PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW WITH RADIO JOURNALISTS, SHERATON
BRISBANE, 26 FEBRUARY 1990
E 0 E PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, when did you find out about the
New Zealand change of mind?
PM: Well I must say that when I was in New Zealand the
Prime Minister indicated to me that this was the likely
outcome but he obviously didn't want me to say anything
about it. I am particularly grateful at this change of
position by New Zealand because it's not just another
country but it is the country after whom the convention,
the proposed convention is named, the Wellington
Convention. I think if it's seen around the world now
that New Zealand has come aboard with Australia and
France that's going to have a very significant
psychological impact and it gives me great encouragement,
a feeling of pride that an initiative which in the
beginning was regarded as mission impossible is now
shaping up as one which will be accomplished. I think
that the developments in the United States look very
favourable. I think it's now unlikely that the United
States will ratify and if that emerges then I think we're
just about there.
JOURNALIST: You made that point in the United States
last year, that you expected the United States to come
around but what are the developments in the Congress that
are encouraging you?
PM: Well, we have in Senator Gore a very, very strong
supporter of our position. He is a man who is regarded
very, very highly. He is getting around him and the
others who are supporting him in the Congress, a very
great deal of support. As is happening in the rest of
the world, so does the United States that the
environmental movement is pushing this issue very
strongly and public opinion is growing and growing in
support of us. I think the politicians in the United
States, as they come up to the mid term elections, are
going to be taking account of these considerations.
After all, I don't think it requires very much
imagination to see that it is, as I've continuously put
it, an obscenity to take the risk of mining in the
Antarctic. So intrinsically the position is strong and
2
in terms of opinion growing up, I think the politicians
are going to take notice of that.
JOURNALIST: Since your last visit have you pursued it
further with the President?
PM: Indirectly and I have asked for my friend, Jacques
Cousteau, who's going there shortly, to contact me after
his visit. And in the light of what he writes to me,
I've indicated that I'll make another approach then. it
seemed to me to make sense to allow Jacques Cousteau to
go there and use his influence. He'll be going to
Washington and talking to people on the Hill and when I
get a report from him I would on that basis, I think,
contact the President.
JOURNALIST: It was only a few months ago that New
Zealand was saying the only way to stop mining was to
keep the treaty and they were saying flatly that they
would not accept the Australian position. Why this
sudden change?
PM: I think it shows the power of persuasion, doesn't
it. JOURNALIST: If you were aware of it while you were over
in New Zealand why announce it now? Does it deliberately
coincide with the campaign?
PM: No, no. Mr Palmer, as Prime Minister, was in a
position where he'd come to the view that he thought when
what I was arguing was correct. But he had to talk to
his own Ministers, there are others there who had other
views and he had to talk with them and persuade them so
it was quite improper for me to jump the gun. As soon as
he was able to get his Cabinet to the position of
endorsing that he announced it.
JOURNALIST: Is it an election coup for you though?
PM: I don't know whether it's a coup but I certainly
find it very, very satisfying but I think people would
regard New Zealand as very important on this issue for
the reasons I've put. It does give a very considerable
momentum to our case, and that's the important thing
rather than the election that we really do now look with
a great deal of confidence in achieving that objective on
which I set out last year and which, as I say, was
regarded by many as mission impossible.
JOURNALIST: If the treaty is abandoned what's the next
phase to getting the whole area declared a wilderness
reserve? PM: The next phase is the meeting later this year which
was agreed on at the Paris meeting last year and that
meeting will consider the next step and essentially on
the basis of the Australia-French proposal.
JOURNALIST: That's really the deadline in a sense,
time's still running out for you.
PM: I wouldn't say time was running out. I think time's
running our way now. I really do believe time is running
our way because the momentum is moving towards us. More
and more countries are saying Australia's right. I think
that there's no basis now for anyone saying, well the
moratorium won't be respected. Of course it will be and
that will give us time now to start at this meeting later
this year, and I think more and more countries will come
on board. I mean, the hard work will have to be done.
The constructive work of saying alright we've spent all
that time on CRAMRA now let's really do the sensible
thing. It was not sensible in my judgement, it wasn't
logical to be talking about saving the environment and
saving the Antarctic from mining via a minerals
convention. It didn't' make any sense. Now the sensible
thing is to start working out an effective, constructive
way of protecting the environment, making it a world
nature reserve by a comprehensive environmental
convention. JOURNALIST: But is there a timetable on that when you'd
like to see the reserve?
PM: Well the sooner the better. But the important thing
is that if the mind of the majority of nations is for
that objective then we know that there will be no mining
while that is being done and we'll have the time then to
make sure that all our best resources are put in to
creating the most effective, comprehensive convention.
The important thing is that if the mind is there for that
objective then nothing will happen in the meantime and
it'll give us whatever amount of time is required to get
an effective outcome.
ends