TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, ROYAL CANBERRA GOLF COURSE
14 MAY 1989
E OE-PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what does the Tasmanian result
mean for your policies in terms of the environment?
PM: Well it means that clearly the judgement has been made
that as far as the two major parties are concerned the Labor
Party has the best policy on the environment. You see we
held our vote. The great swing to the Independents in
Tasmania has come from the Liberals. This is not surprising
because their record on the environment is disastrous. They
have just talked states's rights, states' rights and let any
development go ahead whereas we have an unsurpassed record
on the environment. So that's the clear message down there.
JOURNALIST: Does it mean to some extent the next election
will be won and lost on that kind of vote?
PM: No the Australian electorate is not a single issue
electorate. It is quite clear however that in the way the
political scene is developing in Australia, Independents are
being listened to somewhat more than they were before.
No-one can dispute that and thankfully it is the case, and I
say thankfully from my point of view, that environmental
issues are becoming more significant in the minds of the
electorate. I say thankfully because it is important that
the sorts of things that we've been talking about should be
becoming more widely accepted. The questions not only of
specific geographical environmental issues like the pulp
mill for instance in which we acted so decisively but
increasingly importantly the global issues of the Greenhouse
Effect and the depletion of the ozone layer are issues for
which we have a great responsibility and in which we've
already begun to act very decisively and in which we'll be
doing more.
JOURNALIST: Are people getting disillusioned with the major
parties though?
PM: I suppose there's some element, not so much of
disillusionment but that they are thinking in some respects
more about particular issues and where people stand up and
say this is an issue which we regard as important they are
able to attract some votes. But I'm not worried about this
because it is my Party which on these major issues has taken
the lead. If you look at this Government since 1983
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PM ( cont): starting with the saving of the Franklin Dam,
it's only the major parties that can make the decisions
which affect the environment and if you look at us from the
Franklin Dam onwards, Kakadu, Barrier Reef, the rainforest
in Daintree, the rainforest in Tasmania the protection of
the forest there, on all these issues of the environment it
is the Hawke Labor Government which has acted and acted more
decisively than any other government in the history of this
country. JOURNALIST: You're very relaxed about the result then, it
doesn't really provide any particular concern for you?
PM: Any politician who is ever relaxed in any political
situation is silly. You should never be relaxed. I
think the hallmark of this Government is that we have to a
very large extent set the agenda. I repeat, the 1983
election to some considerable extent was fought on the issue
of saving the Franklin. Now who was it that said we'll save
it? It was me, my Party and then my Government which did
it. On every important issue we have been there. I
acknowledge without reservation the significance of the
people like Bob Brown and so on who have had this single
issue as their overriding concern but the important thing is
that action, action to do things which are important in the
environment is only possible by a government formed by the
major party. And overwhelmingly it has been my Labor
Government which has set the pace in that respect.
JOURNALIST: Is a Labor/ Independent Government viable and
should Gray concede to make way for that sort of government?
PM: I'm not telling Mr Gray, and more particularly I'm not
purporting to tell the Governor of Tasmania how they should
act there, that's a matter for them. Because the most
interesting thing on the political agenda which has emerged
today is in a sense not so much Tasmania but we now have the
clear position where the federal president of the Liberal
Party is setting the agenda for the new parliamentary
leader, Mr Peacock. He's put the consumption tax right back
on the table but in a quite deceptive way. He's saying well
we wouldn't do it in our first term because that might be a
bit electorally lead in the saddlebag. But he's saying
that's what our agenda is. Now to have the consumption tax
put back on the agenda is interesting, interesting in two
ways. One that it means that the powers behind the throne,
and of course Mr Elliott is that, without Mr Elliott Mr
Peacock wouldn't be the leader of the Liberal Party now.
But he's making it quite clear from day one virtually that
he's going to set the agenda. Now, it would be a disastrous
agenda, it would mean a massive increase in the consumer
price index at a time now when we're starting to get
PM ( cont): inflation under control. It would impose a very
very significant burden on ordinary working people and
pensioners, those on benefits, because when we were talking
about it before it was in a circumstance where we were able
to work out a total compensation arrangement for workers and
pensioner beneficiaries.
JOURNALIST: So Prime Minister, you're ruling out the
possibility of a consumption tax for the forseeable
future?
PM: I am ruling out a consumption tax. The clear political
agenda, the clear political division has been settled by Mr
Elliott, the man who enabled Mr Peacock to become leader of
the Liberal Party has said now right at the beginning of it,
' Mr Peacock, you got there because I let you get there, and
I'm telling you now that the consumption tax is on the
agenda, but I'll be a little bit deceptive about it Mr
Peacock, I'll allow you the chance of deceiving the
electorate. We won't put in the first term but I'm telling
you Andrew I, Mr Elliott, who let you get there, I'm telling
you it's squarely on the agenda'. I'm happy about that
because as far as the Hawke Labor Government is concerned a
consumption tax is not on the agenda and will not be on the
agenda. JOURNALIST: Are you pleased with Labor's performance in
the Merthyr by-election?
PM: A very interesting outcome there. The conservative
parties have had a massive loss in their combined vote from
about while we have had an increase in our vote, a very
significant increase in our vote. It means, as I've said
for some time now the end of the Ahern National Party
government and it indicates a very good chance I think in a
general election in the state up there of Wayne Goss forming
0 a Goss Labor Government.
ends