PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, SOUTH MELBOURNE
MAY 1989
E 0 E PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Are you saddened by the news of the killing of
the Kanak leader?
PM: I'm very saddened by it. Of course I've met the late
Mr Tjibaou and I express to his family and the family of the
other assassinated leader my personal sorrow and that of the
Government and the people of Australia. It's particularly
unfortunate coming as it does at a time when in a sense they
were celebrating the achievement of the Matignon Agreement
which laid the foundations for the bringing of a peaceful
resolution of the dispute in New Caledonia. I trust that
the assassination of Mr Tjibaou will not lead to further
violence and we certainly express that hope and the
commitment of the'Australian Government to support the
processes that have been initiated under the Rochard
Government to bring about a peaceful resolution of what had
promised to be a devastatingly disastrous situation with the
prospect of condiserable bloodshed. The Matignon Accord
pointed the way to a peaceful resolution of the troubles in
New Caledonia and I trust that this tragedy will not divert
all parties from proceeding along those paths.
JOURNALIST: Prime minister, it's been reported this morning
that a group of 30 Federal MPs are drafing a piece of
legislation to prevent Medicare claims for abortion. Are
you aware of that?
PM: No, I haven't been aware of that. I noticed in the
brief opportunity I've had to read the Press this morning, I
noticed some reference to it. There's no recommendations or
approach out of that group that I'm aware........ the
Government. I don't regard it as particularly rewarding
therefore, there's nothing before us and just to comment on
-some Press speculatiom-bout-what someone may do in the
future doesn't seem to me to be very rewarding.
JOURNALIST: But what is your feeling on that?
PM: I don't have feelings about Press reports. If I had
feelings about Press reports I'd be in an asylum myself.
For the moment I don't intend to get into an asylum on the
basis of having feelings about every Press report I see.
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JOURNALIST: I take it it would be a conscious vote issue
though if it ever got to legislation?
PM: The position of my Party has been that way in the past,
I don't see any reason why that would change. I mean it's
just so speculative I don't see any reward to anyone in
commenting at this stage on it.
JOURNALIST: You're off to Tasmania tomorrow.
PM: No, I'm off tonight.
JOURNALIST: What's the future of Wesley Vale now?
PM: There is no future for the particular project that was
put up because this Government which has probably the
strongest environmental credentials of just about any
government in the world, and certainly the strongest of any
in this country's history, is not going to permit an
operation which allows the pumping into the ocean each day
of 13 tonnes of these chlorides. So there's no future fcr
that project in that form. It was environmentally untenable
and unacceptable. I'll go down there, as I say, late
tonight so I'll be having some things to say tomorrow. I
really think we ought to leave it till tomorrow.
JOURNALIST: How realistic is the idea of a coalition
between the ALP and the so called Greens in Tasmania?
PM: We will be running in this campaign to win in our own
right as no doubt will be our major opponents, the Liberal
Party. I believe that Mr Field's Party have a good chance
of winning. Having said that if it were to emerge that
there was a hung Parliament with the Greens holding the
balance of power, well that's something that would have to
be looked at then. It was quite clear that obviously in
terms of the outstanding record of Labor on environmental
issues as compared with the environmental vandalism of the
Libers in general, and Mr Gray in particular, there should
be no doubt as to which way that coalition would work out.
JOURNALIST: what did you think about the Liberal Party
reopening Senate preselection?
PM: Haven't we seen a saga of comedies or stupidities in
this area? I mean, t .4deader-of the Liberal Party
federally, Mr Howard, distancing himself, then drawing out
of a hat who was going to represent him at the preselection
panel which must be one of the most pathetic abdications of
leadership that I've ever seen. Now the third chapter in
this comedy of errors is that having opened up the can of
worms and seeing that Mr Macphee might be dumped which is
what they want to do because they reject him hard right of
the Liberal Party led by Mr Howard will not accept any small
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PM ( cont): Liberal philosophy as represented by Mr
Macphee. Having committed themselves to getting rid of him,
there is now a backlash in certain areas so they say ' oh,
now what do we do? We've plotted to get rid of him, we're
going to dump him out of the House of Representatives, bit
of a backlash, so we'll change our previous decision and
reopen nominations for the Senate and we can say to Ian
" Ian, having kicked you thunderously in the backside, having
told the people of Australia particularly the people of
Goldstein that you're not a worthy representative to try
and cover our own backsides having kicked yours, we'll now
reopen nominations for the Senate". I mean, what a comedy
of errors. I mean, what a mob of incompetents. They make
such a massive mess of conducting their own affairs and they
seriously say to the people of Australia ' look how we muck
up our own affairs, please let us manage yours'. What a
joke.
JOURNALIST: With those problems do you have any temptation
to call an early election?
PM: No, no, no. I'm a man beyond temptation these days.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, are you concerned that while
you're down here today talking about the advantages of the
LaTrobe Valley region there's a lot of concern down there
about the building of an outfall sewage unit into the ocean
and people down there are saying it threatens to become
another Wesley Vale because of the lack of adequate
environmental controls?
PM: I'm not acquainted with the details of that issue.
They haven't been brought to my attention, perhaps they will
and if I become acquainted with the details I may be in a
position to say something about it. But I don't make a
habit of talking about things that I don't know anything
0 about. It's a very good rule for politicians and people in
the media and all other areas of public affairs.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
celebrated her tenth anniversary yesterday.
PM: Yes.
JOURNALIST: Anything in line like that for you perhaps?
PM: Well, we've had-as* x.-we.' vze had six. well, we've got
another election coming up, you know, sometime in the next
twelve months, within the next twelve months, that could
make seven, seven from ten is three. Oh yes, it could
happen. JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke Channel Ten sport would like to know
your football tips for tomorrow. St Kilda or the Swans?
PM: And you, of course, are speaking to Melbourne's leading
tipster, leading by a very considerable margin in the
Melbourne Herald tipster's poll.
ends