PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF JOINT NEWS CONFERENCE WITH PREMIER JOHN
CAIN, NATIONAL TENNIS CENTRE, MELBOURNE 28 JANUARY 1990
E OE PROOF ONLY
PM: I am very pleased to be ablebbc~ here with the Premier
of Victoria, my friend John Cain, to announce that the
Federal Government has made the decision to allocate $ 125
million should Melbourne be successful in its bid for
the 1996 Olympics. We will make this money available,
it will be indexed according to the CPI, so that we will
then be joining with the Victorian Government to create
a world standard sporting complex at Albert Park which
will cater for many sports, including basketball, volleyball,
table tennis, swimming, diving, synchronised swimming.
It will be a world standard complex which will not only
provide facilities for the Olympic Games, but of course
will be of on-going benefit not only to the people of
Victoria but Australia. It will be available for further
international sporting events as well as for the people
of Victoria on a continuing basis. I'm satisfied from
my conversations with Mr Samaranch that Melbourne's in
with a very very good chance John. I have conveyed to
Mr Samaranch that the Australian Government is iully behind
this bid. It has the total support of the Government
and the people of Australia. I think Melbourne deserves
to win.
CAIN: I want to support and thank the Prime Minister
for the generous offer that has been made. I welcome
it. The Prime Minister himself and his Government have
been very strong supporters of Melbourne's bid all the
way through and I think it's properly been characterised
as Australia's bid, not just Melbourne. That's one of
our strengths I believe. For the Federal Government to
be prepared to commit $ 125 million, dedicated to that
new stadium at Albert Park is welcome news indeed. That
will be a first class centre, replacing a very tired and
worn out place down there where currently there is a wide
range of sports played. And it will be identified with
the Commonwealth's contribution. The Commonwealth I believe
has when I look at the results in New Zealand the Institute
of Sport is I think starting to give us the kind of results
we've been looking for. Another Commonwealth initiative
and supported by this Government so well. So we're delighted.
Thank you very much Prime Minister.
PM: Pleasure.
CAIN: I believe that we are in we're in the six as
you all know but I believe with a first class chance.
This assurance of support from the national Government
I believe further enhances our very good prospects.
JOURNALIST: Mr Cain, were you surprised that Mr Samaranch
endorsed Melbourne so strongly
CAIN: Well those who are around the Olympic movement
have expressed to me their surprise. They know the way
these things are played better than I do. I'm delighted
of course, as we all are, with the very strong words that
he spoke. He's been here just a short while. Yes it's
good news indeed.
JOURNALIST: Mr Cain, if we don't get the Olympics what
then happens about the Albert Park
CAIN: Albert Park has been on the list for some three
and a half years. But as I said, those present buildings
and facilities are tired and worn out. They go back to
the immediate post-war days. There have been a number
of proposals put for revamping Albert Park. It will take
place. Not as quickly and not with the same resources
as would be the case if we are successful. But Albert
Park has to be done at some time but it would not embrace
the stadium of the kind 15,000 at basketball, I think
10,000 at the swimming contemplation. It would not
be as large as that but certainly it has to be done and
we have to provide a first class swimming facility at
some stage.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, facing an election in a couple
of months it doesn't hurt to announce $ 125 million worth
of spending in Melbourne and Victoria, does it?
PM: I guess it doesn't but it was obviously not done
for that reason. You're loading the cynicism on a bit.
It is the fact that Mr Samaranch is here. The eyes of
the world are focussed on Australia now and the sooner
that Mr Samaranch and the Olympic Committee are able to
know that the full financial support of the Commonwealth
Government, together with the State Government and the
Melbourne City Council is focussed on this bid the better.
It would've been a bit silly to be leaving it till September
wouldn't it?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, when are you going to announce
an election date?
PM: Not today Josephine.
JOURNALIST: I just thought you might tell me.
PM: Not even for you mate.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, your comments about today's Sunday
Herald poll, rise in the popularity of Mr Howard
Mr Peacock?
PM: Well, they're just they were hurdy gurdy Mr
Peacock's turn in the leadership for this six months
and now the question is will it be Mr Howard before or
after the election I mean they're just in and out, in
and out, one after the other. And the poll was fascinating.
When Mr Howard is in he is desperately unpopular and Mr
Peacock becomes popular. Shove Mr Peacock reverse,
he becomes unpopular and Howard by comparison starts to
look good. I mean all it shows is the absolute dearth
of talent they've got. They just swap one for the other
and when the one that's in is down and the one that's
out is up
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, we must all be very pleased with
the results of Australia in New Zealand at the moment,
but what support can the Federal Government offer the
athletes who come back from those Games? We had the..
in the Olympic Games where they came back and all those
athletes were out of work, couldn't find jobs. What sort
of support
PM: Don't you read the newspapers and see the Budget
decisions?
JOURNALIST: But I mean what sort of
PM: Why? I mean you're making comparisons between now
and after the last Olympics. I mean what I suggest is
that you catch up with the decisions that have been taken,
made now probably a year ago I think. Decisions that
have been taken that address that issue.
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, back on elections. Do you think
that the Opposition's bungling of the health policy has
helped you
PM: Well obviously it must be a plus. Not just the bungling
but we have now out of the mouths of the Opposition spokesman
himself, Mr Shack, the statement that they are no good
on health. He said we have got a bad record. Now we've
been saying that and we've been right. But when they
say it themselves, there it is. He said we've got a bad
track record. And they're no better. If anything, they're
getting worse. They're now saying we've had seven years
in opposition and we can't produce a policy. We've told
you lies, because you know chapter and verse where they've
got up and said the details are completed, the costings
are made, all we've got to do is announce it. Now they've
been deceptive, they've been incompetent and they are
irrelevant to the needs of Australia. For this mob to
be getting up and to be talking about they are concerned
for the families of Australia and they can't provide a
health policy, is a devastating indictment of them.
JOURNALIST: Do you think Mr Peacock has abandoned Mr
Shack? PM: I'd say Mr Shack seems to have abandoned Mr Peacock.
I mean that's what opposition policy is about in this
place. They're all the time abandoning one another.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can I ask a sporting question?
PM: It's been open to you if you wanted to before. I
don't JOURNALIST: As a betting man who's going to win the final
today? PM: My money would be on Mr Lendl.
JOURNALIST: Why?
P PM: Because of my feeling that he's going to win, which
is based upon the fact he's been here for a long time,
he's had a rather longer in-house preparation if I can
put it that way. But it wouldn't surprise me if it went
the other way. Being a betting man I wouldn't bet a lot
of money on it but if I had to bet it would be on Mr Lendl.
JOURNALIST: At a time when Australia present its
best face in terms of its ability to organise major international
sporting events, are you concerned, considering recent
shambles involving the motor cycle grand prix WVicVN ovexseas
quite ridiculous.
PM: Does it? I haven't had a lot of reports coming back
from overseas that the overseas people feel that it looks
ridiculous. I mean I haven't had that being reported
to me. But I
JOURNALIST: consider try and sort it out?
PM: No, this is a matter that is not within my jurisdiction.
We've got enough which is constitutionally within my jurisdiction
where I do have to make decisions without capriciously
and gratuitously intervening where it's not my role.
JOURNALIST: some discussions about the participation
of South African players at the Open tennis here, with
a view towards the Olympics. Can you give us your views
on that, whether or not
PM: The position is quite simple as far as the Commonwealth
of Australia and the Commonwealth of Nations is concerned.
We have the Gleneagles agreement and under that agreement
which we adhere to and implement, people who are representing
South Africa are not encouraged but are allowed to participate.
Where they're not representing their country then they
can be there. I think that what we should be saying about
South Africa at the moment is what the Commonwealth Heads
of Government said in Kuala Lumnpur last year, and that
is that we should positively welcome the signs that are
to some extent evident in South Africa that there may
be some move towards change. But this is not the time,
precisely not the time to ease up the pressures that the
world have upon Routh Africa because we want to see a
position as soon as possible in South Africa where it
moves to an end to the abhorrent system of apartheid and
to a democratic multi-racial society. It is quite clear
because it has come out of the mouths of the South Africans
themselves that the sporting and economic sanctions that
have been applied to South Africa have played a part in
the changes that are beginning to appear.
JOURNALIST: Mr Cain, with regard to the Albert Park complex,
there are no provisions for a velodrome. Would Mr Hawke
be prepared to go another $ 10 million to pop in a velodrome
for the bike riders?
CAIN: The velodrome used to be part of the Showground's
complex and is a separate facility from the facility at
Albert Park. The velodrome is taken care of. You understand
that there's about $ 480 million that we can best calculate
that will be spent of capital funds by us on all the facilities.
The $ 125 million from the Commonwealth is a substantial
contribution to that. The velodrome is in the 480. The
exact cost of that I can't tell you. I can find out for
you. The velodrome is separate and quite distinct from
Albert Park.
JOURNALIST: How much do you stand to gain financially
from CAIN: Well the best advice we can get is that with all
the economic activity that comes from the Games, the jobs
that are created, $ 7.8 billion in 1989 dollars was the
figure we were given. In terms of goodwill already as
being a candidate city it's enormous I believe. Just
being, having a world stage presence as a candidate city,
staging the Games I think it brings enormous spin-offs
that can't be quantified. We're flat out to get it.
JOURNALIST: We have 70% of the facilities needed to hold
the Olympics. You don't think we'll be over-complexed?
CAIN: No I don't. We wouldn't have gone into this unless
we were satisfied
PM: inaudible
CAIN: That's the strength we have I believe. It's demonstrable
that the facilities that are already in existence and
will be improved and those that will be provided will
be used in the future. If you look at the details of
the release you will see that there's an Olympic mode
so far as the Albert Park is concerned. There's an ongoing
mode where the public use is considerable. Just like
this place. As the book on this place says, you and I
and everybody else can have a game of tennis here for
all but two weeks of the year. That'll be the same with
those facilities.
JOURNALIST: any further requests to the Federal Government
for money?
CAIN: There's constant requests. We take them as they
come in their order, don't we Prime Minister?
PM: Let me just make this point about the Commonwealth
participation. We're not only providing $ 125 million
but with a range of Commonwealth services that will be
provided in the quarantine area and protective areas.
An estimate of that is probably worth about another $ 100
million. So we're in there boots and all.
CAIN: Probably there in I can assure you.
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