I PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, SCHOOL OF ARTS, FAIRFIELD, 23
AUGUST 1989
E J& OE -PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Can we ask about the pilots? Stand downs have
* begurn. What's your view of the situation?
* PM: 1I Well I just hope that the pilots will understand that
thelairlines, supported by the Government, are not going to
giv~ in to these outrageous demands. As I say, I don't want
conirontation, war or anything else with the pilots. All I
* wanj Is that they should act as the overwhelming body of
ordinary Australians. See the people around here, the
ord4nary Australians abide by the system. They put their own
int rest in the context of the interests of the nation as a
whole. I ask of nothing more and nothing less of the pilots.
JOUI4NALIST: As far as contingency plans go, what can the
p ublic expect In terms of services if it continues?
I PM: Arrangements are being made which will involve attempts
to have international airlines providing some services and
the , RAAF providing some planes. As I've said all along,
well never be able to have a complete substitution but we
hope we'll have a position where we can both cover emergency
-situations and some services for the public.
I JOURNIALIST: Who makes the next move, Prime Minister? Is
there any overture that you can make in all of this?
P M: II don't feel with absolute sincerity of the pilots,
I simply say to them you are important members of our
coimunity and if you've got claims that you want to make,
then1 make them within the system, you can have negotiations
* within the system. Within that negotiation, within the
syst~ m there can be legitimate improvements in wages but we
are hot going to have a situation where you're going to break
this economy. So let's think of the nation as a whole and
not ust of Immediate self interest. That's all I ask of
them.
JOURNALIST: Are you surprised some of the pilots didn't
break away from their union and agree to these conditions set
down by the companies?
PM:~ I expected in this initial stage that we'd get a
* reaction much of the order it's been.
JOURNALIST; Can I ask you briefly about the logging
' situation? Last night you made some strong statements to
pro'tect NSW forests. How far can you go though without
infringing States rights?
PM: What's this question of infringing States rights?
You~ don't exist as a NSW person and an Australia person. I
meahI you are an Australian who happens to live in NSW and the
facjz is that we are concerned with the rights of Australians,
notlonly you, me, this generation, we're concerned with the
rights of Australians as future generations and under the
Corx~ titution we have the opportunity, If it's necessary, of
using Constitutional powers to protect the rights of this
* generation and future generations of Australians. I have
always taken the view that I'd like to be able to do that in
term's of cooperation with the States. That's what I'd
* preter. But if Mr Causley is going to say, ' 1 don't give a
dam4 about agreements, I don't give a damn about future
gnrations', then Mr Causley will have to face up to the
facl that I and my Government are prepared to act for all
Austjralians now and into the future.
JOURNALIST: Do you see this looming as a potential Franklin
2SS'de in any forthcoming election?
PM: I I don't look for looming confrontation. I mean that's
never been my caper. I've always tried to say let's sit down
and Italk this thing through, let's try and get agreement. So
I'm 6iot looking for confrontation, this or otherwise. I
siply say that we will not be diverted from our
0 resppnsibility to present Australians, to future generations
of Aistralians. My Government has shown, as I said in Sydney
lasti night, that it's not a question of development and jobs
o ' n the one hand and the environment on the other. We have
creat ed one and a half million new jobs since we've been In
* offife, five times faster than the conservatives did when
* they were In, more than twice as fast as the rest of the
worl But at the same time as we've done that we've also
got 4n environmental record second to none in the world. so
you don't have to have one or the other, you can do both and
we will.
-3-
JOURNALIST: touah line against the nilots. Do you think
it might have stalled rnegotiations?
PF.: We haven't stalled anything. It's a simple proposition
that I as Prime Minister of this country have a
responsibility for all Australians. I certainly have no
responsibility to prop up greedy demands by a group of people
who are already very well paid and are in a very privileged
position. I would be absolutely derelict in my duty if I
didn't takze action which was going to ernsure that this
economy is protected. This economy would be devestated if
the pilots won this dispute?
JOURNALIST: And considering financially. Prime Minister
PIVI I've answered that question. What I've said is that
when we started to have a discussion the question was raised
that if the dispute went on for a long time it would be very
costly to the airlines and would i-we looks at the question of
the fees and the charges which they paid. Well I said no,
that we would deal with this dispute as it is. If it
happened to'go on for a very long time, and you wanted to
raise that with us, we'd look at that issue. But that's not,
on the iirjmediate agenda.
ends