PRIME MINISTER:
Right. Any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, you said during your speech inside that you should try and find something positive in anyone's behaviour, even the people you get on with least. Are you meeting with Petro Georgiou today?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, I am and we will have, as we always have in the past, a very amiable discussion. He's one of my colleagues, I value his contribution, we're discussing an issue and I'm sure that the issue will be resolved in a sensible and appropriate manner.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible) to soften Federal Government's policy on mandatory detention?
PRIME MINISTER:
I've already said that the overwhelming view of the Party Room is that consistent with keeping the policy, and that's important, there should, where opportunity presents itself, be greater flexibility and changes and adjustments at the margin to improve its operation and that's the attitude that I will bring to all of the discussions I have with anybody on this issue. The essentials of the policy remain, but where opportunity presents itself to administer it more flexibly and more humanely then that will happen. Now beyond that I don't have anything further to say.
JOURNALIST:
Do you believe that that flexibility or softening may stop him going it alone?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I've just stated the approach I will bring to any discussions and I'm not going to speculate beyond that.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister are happy your tax plan looks like it's going ahead sometime in July, are you happy that the Democrats won't support Kim Beazley's move to block them for a further 12 months?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I thought Senator Allison said this morning that she still hadn't made up her mind. How can I put it? I think it's as simple as ABC, that the opposition parties should get out of the way and let Australians have their tax cuts on time, in full, without delay.
JOURNALIST:
How would describe the Democrats to-ing and fro-ing on the issue?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don't think there should be any to-ing and fro-ing. There's room for people to have a different point of view, but in the end the tax cuts will go through and why should people have the confusion and delay? Nothing is being achieved, it's a pointless exercise in negativity by both the Labor Party and the Democrats.
JOURNALIST:
How would you respond to comments from the US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, that Washington would prefer Guantanamo Bay detainees to be released to their country and tried at home?
PRIME MINISTER:
I haven't seen that statement and until I've seen it's proper context I won't comment.
JOURNALIST:
Would you be interested in responding to it though? Terry Hicks...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I'm not going to respond until I've seen it and its proper context.
JOURNALIST:
Would you be a difficult position?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm not going to respond to it until I have seen it in its proper context.
JOURNALIST:
Will you chase it up then?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't think I need to chase things up like that, they tend to chase me up.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, do you believe that there could be a 1,000 spies and informants for the Chinese Government in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't think I'll comment on that. Mr Chen's application is being dealt with in the normal way by the Immigration Department and it will be determined strictly on its merits.
Thank you.
[ends]