PRESS OFFICE TRANSCRIPT 16 AUGUST 1978
ABC COUNTRY HOUR COLIN MUNROE
Question: Last night's Budget has been variously described by Mr. Hamer
as severe, by Mr. Hayden as brutal, by Mr. Hawke as
horrendous. How do you see it?
Prime Minister:
I believe it is a responsible Budget and one that is very
necessary for Australia in 1978 and beyond. We've made
considerable progress in getting inflation down, in getting
stability into wages and the economic structure of this
country. But we all know that inflation is still too high.

PRESS OFFICE TRANSCRIPT
PRIME MINISTER'S
PRESS CONFERENCE FOLLOWING READING OF BUDGET SPEECH BY TREASURER
16 August
Prime Minister:
There are one or two important factors about the Budget which
I'd like to remind you about first. The Treasury paper estimates
that by next June or earlier inflation in Australia will be down
to That's going to be below most of-our major trading
partners. Japan and Germany might have a lower rate of inflation,
but the United States, Canada, Britain, France and Italy are

PRIME MINISTER'S INTERVIEW WITH CHANNEL NINE 15 AUGUST 1978
QUESTION Prime Minister, a ritual question. What sort of Budget
is it going to be?
PRIME MINISTER
I don't know how often I have been asked that over the last
few months. There is not really long to wait now, is there,
because John Howard will be deliverin that Budget towards
the end of today, and then people won t have to speculate
about it any more. they will have the facts of the Budget.
QUESTION You have said a number of times in interviews with me that

FOR PRESS 15 AUGUST 1978
Mr Speaker, i move that the House notes the death on 6 August
1978 of His Holiness Pope Paul VI, and expresses its profound
regret at his passing.
With the death of Pope Paul the spiritual leader of the
world's 700 million Romnan Catholics for the last 15 yearsthe
world lost a great religious leader and a messenger of
peace. In many ways his papacy came in an unique age.
It coincided with an upsurge of the ecumenical movement and
far-reaching and fundamental changes in society throughout

PRESS OFFICE TRANSCRIPT 14 AUGUST 1978_
INTERVIEW WITH LAURIE POWER
Question: Did you know about the Senator Withers' thing
on January 17?
Prime Minister: statement about this at the appropriate
time in Parliament. The Report will be tabled and I have had
very deliberate reasons for not speaking about these particular
matters once they were first raised in the Royal Commission.
The Royal Commission was in progress and once the Royal
Commission wasn't in progress we've been waiting for the

FOR PRESS 13 AUGUST 1978
ELECTORATE TALK
On Tuesday, the Treasurer, Mr Howard, will bring down the
Government's Budget for the current financial year. I do
not wish to and cannot refer in any detail to the measures
he will be announcing. They are the result of intensive
discussion within the Government over many weeks.
Some of the decisions made have been difficult ones, but
they have been the right decisions.
The twin evils which face Australia today are the evils of
inflation and unemployment. The only way to raise employment

PRESS~ OFFICE TR~ ANSCRIPT 11 AUGTr~~ 197% 8
INTERVIEW WITH D. WEBB, HSV 7, MELBOURNE
Question: We are very interested to know your reaction to
Mr. Dunstan's comments.
Prime Minister: I've got no comments about that at all.
It's a Victorian Government matter so far as I am concerned.
I've got no comment about that.
Question: But his comments were pretty personal about you.
1to say
Prime Minister: That doesn't mean/ I would have to reciprocate.
No. I've got no comment, it'-s a Victorian Government matter.

J*, AUSTRALIA
PRIME MINISTER
FOR PRESS 8 August 1978
ROYAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY
MATTERS IN RELATION TO ELECTORAL REDISTRIBUTION
QUEENSLAND 1977
The Report of the Royal Comrmission is being sent to all
members of the Parliament today,
At the first opportunity the Report will be tabled
in Parliament.
I have taken the course of releasing the Report before the
Parliament meets because it is important that the public
have an awareness of the facts.
Following allegations made both inside and outside the

FOR PRESS 7 AUGUST 1978
DEATH OF POPE PAUL
All Australians will wish to join with me in expressing deep
regret on the death of His Holiness Pope Paul VI. The world
has lost a great religious leader and statesman.
Under his Papacy the Roman Catholic Church has continued to
play a major spiritual role in the world and has been a
driving force for the betterment of the lives of many underprivileged
people.
Pope Paul himself strove tirelessly for world peace and for
higher ideals in the conduct of world affairs. He took up

FOR PRESS 6 AUGUST 1978
ELECTORATE TALK
The strength and health of our great rural industries affects
the lives of every Australian. One of the most important
messages your Government is-. trying to make clear is that
there can be no permanent prosperity in the great cities
of Australia, unless there is prosperity in the countryside.
City and country are interdependent. If farmers are not
producing, are not selling, then they' are not adding to
their farms, not makifig improvements, they are not investing.