In 1994, photographer Adam Knott took a photo of Jana Wendt for The Australian Magazine. In 1995, he went to Los Angeles and worked there until 2008. He recounted, "It was the picture that made me think I could really make it in magazines. To get Jana, who was quite guarded and wanted to be seen as a serious person, to be happy to pose in this way was quite a coup...It got me work at Time and Entertainment Weekly."
"Television is largely a collaborative process," Jana explained. "Television is reliant on a great many people being good at their jobs, so that when you go out as a reporter (on a program like '60 Minutes') you have a wide number of people to assist in delivering a story to your satisfaction. It's a long chain involved in the production of that story." Of politics, "In terms of well-known people, the period of the Hawke-Keating governments (between 1983 and 1996) when I was hosting 'A Current Affair' (1988-92) were quite exciting and fun times. Politics was different then, and politicians were prepared to take greater risks in their television appearances than they are today (2008)."
In 1990, Bob Hawke was re-elected for a 4th term as the Prime Minister (PM) of Australia. The population of Australia at the time was roughly 17 million, of which around 5.5 million resided in the state of New South Wales and about 4.2 million resided in the state of Victoria. John Cain had been the Premier (the equivalent of a U.S. state Governor) of Victoria since 1982. The collapse of the Pyramid Building Society in 1990 partly contributed to severe recession in Victoria and the resignation of John Cain that year paved the way for Joan Kirner to become the first woman to lead Victoria. It was also reported there were "critical reports on the states's finances from Moody’s Investors Service of New York."
In July 1990, Jana interviewed the PM.
Jana: How do you think that, that government has handled the financial crisis that exists there?
PM: Well, that's a good try, Jana. I don't think you'd expect me on a public television program to go into my analysis of what's happened in Victoria, but, I mean, I don't want to dodge your question…
Jana: I want to ask you specifically about the Pyramid collapse...When we know that the Victorian government was aware that Pyramid was in terrible trouble, do you think they were wrong in not letting those depositors know that they were aware of that trouble?
PM: I don't know personally the extent of the knowledge of the Victorian government at the time you talk about,
Jana, so therefore I can't answer that question.
Jana: Are you satisfied that there is a commitment to rectify the problem?...The Chairman of the Bank of Melbourne, which itself suffered a run recently, said that there is a political vacuum in Victoria, that there is no political leadership there. What do you think?
PM: Well, I don't accept that there's a vacuum. I don't accept that there's no leadership…
Jana: You see Mr Cain has said that he blames your government and your government's policy mix of deregulation and high interest rates for what's happened. Do you accept any responsibility for what's happened in Victoria?
PM: No, the responsibilities in regard to the supervision of these sorts of institutions is, under the law and under the Constitution, with the states. Now this has happened in Victoria, it hasn't happened elsewhere (*). So it's not appropriate for the Premier in question and the state in question to seek to transfer responsibility.
(*) Australia was described as "the 6th-largest nation after Russia, Canada, China, the United States and Brazil. Australia is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom as its head of state. The Queen appoints the Governor-General of Australia as her representative. Australia has 3 levels of government – the federal Australian government, the governments of the 6 states and 2 territories, and around 700 local government authorities." Australia became a nation in 1901 (also known as "Federation").
Jana: Mr Hawke, there was a time in this state that I'm in at the moment in Western Australia when there were financial disasters that could be deemed to be less than the ones of the Victorian government and it was seen to be wise to remove the leader of this state. Is it time for new leadership in Victoria?
PM: That is the leadership in Victoria is entirely a matter for the Parliamentary Labor Party in Victoria. Entirely.
Jana: Do you think it might be time for fresh
leadership?
PM: I do respect you for your ambition in asking the question but I know that you don't expect me on the Jana Wendt program, as great a program as it is, to intrude myself into what is essentially a matter for the Victorians.
Jana: Alright Mr Hawke, let's move on….
September 1990
Jana: You are heading off to Tokyo to try to convince
Olympic Federation members that Melbourne should get
their vote. Are you convinced that a Melbourne Olympics
would be a profitable venture for Australia?
PM: Yes, I believe so. The last 2 have been and there
has been very very meticulous planning gone into this,
not only at the governmental level but importantly, from
the point of view of the business sector as well.
Melbourne's very well placed to conduct a successful and
profitable Olympic Games (*).
(*) Australia hosted the summer Olympics in Melbourne (Victoria) in 1956 and in Sydney (New South Wales) in 2000.
Jana: I'd like to move on a bit to our involvement in
the Gulf...Can I get just some of the chronology straight.
Did the United States ask us to commit to the Gulf?
PM: No, I made it quite clear. What happened was that
discussions arose in Washington about the issue of forces
in the Gulf. There was no request from the United States
nor offer from us out of the discussions that went on in
Washington and the discussions that went on here. I came
to the conclusion in discussion with my relevant
Ministers that it was appropriate in terms of Australia's
interests and in terms of Australia's global
responsibilities that we should be part of a
multinational naval force.
Jana: Prime Minister, I'd like to move on again, to
China. In the wake of the Tienanmen Square massacre (in 1989) your government imposed severe restrictions on Parliamentary
visits to China. Why did you do that?
PM: Because we had to give an immediate indication to
China of the fact that what had occurred was unacceptable
and like the rest of the world we made a range of
decisions to register our protest.
Jana: Premier Li Peng has said that the clouds
attempting to isolate China are dispersing. Have we been
partly responsible for conveying that message to the
Chinese?
PM: I can assure you that Dr (Neal) Blewett was assiduous in
detail in making clear to the leadership of China our
continuing rejection of what happened last year (in 1989).
Jana: Isn't it logical though that China would now
assume that our memory of the Tienanmen Square massacre
is fading?
PM: If you read precisely what Dr Blewett had said, and
with a great deal of firmness to the leadership in China,
including may I say a declining on the part of Dr Blewett
to see Li Peng, you would understand that both by word
and by deed there can be no misunderstanding on the part
of the leadership of China about Australia's position in
regard to the events of last year (in 1989).
Jana: Mr Hawke, wouldn't it also be logical to conclude
that your own display of emotion on this was just in fact
a display, if this is your attitude now?
PM: That is a despicable and contemptible observation
because you have no reason to believe, and there is no
reason in fact to suggest that my emotions were anything
other than the totally genuine reflection of the
abhorrence that I felt. I find your observation
repugnant in the extreme.
Jana: Would it be fair for an outsider to say that it
looks like, well, we need them commercially so we'll
jettison our values?
PM: Jana it would be fair for you to say that if you are
absolutely intent upon not accepting the good faith with
which I put my position.
Jana: Mr Hawke, we'll leave it there. Thank you.
PM: Thank you.
