Clarke - The Howard Miracle : Interviews From The 7.30 Report

A Complete DaggThe Complete Book of Australian VerseGreat Interviews of the 20th CenturyThe Even More Complete Book of Australian VerseStill the TwoA Dagg at My TableThe Games (with Ross Stevenson) The Tournament The Text Publishing Company Swann House, 22 William Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia www.textpublishing.com.au Copyright John Clarke 2003 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright above, no part of this publication shall be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. First published 2003, reprinted 2003 This edition published 2004 Printed and bound by Griffin Press Page design by Chong Weng-ho Typeset in Stempel Garamond by J & M Typesetting Ebook ISBN 9781921776793 National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data: Clarke, John, 1948-. The Howard miracle: interviews from the 7.30 Report. ISBN 9781920885328 1. 2. 2.

Politicians - Australia - Interviews. 3. Australia - Politics and government. I. Title. And congratulations. Thank you very much. Have you ever had a broad overview of your political philosophy turned into a book before? Not to the extent that this current volume does it, I must say. Have you ever had a broad overview of your political philosophy turned into a book before? Not to the extent that this current volume does it, I must say.

Im impressed. Its pretty comprehensive, isnt it? Its a very thorough collection indeed, yes. Your people have done an excellent job. What I like is that youve put a whole lot of other people in here as well. Its not just me. Thats right.

Im pleased you approve. I think its great. And it makes the book a unique record. Quite agree. Also, theres a sense in which we might not see your greatness, if all we saw was you. And I hope you dont misunderstand me there. Not at all. You need the contrast.

I can see that. Exactly. It also reflects the enormous influence youve had on the quality of argument in this country. Yes. Look, I wonder if I might just thank the media in that regard. By all means. They have been terribly important in all this, you know. And the book encapsulates a lot of history, when you think about it, doesnt it? It does, and one of the reasons its interesting to read is that, when the events described were actually happening, they were all just a blur. I bet they were. I bet they were.

Things are moving so fast these days arent they? My word they are. Do you get much time to study analysis of what might be called the Howard method? Well, as a general rule we do everything to make sure that doesnt happen. Analysis of how you go about your work and achieving your goals? Yes, were very dark on that sort of thing. So this is really a first then? Oh, different institutes have put out propaganda of various kinds, of course. Gerard Henderson and so on? Yes. Do you try policy ideas out on radio? Oh yes. Do you try policy ideas out on radio? Oh yes.

Many times. And the results stand up to scrutiny pretty well, do they? As I said, we try to make sure that doesnt happen. But how do you prevent it? Its not easy. Fortunately the Australian media are based in Sydney. And in the case of SBS and the ABC, of course, we own them. Thats clever. Its not bad, is it? Responsible government. Thats clever. Its not bad, is it? Responsible government.

Concerned with public process. Must watch the budget and so on. What have been the major achievements of your period in government, do you think? Very hard to say. But one very important thing is that weve stayed in power. Yes, youve really dominated, havent you? You cant do much if youre not in power. How have you managed that? Well, perhaps we should discuss this after youve read the exchanges in this book. I look forward to that, and I can see you dont want to give too much away but there are patterns, arent there? Consistencies in the way youve done things? Like what? Like, if theres good news youre always there. I look forward to that, and I can see you dont want to give too much away but there are patterns, arent there? Consistencies in the way youve done things? Like what? Like, if theres good news youre always there.

If someone wins something, some sporting thing, youre always there sharing their triumph. I love sport. Its very Australian. Exactly. The Bob Hawke thing. But if something bad happens, if theres bad economic news, when the health system is being destroyed, when education is being reconstructed as a two-tiered system, you disappear. Then suddenly theres an immigration crisis.

Or the governor-general business is allowed to fester and fill the papers for months. Or you have an urgent trip to Washington. Or you wrap yourself in the flag and welcome some troops back from somewhere. You seem to be suggesting these things are distractions. I suppose Im just thinking aloud. I wasnt meaning to sound critical.Im trying to describe a pattern. You move things around well.

You mix the bowling up, to use a cricketing metaphor.I love cricket. I think all Australians love cricket. Thats another thing you do. Youve tried to compress the definition of Australian. Do you think so? Im not sure I agree. I just think its obvious that an Australian is a white urban heterosexual Christian employer who loves sport. Thats my point. Good.

We agree then. I suppose another example would be the sale of Telstra. Another example of what? Of mixing things up, of running the issue in what appears to be an open way, but ensuring you get the result you want. Let me say this. I am the prime minister. Its not an easy job. Sometimes I have to do things in a roundabout way to get the best result for the country. For all Australians. Yes.

For all Australians. Its what you think is best for the country, and how you go about securing that result, which interests me. Is that building on fire incidentally? Where? Out the window. See the smoke? Smoke? Thats cloud, isnt it? Is it? It looks like smoke. Is it nimbus? Strato-cumulus? Celsius or whatever that other one is? Whats the other sort of cloud? To finish the Telstra thing, Mr Howard, you want it to be privatised but the public is opposed to it. So what do you do? You privatise part of it. Exactly.

You change the question. The question is no longer Would you like it to be privatised? The question now is, Given that weve sold half of it, how do you feel about our selling off the rest of it? Privatisation is no longer the issue. Exactly. That building is definitely on fire. Mr Howard, there isnt a building out there. Ive enjoyed our little chat. Thank you.