PM Transcripts

AUSTRAI A
PRIME MINISTER
iF MEDTA WED) NESDAY, 2 MARCH 1983
HOJW MR. HIAWKE. SHTFTS GROUND
Urd; kr PIreSSUrr to Mr. Ha~ wke revealod the sh. 21 lcana.~:
dcc'', ption of! his campaign rhetric.
Thi!; mornizy ho at temptcd. to wriggle ouL of his coi~ rii ILment tco
his massive s perviing binge by claiming there r., ight hcave to
Lc-rodif cction of his prograrune if he found bigger uceficiL~ s
tharn expected.
it. is know that the 1982/ 83 budget deficit will. b( 2 dround
$ 4,000 million. For 1983/ 84 a figure of S6,000 million has beer
spoken of. Mr. HaLwke well knows that his $ 4,000maddition to
these figures would make the Hawke deficit. around $ 10,000
million for 1983/ 84.
When hie was confronted this morning on whether the outside limit
of his deficit would be 8, 9, or 10,000 million he avoidcd
the question, ever, though the figures implied in hi.' statement
involved a $ 10,000 million decficit.
But we know that throughout this campaign has not backed
away one inch from his open cheque book.
Mr. H-awke is running scared because he knows his sperndiny.( propoi) a'As
are utterly irresponsible. lHe knows the money Irnist come rn
Australian taxpayers.
A few hours later, addressing ' Lhe National Press Club, Mr. flaw'kL
even talked of the possibility of some " movement. in the tax
area" as he quaintly described it.
Again Mr. Hawke war, saying that if there were deficit-problemis
he would have to consider increasing tax.
These words come from the mouth of the man who h-as already
promised tax cuts.
Onl almost every major iissuQ of consequenco, Mr. Hawk(.,~ triec3
to shift ground when a bit of pressure is put on him.
He has tried valiantly to shift ground on capitLal gaixis tfLe--
passionately espou~ sing how hc could sell it; he has s!-iftcd
ground on the Sinai one cirea where one would have thought
ho would have had a real coimiAnent.