Fraser says Hawke sensible, moderate

Press, 5 September 1983, Page 25

Fraser says Hawke sensible, moderate

NZPANewport, Rhode Island

The former Australian Prime Minister, Mr Malcolm Fraser, described his successor, Mr Hawke, as a pragmatist who would make sensible and moderate decisions.

“On Mr Hawke’s recent visit to the United States, he was talking about the same sorts of policies and relations with America that had been followed over the last seven years,” Mr Fraser said.

“I believe he has

cemented relations between the two countries. As an Australian I am grateful for that, even if the Libs do chuck him out at the next election.” He was speaking at a dinner in Newport given by the Victorian Challenge 12 America’s Cup syndicate. He arrived from Vail, Colarado, where a former United States President, Gerald Ford, was host to a week-end meeting of former leaders. Among the participants were Mr Ford’s Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, and the former British

Labour Prime Minister, James Callaghan.

Mr Fraser said the leaders had questioned how long the economic recovery in the United States could continue. The big United States Budget deficit was the basis for their concern, Mr Fraser said.

In a lighthearted moment, he also said it was the belief of some people that he was “somewhere to the Right of Genghis Khan.” But he addressed much of his speech to the United States deficit, which he said on current policy standings would be more than ?200 billion for the next five years.

“There really was a great question mark at the conference over how long the American economic recovery could continue in the face of that deficit,” Mr Fraser said.

“Everyone agreed at Vail that it would be a very good thing to move back to fixed exchange rates so Governments would have to live within their means.”

He said that the problem of the Third World’s debt overhung much of the Western world. It was his personal conviction that the West’s unemployment problems would not be reduced until Third World development “took off’ and markets expanded. “An expansion of those markets would do a great deal for all of us,” he said.