TRANSCRIPT OfV NEWS CONPKEREC, TM HON PETER STAPLES' Pp
ELECTORATE/ MZNISTERIAL OFFICE, HEIDELBERG, 24 APRIL 1989
a 0 E PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawks how do you feel about Mr Fraser's
comments over the weekend?
PMts Well I feel much more relaxed about them than John
Howard does. I think it was a fairly obvious statement, the
fact that the Liberal Party was going to have any chance it
has got to be representative of much broader strands than
the way it's going. It is as Mr Macphee says, all the
machinations within the Liberal Party and within the
conservative parties and the National Party as well, are to
push it more and more towards the hard right and Mr Macphee
and Mr Fraser are not wrong about that.
JOURNALIST: Are you surprised that Mr Fraser would buy into
it?
PMs No I haven't really thought about whether I'm surprised
about that. He was obviously being pressed by Mr Macphee to
do so and he obviously thought that the issues were
* Iportant enough. I mean no-one's had more vigorous and
canventrated disagreements with Mr Fraser than have I. But
there are certain fundamental issues on which he has been
very sound and those include particularly the issues of
race, immigration and colour and that's why I've been
supporting him in his attempt to get the secretaryship of
the Commonwealth and he obviously believes that those
fundamental issues are at risk in this push against Mr
Macphee and that Mr Macphee warrants support because of the
importance of those issues.
JOURNALISTS On the same level, are you concerned about the
challenge to Mr Dawkins in Perth?
PM: No and more importantly neither is Mr Dawkins.
JOURNALISTs Prime Minister is there any significance in
your teeing up an overseas trip as Prime Minister for twelve
months time in regard to an election?
PM: No, no. You'd have to have a convoluted mind to work
out any problems in that. I mean I can't and don't wish to
change the date of Anzac Day. There's nothing I can do
about that and nor did I want to.
-2-
JOURNALISTs Maybe it ' s your confidence that still being
Prime minister in twelve months time whether there's an
election before or after, isthat it?
pz~ s Well I think it follows that if there hasn't been an
election there's no move against me is there Peter?
STAPLES: Not that I
PM: No# no there's no move against me within the Party so
i'll be Prime Minister before the election and we're
confident of winning the next election. Sogyou have to plan
mtuhcehs e pltehaisnugrse ahtoe adb. e abIl mee atno moabkvei ouasvlayi laibtl'se Riovyeanl mAeu stvrearyliian
Air rorce facilities to enable a contingent of veterans to
go over there for the 75th anniversary of Anhac Day. rt's
been put to me that it would be appropriate for the Prime
minister to be with them and I think my commitment to the
veterans of Australia has been very well established.' So it
would give me particular pleasure to be able to be with them
there on that important day, which is a day an i said in
opening this new ward at Heidleberg earlier today, Anzac Day
was something which is really in a sense defines the spirit
and the consciousness of Australia in so many ways. go it
would be good to be there.
jouRNALIST: Mr Hawks will you sending any more assistance
to Papua New Guinea, perhaps RAAF assistance?
PR: Let me say this. As far. as the agreements that we have
with Papua New Guinea are concerned, the operation of those
. agreements will continue, we've got people there helping in
* te training of the defence forces of Papua New Guinea. The
qistion of whether there'd be any more particular
assistance is a matter which would need a specific request
and a considered decision. Now that hasn't occured at this
0 stage. I mean the main concern that we have as far as Papua
New Guinea is concerned is that there be a resolution of
what is a potentially very dangerous dispute in Bougainville
where it* s not simply a question of some disaffection
amongst some people j-either representing or purportins to
represent land owners there as owner is purporting to ~ o
but the dimension of that problem can be greater. I moan it
can go to the very question of the viability of the existing
constitutional structure of-Papua New Guinea and therefore
one has to be very careful in considering this issue, that
you don't look at it merely in terms of some conflict and
quasi military conflict on Bougainville but it's got to be
looked at in terms of what does this mean for the polarity
of Papua New Guinea. So we're monitoring the situationvery,
very closely. I've been reading all the cables
myself# I've read a lot over the weekend, and In just
sending off our new High Commissioner last week I had him
in and I told him that I wanted to be kept consistently
informed of developments there because what happens in Papua
New Guinea is not only important for the-people oftPapua New
Guinea itself but clearly has significance for Australia in
-3-
( PH cant) many terms. I mean there are 4000 Australians on
Bougainville and any escalation of the conflict there could
be potentially very dangerous for those 4000 Australian.
So for whatever reason you want to look at it, Australia has
a very significant interest in developments there.
JOURNALIST: Prime minister doss it frustrate you that given
that you've ruled out an election this yea r, tha t you can't
make use therefore of the electoral godsend represented by
both the disunity within the coalition and within the
Liberal Party itself?
Px: Well of cause that question assumes that they are going
to overcome in the short term their problems. Now they are
not. They are not because am I said earlier today in
opening Peter's office, their problem arises from a very
simple tact, they have no beliefs. I mean they have been in
opposition now for 6 years, that's a very signi ficant fact,
they've been in opposition for 6 year.. They still haven't
agreed on their basic policies Why? Because they don't
believe in anything. They-have been in government in the
past so often because we in the Labor Party couldn't
govern ourselves and delivered government to them on a
plate, but we have learnt. We have learnt that you have to
have policies so in opposition we developed policies and
policies that were relevant to the present and the future
and were not Just rehashes of a faded past. Now they
haven't got policies and they have no sign of getting them,
of getting relevant policies, And in that circumstance they
are going to be characterized by this internal fratricide
which mind you isn't new, it's happening at the moment. it
UJ~ t happens to be getting a sort of dramatic surfacing, if
you like, because they've got some preselection ballots
cfting up. But the fundamental hatreds that exist between
Mr macphee and the right wing of his Party, that just hasn't
emerged now, it's just come to the surface dramatically
04P buencdaeursceu rorfe ntt hea s phraess elbeecetni otnhse. hatBurte dsi t'asn d betehne bai tctoenrsniesstse'n tand
the divisions between the Liberal Party and the Country
Party. They just happen to be surfacing at the moment
because you've got questions Of joint Senate tickets and
preselections in the Party. They are not going to go away.
ends