THE HON. JOHN HOWARD
PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA

Mr Howard, thanks for coming in.

Pleasure.

I wonder if I could ask you: do you think Australians are racist?

No, I don’t but (oh blast, I’ve got to stop doing that).

What’s the problem?

I keep sticking a ‘but’ at the end of my sentences. I must try to stop doing that.

Do you think you can stop doing it?

Well, I’d like to think so, but…

What’s the problem with saying ‘but’ at the end of everything you say?

Well, it undermines everything you’ve just said. You can say something perfectly reasonable. You can say what you meant to say. You can say what you think is appropriate…

You can say what you know very well you ought to say.

…yes, but (bugger it).

As Prime Minister, I suppose sometimes you’ve also got to say what you think the people of Australia would want you to say.

Yes…

Careful.

…but (blast).

Have you tried just not saying anything?

Yes, but…

But you can’t.

No, I can’t. Some people are good at being brief, at saying just enough, at judging exactly how much to say and stopping there but…

Some people are quite good at expressing themselves.

Yes they are, but…

But you’re not one of them.

Yes I am, but…

Don’t you have speech writers?

Yes, I do, but…

Was this the problem in Melbourne at the Reconciliation Convention?

No. There’s another problem there. We’ve got to get the people who are going to Pauline Hanson concerts to come back to the Coalition.

Do you agree with what Pauline Hanson is saying?

No, but (blast).

Why don’t you speak against her?

I do…

Watch out.

…but…

Mr Howard. What were you being asked to apologise for?

To the Aborigines.

Yes.

For a whole lot of things that have been happening to them for the last two hundred years.

Since we got here.

Yes, but we didn’t do it.

Look, I might be able to help you out here. These things that have happened to the Aboriginal people. What were they?

Oh, it varies. It’s not even the same in each case. In some areas they were wiped out. In some places they had their land taken away from them. In some cases we gave them diseases. In some cases they had their children taken off them.

Did all these things happen?

Yes, of course they did. But I didn’t do them.

Hang on. Did they happen? Forget about who did it. Did it happen?

Yes, it did, but I repeat, I didn’t do it and neither did Pauline Hanson.

Mr Howard, didn’t you just have to express the view that you were sorry it had happened?

Yes, but…

It doesn’t seem impossible, does it?

It’s all right for you. You’re not speaking from where I was speaking at the time.

Where were you talking from?

But.

You were talking out your butt?

Oh, God. Now you’ve got it.