TRANSCRIPT
THE HON PETER COSTELLO MP
Treasurer

Doorstop Interview
Launch of Cartoons 2002: Life, Love and Politics
& Leunig Animated

National Museum of Australia
Canberra

Friday, 6 December 2002
Approx. 11.45 am

SUBJECTS: Gun buy-back, water reform, interest rates, Simon Crean/Carmen

Lawrence

JOURNALIST:

What’s your preferred formula for funding a gun buy-back Treasurer?

TREASURER:

Well, first of all we have got to get agreement between the Commonwealth and

the States on the guns that are to be bought back and I hope that comes out

of today’s COAG meeting, and then I think there should be put in place a even

allocation of responsibility, and that will be discussed today.

JOURNALIST:

Do you have any estimates on how much the final figure, how much it will cost

altogether?

TREASURER:

Some of the estimates that I have seen of the amount of money that would be

involved, it may be above $100, maybe between $100 and $200 million. So it’s

quite a significant amount, but nonetheless very important to do, it’s important

that we get those hand guns out of the community, it’s important for the safety

of the community that people who have no reason to have a hand gun and don’t

need it for a sporting event, don’t have them, and we are very strongly of the

view that the community’s safety comes first in this matter and we will fund

a scheme to ensure that that happens.

JOURNALIST:

How about the debate over water reform?

TREASURER:

Well, water is a very precious resource in this country and it’s important,

I think, that we have a secure title to water rights, that people know what

their rights are, that we have a market which allows them to trade, and we also

have a title which ensures that the environment gets its fair share of water

as well. This is going to take considerable effort and cooperation from the

States to put in place.

JOURNALIST:

Treasurer, what (inaudible) Reserve Bank Governor (inaudible) didn’t see any

imminent need for new interest rate hikes and also forecasting GDP growth of

3.75 per cent in calender 2003, conditional upon the drought. What’s your view

on that on rates also on the forecast for 2003?

TREASURER:

Well, I published the Government forecast in the Mid Year Review last week.

We are forecasting in this financial year 3 per cent, and we forecast in the

following one, 4 per cent, so those forecasts would be very consistent with

my own. Obviously we hope that the drought breaks, and as I said at the time

when I released the Mid Year Review, if the drought were to continue, and this

is already the worst drought in twenty years – possibly worse – if it were to

continue for another twelve months that would affect Australia’s growth. But

we hope that it breaks and at this point in time we are taking that into account

in relation to our forecast for 2003-2004.

JOURNALIST:

Is Simon Crean’s Leadership on the skids today after Carmen Lawrence’s dramatic

resignation yesterday?

TREASURER:

Well there are deep divisions in the Labor Party. You don’t have to be Einstein

to work out that members of the Labor Party are now fighting with each other,

that they can’t get agreement as between themselves and that’s a problem for

Mr Crean, that’s a test of his leadership and you would have to say, as of today

it’s a test that he is finding very, very difficult.

JOURNALIST:

Do you think he’ll survive…(inaudible)

TREASURER:

Well, look I’m not going to give a day by day commentary on Mr Crean, obviously

there are deep divisions in the Labor Party, obviously that is testing his leadership,

we will just have to see how his leadership works out, but we’re not going to

advise him on that.

Thank you.