Embargoed until 7.00 p.m. Broadcast 3HA

.  3YB

30 Octobe

3 Novemb

PRIME MINISTER

FOR PRESS 30 OCTOBER 1977

ELECTORATE TALK

Australians go to the polls this December to vote for a Government  to lead Australia in the years ahead.

Voters face a clear choice. It is a choice between the kind of  Government and the kind of economic management that Australia  requires to keep Australia's steady recovery on course. It is  not just a choice between two different policy documents. It is

a very real and fundamental choice about the kind of Australia  we want.

Do we want big Government control and socialist policies - or do  we want a Goverment that cherishes and understands the place of  the individual—-in--the-community? What I am saying is that  ultimately, this election is all about deciding on the kind of

Australia we want to live in in the years ahead.

During the coming weeks, Australians will hear and read a great  deal about unemployment, inflation, other economic matters, and  industrial relations. There is no doubt that the management of  Australia's economy will be a key issue in the weeks leading up

to December 10. I and the Government team face the electorate  squarely in the face. We have an outstanding record of achievement  in our fight against inflation.

Australia's inflation rate is now at around 9% - and is continuing  to steadily fall. Let us never forget that we have reduced inflation  to this level from Labor's disastrous peak of 19.3% just three

years ago. We have more than halved Labor's rate. As inflation  comes down — and it is not coincidental - there are clear and .

positive signs of a major lift, in private investment plans just  ahead. This is good news for Australia. It is good news for  those seeking jobs. On top of that, we have been seeing for  several weeks now the early stages of what could be a substantial

and sustained fall in interest rates.

In short, in two years we have laid the foundation from which longÂ­ term prosperity will develop. It is absolutely vital for Australia  that current policies are continued. It is vital that Australian  and overseas businesses know that for at least several years ahead  we will have stable Government and continuing sound economic

management.

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It is important that inf lation should keep falling, that interest  rates keep coming down, that consumption rises, and that investÂ­ ment spending continues in a climate of certainty. The reason  these conditions are required is that it is the only way to have  higher employment, and lower unemployment. '

Unemployment is a severe problem. Too many Australians who want  to work cannot get jobs.  The reasons are complex. What is clear,  however, is that Governments need to develop a sympathetic and  sensitive response to the problem. Money alone - the 1  cash to

splash1  disease - will not solve the problem. Look what happened  when Labor increased Government expenditure by 46% in one year -  unemployment went up by almost 200,000.

We have shown sensitivity and concern for unemployed Australians. Not only have we dramatically reduced Australia's annual rate of  inflation and given business an incentive to employ, but we have  also set up or expanded a number of imaginative manpower training  programmes. All told, the Budget provides $102.7 million for employÂ­ ment training programmes this year, which is an increase of 33% over

last year. More will be spent if necessary, because no eligible  unemployed person will be refused assistance under these programmes.  Already over 122,000 people - mainly young Australians - have  benefitted from these programmes.

We have faced up to our responsibilities. We will continue to show  concern for Australians who cannot find jobs. We will continue with  practical policies that demonstrate that concern. At the same time  we will continue to develop policies that encourage Australian

industry and business to create new jobs. There is no doubt our  policies will create conditions where more Australians who want to  work will find jobs. From February onwards, unemployment in  Australia will fall in a steady and sustained way.

I am certain that Australians do prefer the path of sound economic  management, the path of steady progress. That is what we have given.  That is what we offer. We have demonstrated our ability to come to  grips with the economic problems that were a tragic legacy of the  Labor experiment. -

Labor's so-called economic management brought Australia to the  brink of bankruptcy. It split city and country with repercussions  that will take years to mend. It eroded the fabric of our society.

:  Australians will never again risk the Government of their country  to the men in the Labor Party who almost wrecked.it. -  -  - Â·  .

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