TRANSCRIPT
of
THE HON PETER COSTELLO MP
Treasurer

Doorstop
Lorraine Elliott Campaign Launch
Croydon

Saturday, 9 November 2002
10.30 am

SUBJECTS: Victorian Election; Bali

JOURNALIST:

Well, first of all, what did you think of the debate last night?

TREASURER:

I didn’t see all of it because I had to take my children off to their various functions about halfway through. But what I saw, I thought that Robert Doyle obviously showed a vision for the future of Victoria. I thought that Robert actually showed that he had thought about the issues and that he was showing a very strong leadership opportunity for the people of Victoria. And I hope there is another debate because that will give people the opportunity to discuss issues further. I can’t see why there shouldn’t be another debate. And let’s see that the regional issues are fully debated at the next debate. Lets also see the people of Victoria get the opportunity to see all of their questions answered.

JOURNALIST:

Okay. Also what do the Federal Liberals think of Mr Bracks’ handling of Victoria’s economy? Are we in deficit?

TREASURER:

I think what we have seen in Victoria is that economic policy has slipped away over the last year or two. We have seen it in a number of ways. First of all, union power is a real worry in Victoria for investors. The fact that the Bracks Government knocked back funding for the MCG at the insistence of the union movement has told a lot of people that this is a riskier investment climate. We have also seen employment growth in Victoria this year lagging that of the other States and again that is indicative of the fact that investors are getting wary. So, Victoria is slipping. Victoria needs further investment and more than anything else Victoria needs to be freed from the grip of militant unionism that is really now starting to risk major projects.

JOURNALIST:

Just on an international question on the Bali bombing investigations. Given that there appears to be a significant arrest, should Australia now be scaling back its travel warnings?

TREASURER:

From a Government point of view, our first responsibility is the safety of our citizens. And whilst there is credible evidence of threats the Government is right to share that with the Australian public and right to warn them of the risks. I can assure you on the basis of all of the intelligence that we have and all of the risks that we know of, those travel warnings are accurate and they give Australians the kind of information that they need. We shouldn’t take chances with the safety of Australian citizens. We urge them to carefully assess those warnings and to be very careful about their safety.

JOURNALIST:

So there is a significant danger that there may be another soft target hit?

TREASURER:

We base those travel warnings on the information that we have, information that is gathered from intelligence sources, from law enforcement bodies, and our obligation is to warn Australians of the risks so that they can avoid harm. And the warnings that have been put are adequate and responsible, given the nature of the risks as we see them. Thanks.