Keeping the Home Fires Burning

Who will win Australia's federal election on Oct. 9? With polls showing the rivals neck and neck, the coalition led by Prime Minister John Howard hopes voters will shy away from the untested Mark Latham, leader of the Labor party, and extend Howard's eight-year record at the helm during a period of prolonged economic prosperity. "Australian families want security, and the greatest security that we can give them is the assurance that their interest rates will be kept as low as possible," Howard, 65, told supporters at a speech in Brisbane last week. But despite the primary focus on issues...