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question!
==
Labor Ministry (1941-1949)
The ALP, successively under John Curtin, Frank Forde and Ben Chifley,
held office until the general election on December 10, 1949 when
Robert Menzies, leading a newly formed Liberal Party of Australia, won
enough seats to form a new Government with Fadden's Country Party.
From "Introducing the National Party." The National Party of
Australia.
http://www.nationalparty.org/about_us/
===
"The Australian Labor Party (ALP). A mildly left-of-centre, socialist
party, the ALP was conceived, like its British and New Zealand
counterparts to represent the rights of the workers against those of
the employers. It held power during the years 1941-1949, being
defeated after a series of disastrous Communist led coal strikes which
had crippled the economy and because of fears within the electorate
that its plan to nationalise the banks in 1949 meant that it was
moving too far to the left."
From "Soc.history.war.vietnam FAQ: Australian Involvement."
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/vietnam/australia/part2/
===
"Factional disputes within the Party were not quelled until late in
the decade. Scullin was succeeded as federal leader in 1935 by John
Curtin who gradually re-built the Federal Party and restored its
electoral appeal and effectiveness. Curtin became war-time Prime
Minister in October 1941. He gave resolute and inspiring leadership to
the Australian people during the war and a group of experienced and
capable Ministers provided the administrative backup needed for a
successful war effort. The Curtin Government also devoted considerable
attention to drawing up a blueprint for post-war reconstruction of
Australia."
"Curtin died in July 1945 and was succeeded by J.B. Chifley who
implemented the ALP's plans for post-war reconstruction."
"The Chifley Government achieved some notable reforms, but was
hampered by constitutional impediments. Electoral reaction against
war-time austerity and post-war rationing and controls was an
important factor in the defeat of the Chifley Government in December
1949."
From "History of the ALP." National Australian Labor Party.
http://www.alp.org.au/about/history.html
===
"When war came again in Europe in 1939, Australia dispatched its
small armed forces to assist in Britain's defense. After the Pacific
war between Japan and the U.S. broke out in 1941 and Britain was
unable to provide sufficient support for Australia's defence,
**the new Labor government of John Curtin (1885-1945) sought alliance
with the U.S."**
"Until the liberation of the Philippines, U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur
and his staff used Australia as a base for their operations. Although
casualties were lighter than in World War I, Australians were more
psychologically affected by the Second World War because of their
fears of a Japanese invasion. Both Darwin and Broome were bombed by
the Japanese and many Australian soldiers fought in the Pacific
arena."
**"Again Australian industry was transformed by the needs of war. The
economy was redirected toward manufacturing, and heavy industries
ringed the capital cities. Postwar development built further on the
foundations established during the war." **
"Prime Minister Curtin died in 1945, but the new Labor government
under Joseph B. Chifley (1885-1951) strengthened Australia's
relationship with the U.S. in the ANZUS pact for mutual assistance
(with New Zealand as a third partner). As a charter member of the UN,
Australia also agreed to the decolonisation of the islands in the
Pacific, including the preparation of Papua-New Guinea for
independence (achieved in 1975)."
From "AUSTRALIA: The Commonwealth." Virtual Australia
http://members.tripod.com/virtaus4/volume8/history/commonwealth.htm
===
"The Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australia's oldest political
party. It is so-named because of its origins in and close links to the
trade union movement. While Australians normally spell "Labour", in
the name of the party it is spelt "Labor". This spelling was adopted
in 1912 due to the influence of the American labor movement."
* "The party has historically been committed to socialist economic
policies, but, while supporting national wage fixing and a strong
welfare system, it did not nationalise private enterprise - an attempt
to nationalise the banking system in the 1940s was ruled
unconstitutional by the High Court of Australia."
From "Australian Labor Party." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Labor_Party
====
1941- 1945 Labor Party John Joseph Curtin - Achievements & Policies -
Post war welfare planning, widow’s pensions, unemployment, sickness
and hospital benefits.
1945 - 1949 Labor Party Joseph Benedict Chifley - Achievements &
Policies - 1949 began the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Scheme,
Trans-Australian Airlines was started, Qantas was purchased to become
the National Airline, joint Coal Board established, public housing
increased.
From "A Timeline of Prime Ministers, and other Famous Australians."
John Doxey's Australia.
http://pages.zdnet.com/jojogunne/australia/id6.html
===
John Curtin:
"These are personal tributes to Curtin, but what of his contribution
as prime minister, and his role in making Australia realise its full
potential as a federated, autonomous nation? The major areas of his
achievement are regarded as being his leadership when placing
Australia on a total war footing, and his capacity to push through
parliamentary and social reforms during a time of crisis. In regard to
the former, Curtin showed an independence previously unheard of in an
Australian prime minister. He ensured that Australia made its own
declaration of war on Japan, he determined when and where Australian
troops would be used in battle, and he negotiated independently with
the United States of America (Black, p. xii). When giving the 1977
Curtin Memorial lecture, Gough Whitlam credited Curtin with setting
'the seal on Australia's national unity', because 'establishing and
consolidating that unity was the key to his efforts in rallying the
nation for war'. Nationalism was a fundamental and pervading element
in his character and style of government. According to Whitlam,
Australian nationalism was born, not at ANZAC cove, but in 1941 when
Australia made an independent declaration of war against Japan."
"With regard to social and parliamentary reform, Curtin inspired
guidelines which are still 'benchmarks' for modern governments: full
employment; uniform taxation; the principal of Federal government
responsibility for education, and a Federal Government role in
housing, especially the housing of low income groups. Whitlam also
emphasised Curtin's perception of the need to reform the Constitution
to strengthen Australia's independence. '[Curtin] knew better than any
[other] politician in his day that the popular aspirations for
independence could never be fulfilled while Australia remained ... a
colonial outpost'."
From "John Curtain's Legacy." Shaping the Nation. John Curtin and
Australia.
http://john.curtin.edu.au/shapingthenation/essay/legacy.html
===
Ben Chifley:
"(1885-1951), Prime Minister of Australia, born of working class
parents. Ben Chifley rose from engine driver to Australian prime
minister. A union organiser and strong Labor idealist, he is revered
for his administrative ability, his dependability and for his
personality."
"Prime Minister Curtin appointed him treasurer in October 1941, a
portfolio he retained on becoming prime minister in 1945. As Minister
for Post-War Reconstruction, he and Curtin laid the foundations for
future social and economic policy."
"The immediate post-war period saw expansion of social services, the
creation of a national airline (TAA), the Holden car and the Snowy
Mountains Scheme. Australia's present multicultural society owes its
beginnings to the Chifley government's visionary immigration policy.
Chifley was also committed to full employment but industrial unrest
caused his government serious problems."
"Chifley lost control of the government in 1949 on the issues of bank
nationalisation and continued rationing . He stayed on as Opposition
leader, and died in June 1951. "One of the most lovable men ever to
have inhabited Parliament House," said Harold Holt of his political
opponent Ben Chifley. An unpretentious, self-educated man who spoke
with a working class accent, Chifley was dedicated to social reform
and saw the Labor movement as "bringing something better to the
people, better standards of living, greater happiness..."
"When Curtin became prime minister in October 1941 he appointed
Chifley as treasurer. Labor introduced uniform taxation (making the
Commonwealth government responsible for collecting tax whereas
previously both the federal government and the states collected taxes)
and P.A.Y.E. (Pay As You Earn). Chifley was a first class
administrator ensuring the smooth management of parliamentary
business. During Curtin's final illness Chifley's performance as
acting prime minister made him the natural choice as Curtin's
successor.
"World War II ended one month after Chifley took office. Curtin and
Chifley had already begun planning post-war reconstruction and a
fairer distribution of wealth. Chifley was determined to retain
uniform taxation laws and to keep a tight rein on the economy to
prevent inflation. Price and rent controls continued, as well as
rationing of essential products-some food items and petrol, which in
those days was all imported. Oil had not been discovered in Australia
and commercial production of Bass Strait oil did not begin until
1969."
"In Chifley's view Australia needed to grow-"populate or perish".
Arthur Calwell was given the important Immigration portfolio. Assisted
passages were offered mainly to British migrants, but the offer also
included displaced persons from eastern Europe, refugees and northern
Europeans. The scheme was later extended to cover southern Europeans.
This was the first stage in dismantling the White Australia policy, a
basic tenet of federation."
"The wartime economy had pinpointed the need for an Australian-based
motor vehicle industry (until that time either the whole car or the
chassis was imported). Chifley and Lawrence Hartnett, the
managing-director of the American-owned General Motors-Holden Company
in Adelaide were enthusiastic, but the parent GM company would not
supply any finance. Chifley arranged for the Commonwealth bank and the
Bank of Adelaide to put up 3 million to finance the project. The first
Holden rolled off the production line on November 29, 1948."
"Probably the most imaginative engineering project in Australia's
history, the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, was begun in 1949.
About 6000 workers were needed for the project, many of them migrants
living in construction camps and new towns. The opposition boycotted
the inauguration but later claimed credit."
"In foreign affairs Chifley was anti-colonial, favoured British
withdrawal from India and sided with the Indonesian nationalists,
supporting the shipping and arms embargo against the Dutch. The
Government was watchful over any extension of American bases in the
Pacific, fearing the World War II heroes might have imperial
aspirations. Over the recognition of Mao Zedong's regime in China
there was no resolution."
"Believing that the wealth of the country should not be owned by
overseas interests or by a few wealthy Australians, Chifley wanted to
nationalise some of Australia's key industries. When Australian
National Airways (A.N.A.) appealed to the High Court against
government control, Chifley decided to set up the rival, government
Trans Australia Airlines (TAA). In 1947 Chifley's government
nationalised the overseas airline QANTAS by buying back all the
shares."
"Industrial unrest created serious problems for Chifley. There were
strikes by coalminers, ironworkers, waterside workers, and in sectors
of the vital transport industry. These industrial confrontations added
grist to the anti-communist mill. In 1949 a coalminers' strike caused
massive disruption to industry with subsequent unemployment. When the
union leaders refused to negotiate, Chifley introduced emergency
legislation and called in the troops to work the pits, a measure which
left the Labor Party alienated and demoralised. Afterwards there were
renewed calls for banning the Communist Party."
"In spite of an impressive record on social issues, the country was
growing restless about continued rationing of petrol and food four
years after the end of the war. Chifley felt these controls were
necessary to curb imports, but he misjudged the mood of the people.
The other factor leading to the defeat of his government was the
declared intention to nationalise the banks. The banks swamped their
customers with materials raising the spectre of socialism and union
control."
"In the 1949 election the number of seats in the House of
Representatives was increased from 75 to 123. This aided Menzies' new
Liberal Party/Country Party Coalition of eager new candidates, many of
them ex-servicemen. Chifley's Labor Party was resoundingly defeated."
From "Ben Chifley - 1885-1951." Virtual Australia.
http://members.tripod.com/virtaus4/volume6/prime_ministers/ben_chifley.htm
===
More on Ben Chifley:
"Joseph Benedict (Ben) Chifley was Australian Prime Minister from
1945 until 1949. As PM he is remembered for significant public policy
achievements such as full employment, welfare state reforms, the Snowy
Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, and the establishment of
Trans-Australian Airlines and the Australian National University."
"In Chifley's most famous speech in 1949 he described the 'light on
the hill' - the objective towards which the Australian labour movement
must continually strive. In his own words:
"I try to think of the Labour movement, not as putting an extra
sixpence into somebody's pocket, or making somebody Prime Minister or
Premier, but as a movement bringing something better to the people,
better standards of living, greater happiness to the mass of the
people. We have a great objective - the light on the hill - which we
aim to reach by working for the betterment of mankind not only here
but anywhere we may give a helping hand".
"As a federal parliamentarian Chifley held Macquarie (1928-1931 and
1940-1951) for the ALP, a Party he led from the time of John Curtin's
death in 1945 until his own passing in 1951. His frontbench
responsibilities included the defence, treasury and post-war
reconstruction portfolios. He remained treasurer after his ascension
to the prime ministership."
"Chifley died as leader of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party in
1951 in Canberra. He remains a cherished figure in Australian history,
an icon of the Australian Labor Party, and an inspirational example to
all."
From "About JB Chifley." Chifley Research Centre.
http://www.chifley.org.au/jbc/index.php
====
Ben Chifley:
"Between 1941-45 he was Treasurer and Minister for Post-War
Reconstruction in Curtin's government and was the architect of Labor's
post-war policies. Curtin's death, Chifley's defeat of Forde in the
election for Prime Minister and the abrupt conclusion of the war by
the atom bombs meant that Chifley could start to put these policies in
place late in 1945."
"His 'welfare state' policies included some of the most notable
reforms and initiatives in Australian history. The Snowy Mountains
Hydro-Electric Authority doubled the nation's output of electricity.
The immigration programs opened the way for a huge influx of British
and European immigrants. Support of the motor industry enabled
'Australia's own car', the Holden, to roll off the assembly line on 29
November 1948. The introduction of civilian widows' pensions and
unemployment, sickness and hospital benefits aided countless families.
The establishment of Trans-Australia Airlines and the nationalisation
of QANTAS launched Australian aviation into a new era. Other schemes
included the regulation of coal marketing and waterside labour and
Commonwealth support of state housing finance."
"Chifley also stabilised the post-war economy with strict currency
controls, limitation of imports and anti-inflation measures. Such
moves swiftly cut down Australia's national debt, but also continued
wartime rationing and caused long delays in urgently needed new
housing. At the same time, some unions launched fierce industrial
campaigns which resulted in prolonged strikes. In 1949, a coal strike
threatened to paralyse the economy."
"Chifley's aims included nationalisation of the banks, which he had
advocated since the mid-1930s. But the private banks defeated this
move with an appeal to the High Court which ruled nationalisation
unconstitutional. This setback intensified the Liberal-Country Party
assault on Labor. The LCP more than hinted that Chifley was leading
Australia toward Communism and played on the resentment of people
weary of the prolongation of wartime austerity."
"In the turbulent election campaign of December 1949, Chifley
enunciated sensible, humanitarian and progressive policies."
From "JOSEPH BENEDICT CHIFLEY."
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5557/chifley.html
===
Additional References:
"Chifley's vision for Australia." Chapter 12: Politics in the post-war
years
http://www.ahs.cqu.edu.au/humanities/history/52142/studymat/ch12/postwar.htm
"John Curtin." National Museum of Australia.
http://www.nma.gov.au/primeministers/5.htm
===
I hope this helps you understand the policies a bit better, and gives
you some sites from which to work. Let me know if you need additional
clarification *before* rating this answer. I am more than willing to
help!
umiat-ga
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