PM Transcripts

STATEMNT BY THE FRINE MINISTER AT MASCOT
AIRPORT ON ARRIVAL HOME AFTER RIME MINISTERS1
CONFERENCE IN LONDON 18TH JULY. 1961+
Q. Good morning, Sir. You are looking very well, if I may
may so, Sir.
A. Oh, I'm not too bad for an old man. Tomorrow, of course,
tomorrow afternoon I will have a Press Conference
and TV interview ai Canberra. I will have had a day
in bed and recruited my mental energy. All I want to
say this morning is that I think that this conferenee
was a great succes and I suppose for some people
a surprising success. There were no bitter dispUes,
There were arguents, of course. That'sa what we are
for. But the communique that ultimately came out
represented a remarkable degree of agreed opinion.
From my point of view the matters that I
will try to say something aboua in more detail tomorrow
are first of all the references to Malazia, a problem
to which I. myself, devoted a very great deal of time
in this conference. Second the statements made
about Southern Rhodesia whicA I think may need some
clarification. I don't know. I haven't read the
papers here, of course. I don't know what has come
out of one or two clarifying statements that I tried
to make in London. And in the third place, I will
take the opportunity tomorrow of saying something
about what I believe to be the effect on the future
of the Com onwealth of this meeting. On each of
these things, I think that good things can be said
and I myself came away from this conference with a
degree of satisfaction in the result that, quite
frankly, I didn't expect to have when I arrived
there.
Q. How did you find President Johnson, Sir?
A. He is a very interesting chap.
Q. Did he promise any further
A. Now, wait a minute. I thought it was arranged this
is not a press interview. I'm not answering questions.
I will tell you about him tomorrow, if you want to
know. Thank you very much, Sir.