PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF DOORSTOP, SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR,
18 OCTOBER 1989
E 0 E PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what went wrong? I thought we
had the numbers.
PM: I thought we did too. I think it's one of these cases
that happens in ballots sometimes. But I think people, you
know, weren't absolutely exact in what they indicated their
voting intentions might be but I don't know with certainty
the numbers because they weren't announced but I think that
it only required a switch of just a very few votes. So it
was quite a close result. But let me say this, we tried our
best to get Mr Fraser up because I sincerely believe that we
had a case of two good candidates but that Mr Fraser would be
better placed to use influence in the non-Commonwealth
countries on the issue of South Africa and that was the
reason why I strongly supported him. But I've said from the
beginning there were two good candidates. When the decision
was announced I went straight around and saw Chief Anyaoku
and congratulated him, said he would have the complete
support of Australia.
JOURNALIST: Mr Palmer, the New Zealand Prime Minister, seems
to have taken a particular delight in complaining about
Australia's as he puts it heavy-handed lobbying and
working against us. How much do you blame him for what
happened tonight?
PM: I'm not attributing any blame at all to Mr Palm * er. It's
a free society and he's entitled to his judgement, he's
exercised it and do the analysis he wants to. I think as
Chief Anyaoku said to me when I went around and congratulated
him he said I want to say to you, Mr Prime Minister, you
conducted a very, very, clean and fair campaign, and we did.
JOURNALIST: Have you spoken to Mr Fraser?
-2-
PM: Yes I have and he'll be available to come down and talk
to you shortly, I would think. He's naturally disappointed.
I believe that he felt and in my judgement rightly felt
that he could do a good job, he wanted to do that but that's
over now, we tried our best to get him up, we couldn't do
that and we now have a good new Secretary General-elect and
as I've said he'll have Australia's complete support.
JOURNALIST: What sort of a role do you see Mr Fraser
undertaking from now on?
PM: Well I don't know. He'll be here in a minute. You can
ask him that. I think if you wait he'll come down.
ends