PRIME MINISTER:
Ladies and gentlemen, as you know this afternoon I'll meet the Indonesian President, we'll have a lengthy discussion about many aspects of the bilateral relationship and then his wife and the President, and Janette and myself will dine this evening.
It's an excellent opportunity for us to deal with, obviously, some challenges to the relationship in recent weeks. There's no point in denying that, but there's equally no point in over-reacting and getting things out of perspective. It's still a very strong and close relationship.
One of the things that I'll be talking about to the President this afternoon is progress with implementation of the aid programme that I announced at the beginning at 2005, after the tsunami. And one of the elements of that involves the construction, jointly by Australia and Indonesia, of, I think, 2000 schools throughout the country and it will be a lasting and visible reminder of the goodwill of the Australian people as expressed through the Australian Government towards the people of Indonesia in their time of need.
My message to you and my message to the President is very much let us move on from recent challenges, let's not allow them to stand in the way of what is a fundamentally important relationship to both countries.
I think there's been a tendency at all points in the relationship between Australia and Indonesia to indulge, engage in too much navel gazing about difficulties instead of recognising the great common, amount of common ground we have considering how different the two countries are.
Historically and culturally and ethnically we're not a natural fit, but we're thrown together by history and geography and a shared commitment to fight terrorism. And I continue to respect very much the way in which Indonesia has embraced democracy, the extraordinary leadership that Dr Yudhoyono has brought to this country. It is the third largest democracy in the world. I do not think the rest of the world, and I leave Australia out of this, I think of other countries, I do not think they give Indonesia enough credit for the steps that have been taken and the progress that's been made in the embrace of democracy. And they are some of the things that I will be saying to the President, amongst other things, this afternoon.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister the President has responded to your letter.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes I'll be releasing, or the text of the two letters will be released later.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, he says that Indonesia has exhausted all legal avenues in relation to Abu Bakar Bashir, do you accept that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think what I'll be doing is maintaining the position that I put to the President in my letter. I think if you have a look at the letter when it's released, he's making a point about the judicial processes concerning that man's involvement in the Bali attack. What I was talking about in my letter was a response to the United Nations' resolution.
JOURNALIST:
So it does not address your concerns?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think what has happened is that he has said that the law of Indonesia applies in relation to Abu Bakar Bashir in the way that I have said the law of Australia applies in relation to the 43 asylum seekers.
JOURNALIST:
Are you hopeful of progress, Mr Howard, on that matter?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think we'll wait and see what comes out this afternoon. But their position has always been that they tried to have him prosecuted and the courts failed to convict him.
JOURNALIST:
But progress on (inaudible) front?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I'll be repeating that and we'll see what comes out of it.
JOURNALIST:
What sort of assurances will you be giving the President on this progress of West Papua as far as (inaudible)?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I'll be repeating what I've said before and that is that we recognise that Papua is part of Indonesia. We don't support separatist movements in Indonesia and we don't wish to see Australia become any kind of staging point for supporting separatist movements.
I won't be altering in anyway the Government's position regarding the 43 asylum seekers, they have been dealt with in accordance with Australian law and although I respect and understand the fact that Indonesia would have preferred that that decision not be taken and would still prefer that the 43 people be returned, that will not happen and there won't be any change in relation to our position on that.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, what's your reaction to the resignation of Prime Minister Alkatiri?
PRIME MINISTER:
I want the issue of who governs in East Timor resolved as soon as possible. It is not for me to nominate the Prime Minister of that country, it's an independent sovereign country. It is for me, of course, legitimately, to encourage people in East Timor in a position of leadership authority to resolve their differences and get on with the job of governing the country more effectively. It's for the East Timorese to decide who their Prime Minister should be in accordance with their constitutional processes.
JOURNALIST:
Australia has a big investment in terms of troops in East Timor generally.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think, are you encouraged by this development?
PRIME MINISTER:
It seems to me to be part of the process of working out the difficulty, resolving the impasse, breaking through the logjam, whatever, you know, other expression you want to use and to that extent I am pleased. But that expression of pleasure should not be taken as an expression of view on who should occupy what particular position in East Timor.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard isn't there a danger though with the presence of Australian troops and the expression of your pleasure, that there is danger that Australia is seen to be interfering in the domestic politics of East Timor?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I don't think so. I don't think people can legitimately argue that. Some people will argue it illegitimately, but you can't legitimately argue that. We are entitled to express an opinion about how long our troops stay in East Timor that is something in relation to which we have a stand-alone, unarguable right to express a view.
JOURNALIST:
But Prime Minister you also expressed your disappointment at Jos‚ Ramos Horta's threat to resign, his resignation, and now you express your pleasure at the resignation...
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no what I have expressed my pleasure at, David, is the evidence constituted by his projected resignation that we are moving towards a resolution of the issue.
JOURNALIST:
Will you talk about the issue during your talks with President Yudhoyono this afternoon?
PRIME MINISTER:
East Timor? I think it will certainly be discussed. I don't think it will be the main issue but it will certainly be discussed.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard how surprised were you to see the Indonesia President this morning on your morning walk and how positive were the signals that you got from him in the 90 seconds that you had?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well very positive, he and I are very good friends, I like him and I like his wife and we have always got on very well together and nothing that's happened over the past few months has altered the warm personal regard I have for him, nor do I believe it has in anyway reduced the warm personal regard he has for me. And I was pleased to see him, it was purely accidental, there was nothing contrived about it, we'd gone up the hill once, remember? We went up the hill and felt like the grand old Duke of York. I'd sort of gone up and come back again. So I was very pleased to see him and he was very warm and friendly and he's a very likeable bloke but that doesn't mean to say he won't argue tenaciously for Indonesia's point of view and I won't argue for Australia's point of view.
But we have to make a joint effort and both of us have to understand that we are very different countries, that we have a common interest in getting on together, we have a common interest in fighting terrorism, we are learning to understand the importance of mutual respect for the legal processes of the two countries and that really is at the heart of the dispute over Papua. I mean we're not interested in, as a Government or as a country, in separating Papua from Indonesia.
I just want to say now that I am in Indonesia again, any idea that we as a Government want to see a fragmentation of Indonesia couldn't be further from the truth. It's not in the interests of Indonesia that that occur and it's not in the interests of Australia that that occur. The idea that Australia would benefit in anyway conceivably from a fragmentation of Indonesia is ludicrous. So I'll certainly take an opportunity of putting those views. I will obviously be putting my views regarding that man and I will repeat them. Now the question of how Indonesia responds is something that I guess they have to resolve according to their own law and according to their own internal processes.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, on the subject of war, yesterday a man well known to Australia, Brigadier General Pastika, ...
PRIME MINISTER:
Brigadier who?
JOURNALIST:
Pastika, he is now head of the National Narcotics Board...
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh yes, yes.
JOURNALIST:
...made a call for the speedier execution of drug traffickers. Will the situation regarding, two Australians who have been sentenced to death for their role in the Bali Nine be another matter you'll be raising with the President today?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I will maintain the position that we oppose the imposition of the death penalty.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, will there be some sort of joint statement signed today?
PRIME MINISTER:
No. That's not my expectation, but I never cease to be amazed at the capacity sometimes of things to change, but I don't think it will. I think the idea is that we'll talk, we'll have a joint press conference, we'll each give a commentary on the discussion, we'll answer your questions and we'll release the two letters.
As far as my letter to the President is concerned, I think I can say now is that I repeated my position regarding that man and I also repeated and said in the letter things that I have been saying for ages, including at this news conference, about our not wanting in any way to encourage separatist movements in Indonesia. I think I do say something about the importance of implementing the special autonomy package, including in particular, a reinforcement of human rights issues.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, on Bashir, if Indonesia does not do what you're asking is that the end of the matter or will you be seeking further recourse through the UN?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh well I don't know that we're going to be running off seeking a United Nations resolution on the matter, but I think what I'll do is just continue to pursue the issue. I mean you have a situation where they did, I think, genuinely, very genuinely try to have him prosecuted for a greater involvement in the Bali attack than the courts found was warranted by the facts. And the court found in a particular fashion.
Now we were disappointed, I think they were disappointed. But, I think I may have said this back in Australia, that sometimes Australians are very disappointed with decisions taken by Australian courts and there's not a lot we can do about it, we just have to wear it.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, when you talk about a reinforcement of human rights in West Papua, are you suggesting that Indonesia needs to smarten up its act in terms of treatment of citizens of...
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I think you ought to read my letter when it's released.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, you said yesterday that Australians stood ready if we wanted to assist in West Papua. What did you mean by that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well if there were any ways in which we could assist with our various agencies, well, if there were, but that's a matter for Indonesia. We don't inject ourselves, we offer help, just as we are willing to help Indonesia in other things, we would also be willing to help Indonesia in relation to this?
JOURNALIST:
Some Indonesian MPs have asked for Australia to help them in their efforts to lobby the US for access to Hambali as part of the failed efforts to prosecute Bashir. Would that be something you would be willing to do?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that matter has not, to my recollection, been raised with Australia by Indonesia, so if it were raised then I would think about it. But I'm not giving any advanced commitment to do so.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, before you go, have you got any last minute advice for the Socceroos?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think they have performed so magnificently to date that I don't think any advice from somebody who hasn't played the game for a few years, but I just think if they maintain their wonderful Australian spirit in this game, as they have in the earlier games they could well further confound the sceptics.
I think this has been a wonderful journey. It's been inspiring, it's brought out the best in our players and it's a wonderful reminder of how well Australians do, not only on the playing field, but I think the way in which the country has been represented by all those thousands of Australians in Germany.
I was talking to the Foreign Minister, who happened to be in Germany at one of the matches and he said that he just found the attitude and the demeanour of all of the Australians over there behaving like one great family very uplifting. And I think the way in which the team has brought out that sense of competitive pride, competitive nationalism on the sporting field is a great Australian trait and I think they've done it very well.
JOURNALIST:
If they got through to the next round Prime Minister...
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, soccer players are as suspicious as cricketers are about people making predictions. I remember once being in the commentary box of the ABC and saying that somebody, I think it was Mark Waugh, was batting extremely well and he sort of got out in the next over and I sort of got blamed for that, probably by somebody who didn't have my best interests at heart. Not a member of the Australian cricket team, but some other person, I've forgotten his name at the moment, but I think I'll carefully avoid that. Let's just take it a game at a time and I assume that you will all be watching it. And it's at a good time. Ten o'clock is at a very good time and we're all rather excited about it and we'll just wait and see. But I'll be very available, whatever the result is. I think they've done terrifically well and exceeded all of our expectations.
JOURNALIST:
One factual question...
PRIME MINISTER:
One what? Factual? I thought all of your questions were factual. Very interesting. Rather like Sharan Burrow's comment this morning on Adelaide radio which you've reminded me of, that I have to have something to say. Go on.
JOURNALIST:
The letter you wrote to the President about, which he doesn't prefer to cover some issues, I'm a bit confused. Is it the President's response to you in another letter from you?
PRIME MINISTER:
What's happened is, I wrote to the Prime Minister and then he wrote back and I've written back to him. So what we're going to do later on today is we're going to release the text of the two letters. I mean I don't think I'm revealing any secrets in saying that my letter back to him is very much a restatement of what I've said about Bashir and what I've said about Papua. And his letter, well it's a matter for him, for you to read the text of his letter.
Just while I'm at it, could I just say something about a domestic matter. The ACTU President on Adelaide radio this morning argued that the very low growth in real wages during the time of the Labor Government was a good thing for the Australian economy. Now I think that is a very, very interesting acknowledgment. I mean, it's an acknowledgement of two things.
First and foremost, it's an acknowledgement of the fundamental fact that we've been arguing now for 10 years and that is that the Coalition is a superior economic manager to Labor. Because what she's acknowledged is that it was essential to hold down real wages in order to sustain employment during the Labor years. We haven't had to do that. We've been able to preside over an economy that has seen not only falls in unemployment but also significant increases in real wages. We've been able to achieve the double. They weren't able to achieve either. They couldn't deliver the low unemployment we have and they couldn't deliver the real wage increases.
So in an answer, what Sharan Burrow has really done is to concede the central economic argument of the Government, and that is that we're better at managing the economy. We can deliver both, they can't deliver either and I think that's what this debate on industrial relations is all about.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister you didn't inherit double digit inflation, double digit unemployment which is what your government, the previous Fraser Government, left Bob Hawke in 1983.
PRIME MINISTER:
Jim, you have to be judged on what you do in Government and we're now talking about the comparison of this Government with the previous one and we're talking about the relative economic capacities of the two sides of politics. What Sharan Burrow's done today is to admit the centrality of our economic case. I mean, she admitted that real wages had to be suppressed. She said that the suppression of real wages was a good thing in the Hawke-Keating years.
JOURNALIST:
So you would have let it rip...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we weren't in office. We would have managed the economy very differently.
JOURNALIST:
But you were previously, and a central part of it.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Michelle, what she has done is to admit that Labor in government had to suppress real wages in the national interest. We have not had to do that over the last 10 years. We have been able to achieve real wage growth, unemployment reductions and sustained economic growth. What she's done is to admit that we're better economic managers than the Labor Party and I think that's very important.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, didn't you inherit an economy better than good in parts?
PRIME MINISTER:
There were some aspects of the economy that had benefited from Labor Party reforms in the past. I've never denied that. I think you know better than most that I've always been willing to acknowledge that there were some good things that the Hawke Government, the Hawke Government in particular did for the economy. But I have never ceased to argue that when it comes to the fundamental responsibility of economic management we are much better at managing the economy and I now have the imprimatur of Sharan Burrow. Thank you Sharan.
[ends]