Subjects: Olympic Games
E&OE……………………………………………………………………………………
COURIC:
Among those most excited about Australia’s opportunity to host the games of the 27th Olympiad is the country’s Prime Minister, a life long resident of Sydney, John Howard. Mr Prime Minister, good morning, welcome.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, welcome to Australia.
COURIC:
Nice to see you.
PRIME MINISTER:
To your 26 million viewers, to scenically the most beautiful city in the world.
COURIC:
Well it is quite lovely. I think we’ve spent most of our time so far this morning talking about why Australia and particularly Sydney is so magical. As a life long resident, as a life long Aussie, you tell us why you think it is.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it’s a great city. I think we’ve got something unique in this country. We’re an unpretentious lot. We try and treat people as they are. Australia is now made up of people from 140 different countries in the world and I think we’ve done the social and racial cohesion better than most. We have our problems, we’re still debating our relationship with the Indigenous people of the country, as any other nation that’s gone through that does, but we’re making a lot of progress there as well. So I think the unpretentiousness, the lack of class consciousness, the egalitarian, mateship part of Australia is probably what has given it its special character.
COURIC:
In fact, this is a great opportunity to strut your stuff, if you will, and our first glimpse of Australia was really during the millennium when we saw that spectacular fireworks show over this very harbour. Meanwhile with the world watching, yet again even more carefully, are you apprehensive at all? You must be a tiny bit?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no I’m not apprehensive at all because there’s nothing phoney about Australia. It’s the genuine article. We have our blemishes, but if you look at the broad picture, it’s been hugely successful. We are stable, cohesive and peaceful. We have a lot of vigorous debate. We’ve got a very open democratic system and we’re very friendly people.
COURIC
But clearly there’s a lot at stake here. You’ve been working on these games since 1993, you have spent an incredible amount of money. How much to date?
PRIME MINISTER:
Hundreds, millions.
COURIC:
Millions more like it. Tell me a little bit more about how Sydney has prepared for the games.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think the committee that’s organising it has done a very good job. But Sydney is a very big international cosmopolitan city and while it’s very excited about the games, it has the capacity to take things in it’s stride and I have a theory about the Olympic Games that they need to be held in a big international city. If they’re not, they tend to swamp the city, rather than the city going along with the games and I think Sydney is big enough and cosmopolitan enough to be able to go along with the games, get very excited about them but equally keep a sense of perspective. Australians want passionately these games to be a huge success. They naturally want our country to do well and I am sure it will. But we’re a great sports loving people and the Olympic Games is but another chapter, perhaps the biggest chapter yet in the sporting, the romance between the Australian people and sport.
COURIC:
Meanwhile one of your stands has been somewhat controversial, most Australian leaders have apologised for the dreadful treatment of the native people, you referred to the Aborigines earlier in this interview, and they to this day suffer from high rates of unemployment and illiteracy. Many of their children have been forcibly been removed in an attempt to assimilate them into the white culture and yet you’ve never really made a public apology. Why? I’m just curious.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I’ve said that I’m personally sorry for that, but I don’t believe that the present generation of Australians should accept formal responsibility for the deeds of earlier generations. The important thing is to improve the disadvantage you refer to and we are making a lot of progress. There are a lot of good news stories - the number of Aborigines going to tertiary institutions is rising; the mortality rates, although they’re unacceptably high, are coming down. We are making a lot of improvements in my view and the view I think of the majority of Australians is that we should focus on remedying the current disadvantage rather than naval gazing too much about the past.
COURIC:
What do you think about Cathy Freeman who is of Aboriginal descent. She’s one of Australia’s best hopes for winning a gold medal in the 400 metre track event. She has said that she would like to carry an aboriginal flag if she wins and Juan Antonio Samaranch has said he has no problem with that. Do you feel comfortable with that?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I don’t either. I don’t either. I think there is a special place in our community for the indigenous people and when she, some years ago, carried an aboriginal flag and an Australian flag, I couldn’t understand why anybody got upset about that. It doesn’t upset me and there is no greater supporter of the Australian flag than I, but that’s great. We want her to do well and she’s a great inspiration to young indigenous people in this country and the idea that she might want to carry the aboriginal flag as well as the Australian flag is perfectly understandable. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest, good luck to her.
COURIC:
And very quickly, there’s a huge rivalry between American and Australian swimmers. One American swimmer, Gary Hall junior said, he loves your country, but they plan to smash the Australian team in the pool quote, “like a guitar”.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah, well that’s just typical sort of American pre match psychology and we’re a wake up to the yanks on that.
COURIC:
American bravado huh?
PRIME MINISTER:
Indeed.
COURIC:
Well we’re really looking forward to the games. We so appreciate your coming to talk with us this morning. Prime Minister Howard thank you so much.
[ends]