Subjects: school funding; Minister Reith; protests; reconciliation.
E&OE................................
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, is this a great example of a government school working in the selective system?
PRIME MINISTER:
Of course. Probably the outstanding example of this certainly anywhere in New South Wales and probably anywhere in Australia and I'm a great believer in a dual system of education and I'm a strong supporter of selective high schools within the government education system. You've got to have choice, you've also got to have selectivity. It's the way of producing the bet possible outcomes.
JOURNALIST:
Doesn't it mean that [inaudible] poorer schools are missing out?
PRIME MINISTER:
No it doesn't mean that at all because this is the sort of school that's not geared according to income. It's geared according to ability and that's a prime determinant to get to a school like this because you also need within the education system you need support for less gifted children but you've got to support everybody and that's what our system does. One of the strengths of the Australian education system is that it's very diverse. You've got strong government schools and you've got strong choice if children's parents want to send them to independent schools.
JOURNALIST:
.. protestors this morning on your way in?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm used to that but perhaps I should remind them that for this current financial year the federal government is increasing its financial support for government schools by 4.4%, the New South Wales government is increasing their support for government schools by only 1.9%. So we are actually this year increasing our government school support at a faster rate than the New South Wales government although it is their prime responsibility.
JOURNALIST:
Given the legal advice on Mr Reith's...the point being he doesn't have any civil responsibility for the money. Do you think this is the end of the matter now?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well he's repaying the money and I think we've all sort of gone over it ad nauseam and there's probably nothing more to be said.
JOURNALIST:
Were you disturbed by scenes in Sydney yesterday of Palestinians protesting?
PRIME MINISTER:
I never am disturbed by people protesting in a lawful way. But I always condemn the burning of flags. It is not acceptable that the flags of friendly countries such as the United States and Israel be burnt and I would ask everybody in this very difficult issue to by all means exercise their democratic right of protest and of lawfully expressing in a forceful way their point of view. But remember that we live in a very diverse strong democracy and in the end we are Australians together before anything else.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, are you going to take responsibility for the fact that the story didn't come out about the Telecard affair until [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER:
The right procedures were followed, a police inquiry was launched.
JOURNALIST:
You knew about it for some time did you not?
PRIME MINISTER:
That's right and the right thing to do is not to announce police investigations otherwise you encourage people to destroy the evidence.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, the Mr X and Ms Y factor today in the paper indicate that the police inquiry should perhaps be renewed into the phonecard issue?
PRIME MINISTER:
No but that would always be a matter for them because they act independently.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard do you support Labor's call for an Auditor General for parliamentary entitlements?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I support things always being investigated in the proper fashion and that's what happened on this occasion.
JOURNALIST:
Is there any investigation now into the phone bills of other politicians?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well if there are I don't really mind where that runs.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, are you concerned though that there's a public perception that nobody has been held responsible..
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't think that is the public perception because Mr Reith, despite the fact that he's not legally liable to do so has paid the money. Now that doesn't happen in other cases, in similar situations. It really doesn't contrary to the view that has been put around by some. Mr Reith has accepted a responsibility for something that he's not legally obliged to do so. In those circumstances I don't know how there can possibly be any such perception.
JOURNALIST:
But this is a defrauding of the Commonwealth. Shouldn't somebody..
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that was not the finding of the Director of Public Prosecutions. That's your assertion as a journalist.
JOURNALIST:
. at this stage has come out of this okay.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it hasn't been good for him, of course not. He acknowledges that. But he's done the right thing.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, are you happy with a Newspoll this morning showing that the Olympics was a great support for reconciliation?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I had a look at that Newspoll this morning and I thought it was very interesting. It said what I think everybody feels and that is that the Olympic Games was good for reconciliation but it also makes the point that the majority of people still oppose a formal apology. I think the message that comes out of the two polls, and you've got to read both of them, not just one of them, the message that comes out of the two polls is that reconciliation does not equal a formal apology. You can believe in reconciliation very strongly as I do without believing in giving a formal national apology. That is the majority view of the Australian community and I would have thought the two polls demonstrated that very squarely. Everybody wants reconciliation but not everybody agrees that you get reconciliation only by having a formal national apology. I think you've got to look at the two things quite separately. And I think the bell has gone for you as well as for the students.
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