass as well as the future of Australia.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible)
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't think the people of Tasmania respond to anything other than good policies. I think you're echoing the words of somebody who made some very silly statements, very uninformed statements. Tasmania is $450 million better off over the next five years as a result of the GST arrangements than it would have been if the old Keating Government formula had been continued; Tasmania, as I said earlier, has got a deal out of Medicare that no other state has got; Tasmania has had special financial support from this Government; Tasmania enjoys the benefits of the regional forest agreement. My understanding is that the current Tasmanian Labor Government supports the regional forest agreement. That agreement, may I remind you, is negotiated by me with Tony Rundle, the former Liberal Premier of Tasmania. So to the extent that the Labor Government of Tasmania and the unions of Tasmania say the RFA is a good deal for Tasmania workers, they're saying it's the deal that I negotiated with Tony Rundle is good for Tasmania workers and it is. So I think this talk of smoke and mirrors and cheque books is facile and ill-informed.
JOURNALIST:
The latest (inaudible) survey shows that Coalition (inaudible)
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I think there are a lot of polls and they say different things at different times and I think it's a little big pointless comparing one poll with the next. It's going to be difficult for us to win seats in Tasmania. We don't hold any at the moment, so we can't do any worse. We can only improve as far as the House of Representatives is concerned and I've got a bloke over my left shoulder who's determined to improve the situation and I think he's got a first class job of doing so.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible)
MICHAEL FERGUSON:
Well, the reality is that with the Prime Minister's achievements over the last eight years, they are, they're receiving terrific recognition in the community and there's not too much more than I can or should say except that we've got a red hot chance here, the Prime Minister's made it a priority and my invitation has come today and it's terrific to have you in town Prime Minister. [ends]