Campaign settles down in earnest

Press, 11 February 1983, Page 6

Campaign settles down in earnest

NZPA Sydney Australia's election campaign moved from concentration on the glamour and flippant to the more serious yesterday. But once again it was Labour making the running with the presenting of its first main policy plank, an economic policy that promised to restore economic growth to 5 per cent and create at least half a million jobs in the first three years of Government. The policy announcement coincided with the release of jobless statistics revealing that one in 10 Australians were out of work. In Melbourne the Prime Minister, Mr Malcolm Fraser, who will launch the Liberal Party’s campaign on Tuesday, continued his attack on the new Labour Leader, Bob Hawke, emphasising that a Government under him would entail “great risks and great insecurity for Australians.” Mr Fraser particularly attacked Mr Hawke for posing a threat to the A.N.Z.U.S. defence alliance of Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

Bureau of Statistics figures yesterday revealed what had been predicted for some months — Australia’s unemployment rate topping 10 per cent, nearly 700,000 people looking for a job last month. Unemployment for January was 10.1 per cent, compared with 9.6 per cent in December. New South Wales recorded the most jobless with 251,200 or 10.5 per cent of the state’s work-force without work. In percentage terms, Tasmania, where the Liberal state Government wants to dam the scenic Franklin River to provide power for industry and jobs against the protests of conservationists, had the highest rate at 12.4 per cent. Mr Fraser said that the figures had emphasised the importance of the wage pause and said he thought the figures would help the Liberals in the campaign because people knew unemployment, had been caused by the recession, the unions, the wage explosion, and in part by the drought. Labour’s economic policy, titled the “National Recovery and Reconstruction

Plan" aimed at expansionary policies to restore economic growth and at the same time reduce inflation and unemployment.

The total cost in the first year of government, if Labour was elected on March 5, would be sAust2.7s billion.

The cost would be partly-off-set by estimated returns of $750 million through a crack-down on tax avoidance and evasion and a drop in unemployment payments, because of job creation, of $5OO million. “The choice is whether we have an increased deficit under the present Government flowing from continued economic depression and ever growing unemployment, or a deliberate temporary rise in the deficit under a Labour Government leading to economic recovery and rising employment,” said the policy. Main facets of the policy were tax-cuts for low and middle-income earners; a widening of borrowing opportunities; increased housing construction; a weeping restructure of tax scales; and a community works pro-

gramme aimed at creating 70.000 full-time jobs for an average duration of six months.

All told, the party pledged to restore ecomonic growth to 5 per cent and create at least half a million jobs in the first term of Government.

Away from the economic front, a running battle of words over defence policies and commitment to the A.N.Z.U.S. Mutual Defence Alliance continued.

Mr Fraser, meeting party strategists and senior Ministers in Melbourne to review the campaign planning, continued with the line he has pushed in recent days that under Labour Australia would be left “naked and defenceless” and that A.N.Z.U.S. would be unworkable.

He has revived Labour embarrassment over visits by nuclear ships — highlighted last year with a back-down by the former Opposition Leader, Bill Hayden, who had said they would be banned - and also taken strong issue with Mr Hawke, who has said that Labour would follow its party policy

and pull Australian troops out of the peace-keeping force in the Sinai where they are based with a New Zealand contingent. Labour was against the troops’ being there because the force was not under the auspices of the United Nations. Yesterday Mr Fraser recalled that in 1976 Mr Hawke had signed a newspaper advertisement advocating a

non-aligned policy “which obviously means an end to A.NJZ.U.S..” and other signatories had included "wellknown Communists.” he said. Mr Hawke said that A.N2.U.S. would not be put at risk by a Labour Government. although a full review had not been ruled out. Even the Americans did not think the alliance was immutable. “Given that it’s a generation since A.N.Z.U.S. was forged, they might welcome constructive discussions on the issue," he said. Under Labour Australia’s relationship with the United States would not be one of "sycophancy,” he said. The Foreign Minister. Mr Tony Street, said that Mr Hawke had shown himself to be ignorant that A.N.Z.U.S. was reviewed each year at Ministerial level. By casting a doubt about the treaty, the vital anchor to the southern end of the West's line of defence in the Asia and Pacific region, Mr Hawke had put ideology above national interests, he said. Labor policy was a farce but a dangerous one for Australia, said Mr Street.