It is the very strong belief of the federal government that the states should have greater flexibility in ordering their own priorities. The excessive centralization of power in the federal government has led to unnecessary duplication in administration.

Private Enterprise:

A healthy enterprise is an essential part of the life Australians value. Private enterprise provides the greatest opportunities: choice of rewarding jobs, choice of products and choice of services. It is the system that gives the man in the street the greatest control over what is produced. In this sense, it is the most democratic system--the system which is most compatible with the freedom Australians value.

Although he hasn't made any drastic cutbacks, Fraser has stated his opposition to many of the Whitlam administration's programs. He has modified the health insurance plan to make it more attractive for the wealthy to subscribe to private insurance. He has attempted to cut back on the number of welfare recipients. He pushed for unions to accept wage increases below the cost of living. Cuts in educational spending and urban development are expected.

Perhaps the greatest difference between the two administrations is their view of Australia in world context. There is ample evidence that Fraser may be a throw back to old times, when Australian prime ministers were willing to be dominated first by Britain and then by the United States. A great believer in America's original goals in Vietnam, Fraser will be a close friend of any rigid Republican administration. (He is so pro-American that anti-mainstream columnist Alexander Cockburn claimed last year that Fraser arrived in power through a CIA-sponsored coup.)

How do the Australians feel about all this? American reports are sketchy, but they indicate Fraser has won strong support for his anti-inflationary measures and attempts to bring the budget more into balance. The Labour Party has the potential to be strong, but only under new leadership. On the whole Australians don't seem to be unhappy that it was Fraser, not Whitlam, that Cambridge saw last Friday as prime minister