AUSTRALIA

Lawmakers to Address Budget Proposal: The administration of Prime Minister Bob Hawke, which proposed a national budget and made projections on the country’s economy last week, will be awaiting the response of Australia’s parliament this week. The budget, developed for the fiscal year that began July 1, is designed to foster economic recovery in recession-wracked Australia. The administration predicted that unemployment--now at about 9.9%--will rise over the next four months but will decline in the following six months, settling at about 10% by the end of the fiscal year. The inflation rate, now 3.4%, is expected to decline to 3%, government officials said. The administration budget proposes increased outlays for unemployment benefits, additional financial assistance to low- to middle-income families and expanded spending on the rail freight system and other segments of the infrastructure.