Mr Fraser sets early Aust, poll

Press, 12 September 1980, Page 4

Mr Fraser sets early Aust, poll

NZPA Canberra A General Election will be held in Australia on October 18, the Prime Minister, Mr Malcolm Fraser, told Parliament last evening. It will be two months before the end of the three-year term of his LiberalNational Country Party coalition Government.

Mr Fraser moved swiftly yesterday on seeking a consensus among his colleagues after returning from his visit to Washington and India on Wednesday ingHe consulted senior colleagues, including the Liberal Party’s Federal director (Mr A. Eggleton) and also took it to the Cabinet, according to Government sources. Mr Fraser has expressed the wish to distance himself from the election due in Queensland in the next few months. The Government’s intentions were made fairly plain yesterday when the House of Representatives paper showed that the Government would end debate of the Budget Appropriation Bills last evening. The Budget will now have to be passed through the Senate either today or next week. Mr Fraser told the House

that the Constitution stipulated that an election of the House of Representatives must be held within the next few months. The Government had recommended to the Governor-General (Sir Zelman Cowen) that the House be dissolved and that the necessary notices of Senate elections be given in time for elections of both Houses on October 18. Sir Zelrnan had agreed to communicate this timing to state governors, with a view to its being adopted for elections for senators in each of the states. He said that when replies had been received from the states he would inform the House. • The early date of the election, instead of the traditional December poll, would probably mean Parliament being recalled before Christmas to meet constitutional requirements, observers said.

Otherwise it would have to reassemble in January, in-, stead of late February. Mr Fraser was forced into, calling an early election because a 2 per cent rise in interest. rates was on the way, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr William Hayden) said. “With their clumsy style of economic management, they resort too heavily to monetary policy,” .he said. “One of the consequences of that is that interest rates have to go up and the Reserve Bank has advised the Government by about 2 per cent.” - This would have devastating consequences for small business and home buyers. The Labour Party was ready to go with its campaign. Advertising was com- ■ pleted and the programme outlined for shadow Ministers. “All we need is more money,” Mr Hayden said.