mike carlton …..

Stick to the script & nothing can go wrong

Transcript of Prime Minister's news conference Parliament House, Canberra

PRIME MINISTER: Ladies and gentlemen, I have called this news conference to comment upon the decision of the Reserve Bank to lift the official cash rate by 0.25 of a percentage point. Nobody regrets this rise in interest rates more than me. But it is the result of my Government's outstanding track record of responsibly managing the economy …

JOURNALIST: But …

PRIME MINISTER: … in times of great prosperity, when Australian families have never had it so good.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, at the last election campaign you promised to keep interest rates at record lows …

PRIME MINISTER: No I didn't …

JOURNALIST: Yes you did …

PRIME MINISTER: I did not!

JOURNALIST: It says here you did.

PRIME MINISTER: Where? Show me.

JOURNALIST: Here, in the Liberal Party advertising: "Keeping interest rates at record lows."

PRIME MINISTER: Oh, that. Look, it's only advertising, for heaven's sake. Nothing to do with me. You can hardly call that a core promise. The real issue is, who do you trust?

JOURNALIST: That was my next question, Prime Minister. The voters think you're untrustworthy, mean and tricky, too old and out of touch.

PRIME MINISTER: Laurie, clearly you're falling for the Labor Party's dirty tricks campaign of lies and smears.

JOURNALIST: No, Prime Minister. It's actually Liberal Party research from your pollster, Crosby/Textor.

PRIME MINISTER: Michelle, you know that I don't take much notice of that stuff. My job is to win this election. It's not going to be easy, but I have billions of dollars to do it with.

JOURNALIST: But, Prime Minister, surely massive election spending could overheat the economy, send inflation soaring, interest rates up…

PRIME MINISTER: No, no. Clearly you don't understand the issues here. It's only bad if the Labor Party does it. If we throw billions of dollars at the voters it's responsible economic management. Trust me. I've done this before. It works every time.

Transcript of interview with the Opposition Leader, AM Program, ABC Radio

INTERVIEWER: Meanwhile, Mr Rudd has angrily attacked the Government on yesterday's interest rate rise. He joins me in our Canberra studio:

RUDD: Good morning. And let me correct one part of your introduction. Have I angrily attacked the Government on interest rates? No I haven't. Have I done my best to appear calm and relaxed on this, as cool as the proverbial cucumber? Yes I have. And there's a reason for this.

INTERVIEWER: But Mr Rudd …

RUDD: And the reason is that I don't want to frighten the voters. I want the Australian people to think I'm as much like Mr Howard as possible. Howard Lite, if you like. And Mr Howard knows this. And, more to the point, Mr Costello knows this.

INTERVIEWER: Mr Rudd, surely the first duty of an opposition is to oppose. And the Labor Party …

RUDD: Let's leave the Labor Party out of this, shall we? This is not about the Labor Party, it's about me. That's why you'll see me on Facebook, on YouTube and, best of all, on my fantastic new Kevin Heaven interactive website.

INTERVIEWER: Could I ask you, then, about some of the issues where you might oppose the Government? About its controversial intervention in the Northern Territory, about the Murray-Darling Basin, about the new suitability tests for migrants and so on?

RUDD: … and the link is www.kevinheaven.org.au, where you'll find a wonderful selection of Kevin Heaven merchandise to buy at very reasonable prices: Kevin T-shirts and ballcaps, Kevin coffee mugs, Kevin posters and bumper stickers and, of course, the cute and cuddly Kevin Heaven Teddy-Bear for the kiddies.

INTERVIEWER: On the question of Aboriginal land rights in the Territory …

RUDD: Vanessa, I'm not here to talk about these side issues. I'm here to talk about what matters, about what concerns Australian families as they gather around the kitchen table. And I think I'm right in saying they're not concerned about indigenous title, or the withdrawal of CDEP, or the Aboriginal communities permit system. They're interested in the tempting new Kevin Heaven range of gourmet barbecue sauces and marinades.

INTERVIEWER: Mr Rudd, I'm afraid we're out of time. We'll have to leave it there.

RUDD: It's been a pleasure. Here, have a T-shirt.