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Bushfires ravaged huge areas of the drought-plagued south and southeast. The
tires swept through forests, grazing land and towns in the states
of Victoria and South Australia leaving a trail of death and destruction.
a great son- the sign of Immanuel
the Prince of Peace: "For unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon
his shoulder. ..."
The prophet l saiah was actually
referring to J esus Christ as the
Messiah. Bob Hawke's parents felt,
too, that their son "in sorne indefin–
able way was ditferent from others
and that he was a destined instru–
ment of the Lord."
Now the electorate has given
Mr. Hawke a clear mandate for his
plan for reconciliation, recovery
a nd recon struction. During h is
campaign he used t he slogan, "Bob
Hawke: Bringing Australia To-
July / August 1983
gether Again," capitalizing on his
experience in mediating labor dis–
putes while head of the Australian
Councíl of Trade Unions.
But optimistic predictions about
Australia's future must be based on
two
ifs,
and they are large ones.
They assume that the govern–
ment will have the courage to make
the crucial decisíons to halt the
nation's downward s lide. They also
assume that the Australian people
will look to themselves and learn
the lessons of history.
But Will They?
Prime Minister Hawke's solutions
to Australia's economic problems
incl ude wage-and-price controls
coupled with heavy government
spending. Bu t already he has been
forced to review election promises
in light of the latest p rojected
budget deficit for 1982-83 of
A$4,300 million.
More important, the projected
deficit for 1983-84 could go as high
as a massive A$9,600 million.
Australia has also been hit with
natural disasters. Large areas of the
continent have been stricken with
drought- some parts, at the time
of writing, have not received worth–
whi le rain for more than four
years.
The country's farm economy is
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