PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, PARRAMATTA LEAGUES CLUB,
PARRAMATTA 9 OCTOBER 1989
E OE PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why was it necessary to ring
Sir Arvi Parbo comments this morning?
PM: It wasn't necessary. I thought it a reasonable thing
to do because I didnt want there to be an unnecessary
O personal interchange between Sir Arvi and myself on the
question of the telephone call. I must say I am indebted
to Sir Arvi for the fact that he has indicated that my
account of what happened in regard to the telephone call
is accurate and that there1 had been a misinterpretation
by the media of what he had to say about it. It's best
that that be clarified and it has been.
JOURNALIST: Well in fact he said you got a bit carried
away. PM: That Is another question. He said 1 had but he did
not dispute the accuracy of my account of what had happened
in regard to the telephone call. And however much you
may want to deflect from the point I was concerned, that
is the misinterpretation of your friends in the media,
he made it quite clear that they had misinterpreted.
They had.
JOURNALIST: Do you think it's an especially edifying
sight Prime Minister to see the Prime Minister and the
Chairman of BlHP slanging it out?
PM: I would have thought, If you could disentangle yourself
from your prejudices, which I know is difficult in your
case, that in fact what my telephone call was about was
to ensure that if there has to be an argument between
Sir Arvi and myself there is no doubt there can be, In
regard to the basic issue of Coronation Hill, that that
be disentangled from a misinterpretation of your friends
in the media. Now I know, as I say you have difficulty
in taking that point, but the fact that you have difficulty
worries me not at all.
2
JOURNALIST: But shouldn't been misinterpreted Prime
Minister, shouldn't he have rung up on his own accord
without.. PM: I'm not here to say what Sir Arvi should have done.
I am unqualified in my gratitude to Sir Az-vi for when
I rang him. He said your account Prime Minister is correct
and there has been a misinterpretation by the media.
Now we can go on and on and on. That basic point you
will not avoid. I repeat it, that my interpretation about
what happened on the telephone call is correct and the
media, as is often the case, were prepared in the first
case not to do their homework. There was a statement
which they interpreted. I would've thought that common
good sense, common good sense would've suggested that
after Sir Arvi had made his statement, before racing off
to misinterpret, common good sense would've suggested
ring the Prime Minister's office. You find out from
S Sir Arvi's statement now that if you had done that there
wouldn't have been the misinterpretation.
ends