History of Australia since 1945
Encyclopedia
The history of Australia since 1945 has seen long periods of economic prosperity and the introduction of an expanded and multi-ethnic immigration program, which has coincided with moves away from Britain
in political, social and cultural terms and towards engagement with the United States and Asia.
In 1944, the Liberal Party of Australia
was formed, with Robert Menzies
as its founding leader. The party would come to dominate the early decades of the post war period. Outlining his vision for a new political movement in 1944, Menzies said:
In April 1945, Prime Minister John Curtin
despatched an Australian delegation which included attorney-general and minister for external affairs H V Evatt to discuss formation of the United Nations
. Australia played a significant mediatory role in these early years of the United Nations, successfully lobbying for an increased role for smaller and middle-ranking nations and a stronger commitment to employment rights into the U.N. Charter. Evatt was elected president of the third session of the United Nations General Assembly (September 1948 to May 1949).
When Labor Prime Minister John Curtin
died in July 1945, Frank Forde
served as Prime Minister from 6–13 July, before the party elected Ben Chifley
as Curtin's successor. Chifley, a former railway engine driver, won the 1946 election. His government
introduced national projects, including the Snowy Mountains Scheme
and an assisted immigration program and pursued centralist economic policies - making the Commonwealth the collector of income tax, and seeking to nationalise the private banks. At the conference of the New South Wales Labor Party in June 1949, Chifely sought to define the labour movement as having:
With an increasingly uncertain economic outlook, after his attempt to nationalise the banks and a strike by the Communist-dominated Miners Federation, Chifley lost office at the 1949 federal election to Menzies newly established Liberal Party, in coalition with the Country Party
.
, Australia launched a massive immigration program
, believing that having narrowly avoided a Japanese invasion, Australia must "populate or perish." As Prime Minister Ben Chifley
would later declare, "a powerful enemy looked hungrily toward Australia. In tomorrow's gun flash that threat could come again. We must populate Australia as rapidly as we can before someone else decides to populate it for us." Hundreds of thousands of displaced Europeans, including for the first time large numbers of Jews
, migrated to Australia. More than two million people immigrated to Australia from Europe during the 20 years after the end of the war
.
From the outset, it was intended that the bulk of these immigrants should be mainly from the British Isles, and that the post-war immigration scheme would preserve the British character of Australian society. Although Great Britain remained the predominant source of immigrants, the pool of source countries was expanded to include Continental Europe
an countries in order to meet Australia's ambitious immigration targets. From the late 1940s onwards, Australia received significant waves of people from countries such as Greece, Italy, Malta
, Germany, Yugoslavia
and the Netherlands. Australia actively sought these immigrants, with the government assisting many of them and they found work due to an expanding economy and major infrastructure projects.
The Australian economy stood in sharp contrast to war-ravaged Europe, and newly arrived migrants found employment in a booming manufacturing industry and government assisted programs such as the Snowy Mountains Scheme
. This hydroelectricity
and irrigation
complex in south-east Australia consisted of sixteen major dams and seven power stations constructed between 1949 and 1974. It remains the largest engineering project undertaken in Australia. Necessitating the employment of 100,000 people from over 30 countries
, to many it denotes the birth of multicultural Australia.
In 1949 the 1941–1949 Labor government (led by Ben Chifley
after John Curtin
's death in 1945) was defeated by a
Liberal
-National Party
Coalition government headed by Menzies. Politically, Menzies Government and the Liberal Party of Australia
dominated much of the immediate post war era, defeating the Chifley Government
in 1949, in part over a Labor proposal to nationalise banks and following a crippling coal strike influenced by the Australian Communist Party. Menzies became the country's longest-serving Prime Minister and the Liberal party, in coalition
with the rural based Country Party
, won every federal until 1972.
As in the United States in the early 1950s, allegations of communist influence in society saw tensions emerge in politics. Refugees from Soviet dominated Eastern Europe immigrated to Australia, while to Australia's north, Mao Zedong
won the Chinese civil war
in 1949 and in June 1950, Communist North Korea
invaded South Korea
. The Menzies government responded to a United States led United Nations Security Council
request for military aid for South Korea and diverted forces from occupied Japan
to begin Australia's involvement in the Korean War
. After fighting to a bitter standstill, the UN and North Korean signed a ceasefire agreement in July 1953. Australian forces had participated in such major battles as Kapyong
and Maryang San. 17,000 Australians had served and casualties amounted to more than 1,500, of whom 339 were killed.
During the course of the Korean War
, the Menzies Government attempted to ban the Communist Party of Australia
, first by legislation in 1950 and later by referendum, in 1951. While both attempts were unsuccessful, further international events such as the defection
of minor Soviet Embassy official Vladimir Petrov
, added to a sense of impending threat that politically favoured Menzies’ Liberal-CP government, as the Labor Party pushed centralist economics and split over concerns about the influence of the Communist Party over the Trade Union
movement, resulting in the a bitter split in 1955
and the emergence of the breakaway Democratic Labor Party
(DLP). The DLP remained an influential political force, often holding the balance of power in the Senate
, until 1974. Its preferences supported the Liberal and Country Party. The Labor party was led by H.V. Evatt after Chifley’s death in 1951. Evatt retired in 1960, and Arthur Calwell
succeeded him as leader, with a young Gough Whitlam
as his deputy.
Menzies presided over a period of sustained economic boom and the beginnings of sweeping social change - with the arrivals of rock and roll music
and television in the 1950s. In 1956, Television in Australia began broadcasting, Melbourne hosted the Olympics and, for the first time, performing artist Barry Humphries
performed the character of Edna Everage as a parody of a house-proud housewife of staid 1950's Melbourne suburbia (the character only later morphed into a critique of self-obsessed celebrity culture). It was the first of many of his satirical stage and screen creations based around quirky Australian characters.
In 1958, Australian country music
singer Slim Dusty
, who would become the musical embodiment of rural Australia, had Australia's first international music chart hit with his bush ballad
Pub With No Beer
, while rock and roll
er Johnny O'Keefe
's Wild One
became the first local recording to reach the national charts, peaking at #20. Before sleeping through the 1960s Australian cinema produced little of its own content in the 1950s, but British and Hollywood studios produced a string of successful epics from Australian literature
, featuring home grown stars Chips Rafferty
and Peter Finch
.
Menzies remained a stanuch supporter of links to the monarchy
and British Commonwealth and formalised an alliance with the United States
, but also launched post-war trade with Japan, beginning a growth of Australian exports of coal, iron ore and mineral resources that would steadily climb until Japan became Australia's largest trading partner.
In the early 1950s, the Menzies government saw Australia as part of a “triple alliance,” in concert with both the US and traditional ally Britain. At first, “the Australian leadership opted for a consistently pro-British line in diplomacy,” while at the same time looking for opportunities to involve the US in South East Asia. Thus, other than the Korean War, the government also committed military forces to the Malayan Emergency
and hosted British nuclear tests
after 1952. Australia was also the only Commonwealth country to offer support to the British during the Suez Crisis
.
Menzies oversaw an effusive welcome to Queen Elizabeth II on the first visit to Australia by a reigning monarch
, in 1954. However, as British influence declined in South East Asia, the US alliance came to have greater significance for Australian leaders and the Australian economy. British investment in Australia remained significant until the late 1970s, but trade with Britain declined through the 1950s and 1960s. In the late 1950s the Australian Army began to re-equip using US military equipment. In 1962, the US established a naval communications station at North West Cape
, the first of several built over the next decade. Most significantly, in 1962, Australian Army advisors
were sent to help train South Vietnamese forces, in a developing conflict the British had no part in.
The ANZUS
security treaty, which had been signed in 1951, had its origins in Australia’s and New Zealand’s fears of a rearmed Japan, but found new impetus through anti-communism. Its obligations on the US, Australia and New Zealand are vague, but its influence on Australian foreign policy thinking, at times significant. The SEATO treaty, signed only three years later, clearly demonstrated Australia’s position as a US ally in the emerging cold war. On 26 November 1967, Australia became the seventh nation to put a satellite into Earth orbit, launching WRESAT
from Woomera.
When Menzies retired in 1965, he was replaced as Liberal leader and Prime Minister by Harold Holt
.The Holt Government
increased Australian commitment to the growing War in Vietnam
; oversaw conversion to decimal currency and faced Britain's withdrawal from Asia by visiting and hosting many Asian leaders and by expanding ties to the United States, hosting the first visit to Australia by an American President, his friend Lyndon Johnson. Significantly, Holt's government introduced the Migration Act 1966, which effectively dismantled the vestigial mechanisms of the White Australia Policy
and increased access to non-European migrants, including refugees fleeing the Vietnam War
. Holt also called the 1967 Referendum which removed the discriminatory clause in the Australian Constitution which excluded Aboriginal Australians from being counted in the census - the referendum was one of the few to be overwhelmingly endorsed by the Australian electorate (over 90% voted 'yes').
Holt won the 1967 election with the largest parliamentary majority in 65 years, but Holt drowned while swimming at a surf beach in December 1967 and was replaced by John Gorton
(1968–1971). The Gorton Government
began winding down Australia's commitment to Vietnam, increased funding for the arts, standardised rates of pay between the men and women and continued moving Australian trade closer to Asia. The Liberals suffered a decline in voter support at the 1969 election
and internal party division saw Gorton replaced by William McMahon
(1971–1972) and, facing a reinvigorated Australian Labor Party
led by Gough Whitlam
, the Liberals entered their final stretch in office of a record 23 straight years period.
From the mid 1960s, evidence of a new and more independent sense of national pride and identity began to emerge in Australia. In the early 1960s, the National Trust of Australia
began to be active in preserving Australia’s natural, cultural and historic heritage. Australian TV, while always dependent on US and British imports, saw locally made dramas and comedies appear, and programs such as Homicide developed strong local loyalty while Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
became a global phenomenon. Liberal Prime Minister John Gorton
, a battle scarred former fighter pilot, described himself as "Australian to the bootheels" and his Gorton Government
established the Australian Council for the Arts, the Australian Film Development Corporation and the National Film and Television Training School.
The late 1960s and early 1970s are often associated with a flowering of Australian culture. Indigenous Australians
achieved greater rights, immigration restrictions and censorship laws were swept aside, theatre and opera companies were established across the country, and Australian rock music blossomed. The 1971 Springbok rugby tour
was influential in raising awareness of Aboriginal injustice in Australia and also led Australia to become the first Western nation to cut sporting ties with South Africa. In a significant move against South Africa's apartheid regime, many Australians (including Wallabies) demonstrated against tours by the racially selected South African team. The Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer
altered the traditionalist ethos of the game of cricket
in the 1970s, inventing World Series Cricket
from which have evolved many aspects of the various modern international forms of the game.
The iconic Sydney Opera House
finally opened in 1973 after numerous delays. In the same year, Patrick White
became the first Australian to win a Nobel Prize for Literature. Australian History had begun to appear on school curriculums by the 1970s and from the early 1970s, the Australian cinema began to produce the Australian New Wave
of feature films based on uniquely Australian themes. Film funding began under the Gorton government, but it was the South Australian Film Corporation
that took the lead in supporting filmmaking and among their great successes were quintessential Australian films Sunday Too Far Away
(1974) Picnic at Hanging Rock
(1975), Breaker Morant
(1980) and Gallipoli
(1981). The national funding body, the Australian Film Commission
, was established in 1975.
Significant changes also occurred to Australia’s censorship laws after the new Liberal Minister for Customs and Excise, Don Chipp
, was appointed in 1969. In 1968, Barry Humphries and Nicholas Garland’s cartoon book featuring the larrikin character Barry McKenzie
was banned. Yet only a few years later, the book had been made as a film, partly with the support of government funding. Anne Pender suggests that the Barry Mckenzie character both celebrated and parodied Australian nationalism. Historian Richard White also argues that “while many of the plays, novels and films produced in the 1970s were intensely critical of aspects of Australian life, they were absorbed by the ‘new nationalism’ and applauded for their Australianness.”
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The Menzies Government despatched the first small contingent of Australian military training personnel to aid South Vietnam
in 1962, so beginning Australia's decade long involvemt in the Vietnam War
. Ngo Dinh Diem
, the leader of the government in South Vietnam, had requested security assistance from the US and its allies. The Australian government supported the commitment as part of global effort to stem the spread of communism in Europe and Asia.
Initially popular, Australia's participation in Vietnam, and particularly the use of conscription
, later became politically contentious and saw massive protests, though they were for the most part peaceful. The United States launched a major escalation of the war in 1965 and the Holt Government
which succeeded Menzies, increased Australia's military commitment to the conflict. Holt won a massive majority in the 1967 Election. By 1969 however, anti-war protests were gathering momentum and opposition to conscription was growing, with more people believing the war could not be won. The Gorton Government
(returned with a reduced majority at the 1969 Election) ceased to replace Australian personnel from 1970. There were large Moratorium marches in 1970 and 1971 and Australia's troop commitment continued to wind down through 1971 with the last battalion leaving Nui Dat in November. The election of the Whitlam Government
in 1972 brought Australia's small remaining involvement in the war to an official close in June 1973 with the withdrawal of the last platoon guarding the Australian Embassy in Saigon. Australian forces were largely based at Nui Dat
, Phuoc Tuy province and participated in such notable battles as the Battle of Long Tan
against the Viet Cong in 1966 and defending against the 1968 Tet Offensive. Almost 60,000 Australians had served in Vietnam and 521 had died as a result of the war. As the war became unpopular, protestors and conscienscious objectors became prominent and soldiers often met a hostile reception on their return home in the later stages of the conflict.
In early 1975 the communists launched a major offensive resulting in the fall of Saigon
on 30 April. The Royal Australian Airforce assisted in final humanitarian evacuations. In the aftermath of the communist victory, Australia assisted in re-settlement of Vietnamese refugees, with thousands making their way to Australian through the 1970s and 1980s.
was captured by Australia during the First World War, becoming a League of Nations Mandate
after the war. Following the bitter New Guinea Campaign
of World War II which saw occupation of half the island by Imperial Japan, the Territory of Papua and New Guinea
was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered Territory of Papua and Territory of New Guinea
in 1949. Under Liberal Minister for External Territories Andrew Peacock
, Papua and New Guinea adopted self-government in 1972 and on 15 September 1975, during the term of the Whitlam Government
in Australia, the Territory became the independent nation of Papua New Guinea
.
Australia had captured the island of Nauru
from the German Empire in 1914. After Japanese occupation during World War II, it became a UN Trust Territory under Australia and remained so until achieving independence in 1968. In 1989 Nauru sued Australia in the International Court of Justice
in The Hague for damages caused by mining. Australia settled the case out of court agreeing to a lump sum settlement of A$107 million and an annual stipend of the equivalent of A$2.5 million toward environmental rehabilitation.
won office under Gough Whitlam
and introduced a significant program of social change and reform. Whitlam said before the election: “our program has three great aims. They are – to promote equality; to involve the people of Australia in … decision making…; and to liberate the talents and uplift the horizons of the Australian people.”
Whitlam’s actions were immediate and dramatic. Within a few weeks the last military advisors in Vietnam were recalled, and national service ended. The People’s Republic of China was recognised (Whitlam had visited China while Opposition Leader in 1971) and the embassy in Taiwan
closed. Over the next few years, university fees were abolished and a national health care scheme established. Significant changes were made to school funding, something Whitlam regarded as “the most enduring single achievement” of his government. Divorce and family law was liberalised.
Whitlam's radical and imperious style eventually alienated many voters, and some of the state governments were openly hostile to his government. As it did not control the senate, much of its legislation was rejected or amended. The Queensland Country Party
government of Joh Bjelke-Petersen
had particularly bad relations with the Federal government. Even after it was re-elected at elections in May 1974
, the Senate remained an obstacle to its political agenda. At the only joint sitting of parliament, in August 1974, six keys pieces of legislation were passed.
In 1974, Whitlam selected John Kerr, a former member of the Labor Party and presiding Chief Justice of New South Wales
to serve as Governor General. The Whitlam Government was re-elected with a decreased majority in the lower house in the 1974 Election
. In 1974–75 the government thought about borrowing US$4 billion in foreign loans. Minister Rex Connor
conducted secret discussions with a loan broker from Pakistan, and the Treasurer, Jim Cairns
, misled parliament over the issue. Arguing the government was incompetent following the Loans Affair
, the opposition Liberal-Country Party Coalition
delayed passage of the government’s money bills in the Senate, until the government would promise a new election. Whitlam refused, Malcolm Fraser
, leader of the Opposition insisted. The deadlock came to an end when the Whitlam government was dismissed by the Governor General, John Kerr on 11 November 1975 and Fraser was installed as caretaker Prime Minister, pending an election. The "reserve powers" granted to the Governor General
by the Australian Constitution, had allowed an elected government to be dismissed without warning by a representative of the Monarch.
At elections held in late 1975, Malcolm Fraser and the Coalition were elected in a landslide victory.
The Fraser Government
won two subsequent elections. Fraser maintained some of the social reforms of the Whitlam era, while seeking increased fiscal restraint. His government included the first Aboriginal federal parliamentarian, Neville Bonner
, and in in 1976, Parliament passed the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976
, which, while limited to the Northern Territory, affirmed "inalienable" freehold title to some traditional lands. Fraser established the multicultural broadcaster SBS
, welcomed Vietnamese
boat people refugees, opposed minority white rule in Apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia
and opposed Soviet expansionism. A significant program of economic reform however was not pursued and, by 1983, the Australian economy was in recession, amidst the effects of a severe drought. Fraser had promoted "states’ rights" and his government refused to use Commonwealth powers to stop the construction of the Franklin Dam
in Tasmania in 1982. A Liberal minister, Don Chipp
had split off from the party to form a new social liberal
party, the Australian Democrats
in 1977 and the Franklin Dam proposal contributed to the emergence of an influential Environmental movement in Australia
, with branches including the Australian Greens
, a political party which later emerged out of Tasmania
to pursue environmentalism
as well as left-wing social and economic policies.
Bob Hawke
, a less polarising Labor leader than Whitlam
, defeated Fraser at the 1983 Election
. The new government stopped the Franklin Dam project via the High Court of Australia
. The 1980s saw severe concerns about Australia's future economic health take hold, with severe current account deficits and high unemployment at times. Hawke, together with treasurer Paul Keating
undertook micro-economic and industrial relations reform designed to increase efficiency and competitiveness. After the initial failure of the Whitlam model and partial dismantling under Fraser, Hawke re-established a new, universal system of health insurance called Medicare
. Hawke and Keating abandoned traditional Labor support for tariffs to protect industry and jobs. They moved to deregulate Australia’s financial system and ‘floated’ the Australian dollar
. An agreement was reached with trade unions to moderate wage demands and accept more flexible working condition arrangements by accepting tax cuts in return. Ultimately, many of the reforms, continued by successive governments, appear to have been successful in pushing the economy along.
The Australian Bicentenary
was celebrated in 1988 along with the opening of a new Parliament House
in Canberra. The following year the Australian Capital Territory achieved self government and Jervis Bay became a separate territory administered by the Minister for Territories.
A supporter of the US alliance
, Hawke committed Australian naval forces to the Gulf War
, following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. After four successful elections, but amid a deterioring Australian economy and rising unemployment, the intense rivalry between Hawke and Keating led the Labor Party to replace Hawke as leader and Paul Keating
became Prime Minister in 1991.
Unemployment reached 11.4% in 1992 - the highest since the Great Depression
. The Liberal-National Opposition
had proposed an ambitious plan of economic reform
to take to the 1993 Election, including the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax
. Keating shuffled treasurers and campaigned strongly against the tax and won the 1993 Election. During his time in office, Keating emphasised links to the Asia Pacific region, co-operating closely with the Indonesian President, Suharto, and campaigned to increase the role of APEC as a major forum for economic co-operation. Keating was active in indigenous affairs and the High Court of Australia
's historic Mabo decision in 1992 required a legislative response to recognition of Indigenous title to land, culminating in the Native Title Act 1993
and the Land Fund Act 1994. In 1993, Keating established a Republic Advisory Committee, to examine options for Australia becoming a republic. With foreign debt, interest rates and unemployment still high, and after a series of ministerial resignations, Keating lost the 1996 Election to the Liberals' John Howard
.
, the Australian Aborigines Advancement League organised a protest "Day of Mourning" to mark the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet
of British in Australia and launched its campaign for full citizenship rights for all Aborigines. In the 1940s, the conditions of life for Aborigines could be very poor. A permit system restricted movement and work opportunities for many Aboriginal people. In the 1950s, the government pursued a policy of "assimilation" which sought to achieve full citizenship rights for Aborigines but also wanted them to adopt the mode of life of other Australians (which very often was assumed to require suppression of cultural identity).
From the 1950s onwards, Australians began to rethink their attitudes towards racial issues. An Aboriginal rights movement was founded and supported by many liberal white Australians and a campaign against the White Australia policy was also launched. The 1967 referendum
was held and overwhelmingly approved to amend the Constitution, removing discriminatory references and giving the national parliament the power to legislate specifically for Indigenous Australians
. Contrary to frequently repeated mythology, this referendum did not cover citizenship on Aboriginal people, nor did it give them the vote: they already had both. However, transferring this power away from the State parliaments
did bring an end to the system of Indigenous Australian reserves which existed in each state, which allowed Indigenous people to move more freely, and exercise many of their citizenship rights for the first time. From the late 1960s a movement for Indigenous land rights
also developed.
Various groups and individuals were active in the pursuit of equality and social justice from the 1960s. In the mid 1960s, one of the earliest Aboriginal graduates from the University of Sydney
, Charles Perkins, helped organise freedom rides
into parts of Australia to expose discrimination and inequality. In 1966, the Gurindji people of Wave Hill station (owned by the Vestey Group
) commenced strike action led by Vincent Lingiari
in a quest for equal pay and recognition of land rights.
Indigenous Australians began to take up representation in Australian parliaments during the 1970s. In 1971 Neville Bonner
of the Liberal Party
was appointed by the Queensland Parliament to replace a retiring senator, becoming the first Aborigine in Federal Parliament. Bonner was returned as a Senator at the 1972 election and remained until 1983. Hyacinth Tungutalum
of the Country Liberal Party
in the Northern Territory
and Eric Deeral of the National Party
of Queensland, became the first Indigenous people elected to territory and state legislatures in 1974. In 1976, Sir Douglas Nicholls
was appointed Governor of South Australia, becoming the first Aborigine to hold vice-regal office in Australia. Aiden Ridgway of the Australian Democrats
served as a senator during the 1990s, but No indigenous person was elected to the House of Representatives, until West Australian Liberal
Ken Wyatt
, in August 2010.
In 1984, a group of
Pintupi
people who were living a traditional hunter-gatherer
desert-dwelling life were tracked down in the Gibson Desert
in Western Australia and brought in to a settlement. They are believed to be the last uncontacted tribe
in Australia. In 1985, the Hawke Government returned ownership of Uluru
(formerly known as Ayers Rock) to the local Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal people.
In 1992, the High Court of Australia
handed down its decision in the Mabo Case, declaring the previous legal concept of terra nullius to be invalid. That same year, Prime Minister Paul Keating
said in his Redfern Park Speech
that European settlers were responsible for the difficulties Australian Aboriginal communities continued to face: ‘We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practiced discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice’. In 1999 Parliament passed a Motion of Reconciliation
drafted by Prime Minister John Howard
and Aboriginal Senator Aden Ridgeway
naming mistreatment of Indigenous Australians as the most "blemished chapter in our national history".
A great many indigenous Australians have been prominent in sport and the arts. Several styles of Aboriginal art have developed in modern times, including the watercolour paintings of Albert Namatjira
's Hermannsburg School
, and the acrylic Papunya Tula
"dot art" movement. The Western Desert Art Movement became a globally renowned 20th century art movement. Oodgeroo Noonuccal
(1920–1995) was a famous Aboriginal poet, writer and rights activist credited with publishing the first Aboriginal book of verse: We Are Going (1964). Sally Morgan
's novel My Place
was considered a breakthrough memoir in terms of bringing indigenous stories to wider notice. Leading Aboriginal intellectuals Marcia Langton
(First Australians
, 2008) and Noel Pearson ("Up From the Mission", 2009) are active contemporary contributors to Australian literature
. 1955's Jedda
, was the first Australian feature film to star Aboriginal actors in lead roles and the first to be entered at the Cannes Film Festival
. 1976's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
directed by Fred Schepisi was an award winning historical drama from a book by Thomas Keneally
about the tragic story of an Aboriginal Bushranger
. The canon of films related to Indigenous Australians also increased over the period of the 1990s and early 21st Century. In 2006, Rolf de Heer's Ten Canoes
became the first major feature film to be shot in an indigenous language and the film was recognised at Cannes
and elsewhere. In sport Evonne Goolagong Cawley became the world number-one ranked tennis player in 1971 and won 14 Grand Slam titles during her career. In 1973 Arthur Beetson
became the first Indigenous Australian to captain his country in any sport when he first led the Australian National Rugby League team, the Kangaroos. In 1982, Mark Ella
became Captain of the Australian National Rugby Union
Team, the Wallabies. Olympic gold medalist Cathy Freeman
lit the Olympic flame at the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
in Sydney.
In the early 21st century, much of indigenous Australia continued to suffer lower standards of health and education than non-indigenous Australia. In 2007, the Close the Gap campaign was launched by Olympic champions Cathy Freeman
and Ian Thorpe
with the aim of achieving Indigenous health equality within 25 years. In 2007, Prime Minister John Howard
and Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough
launched the Northern Territory National Emergency Response
. In response to the Little Children are Sacred
Report into allegations of child abuse among indigenous communities in the Territory, the government banned alcohol in prescribed communities in the Northern Territory; quarantined a percentage of welfare payments for essential goods purchasing; despatched additional police and medical personnel to the region; and suspended the permit system for access to indigenous communities.
During much of the twentieth century, Australian governments had removed many aboriginal children from their families. This practice did great damage to the Aboriginal people, culturally and emotionally, giving rise to the term stolen generation
to describe these families. Since the publication in 1997 of a federal government report, Bringing Them Home
all state governments have followed the recommendation of the report in issuing formal apologies for their past practices to the Aboriginal people, as have many local governments. The Howard government refused to make such an apology on behalf of the federal government, despite pleas from the Aboriginal people and from many sections of the wider community, saying that it implied intergenerational guilt on modern non-indigenous Australia. However, the new government under Kevin Rudd
led a formal bi-partisan apology on 13 February 2008.
under the Australian Constitution adopted in 1901, with the duties of the monarch performed by a Governor General selected by the Australian Government. Australian republicanism which had been a feature of the 1890s faded away during the First World War. Support for the Monarchy in Australia
peaked during the Menzies years with the wildly successful 1954 tour by Queen Elizabeth II
. Prince Charles attended school in Australia during the 1960s. The issue of a republic did not arise again until the 1970s. In the 1990s it was bought to the forefront of national debate by Prime Minister Paul Keating
, who promised in 1993 to introduce an "Australian federal republic" by the centenary of Federation in 2001.
The Howard Government
called a Constitutional Convention
to examine the issue in 1998. Delegates included appointees and elected representatives representing republicans, monarchists and neutral parties. The Convention proposed a republican model and a referendum was called for the approval of the Australian electorate. The referendum
held on 6 November 1999 failed to achieve the support of either a majority of voters or a majority of states. The national vote of the electors in favour of Australia becoming a republic was 45.13%, with 54.87% against.
The Australian Labor Party
advocated for the republic, while the Liberals
permitted members to campaign for either side. Notable campaigners for the republic included all the living former Labor Prime Ministers and former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser
and incumbent Treasurer Peter Costello
. Notable Monarchists included Prime Minister John Howard
, Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court of Australia
, former Labor opposition leader Bill Hayden
and Liberal Aboriginal elder Neville Bonner
. Future leaders of the Liberal Party Malcolm Turnbull
who led the Australian Republican Movement
and Tony Abbott
who supported Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
took opposing views.
Justice Michael Kirby (a monarchist and leading figure in progressive Australian jurisprudence
) ascribed the failure of the republic referendum to ten factors: lack of bi-partisanship; undue haste; a perception that the republic was supported by big city elites; a "denigration" of monarchists as "unpatriotic" by republicans; the adoption of an inflexible republican model by the Convention; concerns about the specific model proposed (chiefly the ease with which a Prime Minister could dismiss a president); a republican strategy of using big "names" attached to the Whitlam era
to promote their cause; strong opposition to the proposal in the smaller states; a counter-productive pro-republican bias in the media; and an instinctive caution among the Australian electorate regarding Constitutional change.
Some republicans blamed the conservative and monarchist Prime Minister John Howard
(elected in 1996), whose leadership certainly did not aid the republican cause. But there were other significant factors, including a split between "minimalist" republicans who wanted an Australian president to be chosen by the federal Parliament (as happens in, for example, Germany), and more "radical" republicans who wanted a directly elected President, as in the Irish Republic. Public opinion suggested that a republic would only be acceptable if a president was directly elected. Since the referendum proposal was for an indirectly elected president, many radicals opposed it.
The Gillard Labor Government
which took power in a hung parliament
following the 2010 Australian Election has indicated an intention not to revisit the issue of a vote for an Australian republic during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, while the Opposition Liberal-National Coalition is led by Tony Abbott
, a supporter of the constitutional monarchy. Cultural interest in the Royal Family endures, with 7 million Australians (one third of the population) tuning in to watch the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
in April 2011.
In 2011, Australian public support for a republic fell to its lowest level since March 1994. Support for a republic outright was 41%, with support rising to 48 per cent of respondents in a scenario with Charles on the throne and his wife, Camilla, as princess consort.
missions. RAAF helicopters operated in the Sinai; and Australian forces assisted in a British Commonwealth operation when Zimbabwe won its independence; as well as a similar operation in Namibia.
Bob Hawke
was Prime Minister at the time of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and end of the Cold War
which ushered in a new era of international relations. Royal Australian Navy
warships were deployed to the Gulf War
by the Hawke Government in 1991 and remained in the region to enforce UN-imposed sanctions against Iraq.
was active in the search for a settlement to ongoing troubles in Cambodia
in the aftermath of the genocidal 1970s Pol Pot
regime. Australia contributed the force commander and the operation's communications component to the UN operation. In the ultimately unsuccessful Somalia intervention, a battalion-level Australian contingent was employed to aid in the delivery of humanitarian aid in the Baidoa area. In 1994, Australia deployed medical staff to the UN force in Rwanda sent to deal with the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide
. A UN Peacekeeping engagement in Bougainville began in 1997, to aid in resolving the long-running conflict between the Papua New Guinea government Bougainville separatists.
There have been a number of other peacekeeping and stabilisation operations: notably in Bougainville, including Operation Bel Isi (1998–2003); as well as Operation Helpem Fren and the Australian led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) in the early 2000s; and the 2006 East Timorese crisis
in 1999. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed the former Portuguese colony. Successive Australian governments, concerned to maintain good relations with Indonesia, had accepted Indonesia control of the territory, however the fall of Indonesian President Suharto and a shift in Australian policy by the Howard Government
in 1998 precipitated a proposal for a referendum on the question of independence. New Indonesian President B. J. Habibie was prepared to consider a change of status for East Timor. In late 1998, Australian Prime Minister John Howard
with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
drafted a letter Indonesia setting out a major change in Australian policy, suggesting that the East Timor be given a chance to vote on independence within a decade. The letter upset President BJ Habibie, who saw it as implying Indonesia was a "colonial power" and he decided in response to announce a snap referendum. A UN sponsored
referendum held in August 1999 showed overwhelming approval for independence. After the result was announced, violent clashes, instigated by a suspected anti-independence militia, sparked a humanitarian and security crisis in the region.
John Howard
consulted UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
and lobbied U. S. President Bill Clinton
to support an Australian led peace keeper force to end the violence. Australia, who contributed 5,500 personnel and the force commander, Major General Peter Cosgrove
, to the UN-backed International Force for East Timor and began deploying on 20 September 1999 and successfully restored order. The operation had been politically and militarily tense. Australia re-deployed frontline combat aircraft northward and detected an Indonesian submarine within the vicinity of Dili Harbour as INTERFET forces approached. While the intervention was ultimately successful, Australian-Indonesian relations would take several years to recover.
, declared a fatwa
calling for the killing of "Americans and their allies -- civilians and military... in any country in which it is possible to do it" in order to bring to an end the ongoing enforcement of the blockade against Iraq
and presence of US troops in the Arabian Peninsula, thus bringing Australians into the line of fire in what would latterly grow to be defined as the War on Terror
. Following the 11 September terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda in 2001, Australia invoked the ANZUS Treaty and offered support to the United States. In the aftermath of this event, the Howard Government
committed troops to the Afghanistan War
(with bi-partisan support) and the Iraq War (meeting with the disapproval of other political parties). SAS troops formed the most high-profile part of Operation Slipper
, Australia's contribution to the invading force in the 2001 United States war in Afghanistan
. A small number of Australians, including David Hicks
, were captured in and around the Afghan Theatre having spent time training or fighting with Al Qaeda aligned Islamist paramilitaries. Islamists following the Al Qaeda modus operandi
bombed a nightclub in Bali in 2002 and killed 88 Australian civilians. The following year, the Iraq War was launched by a U.S.-British led Coalition to overthrow the Saddam Hussein
government of Iraq for its non-compliance with the 1991 Gulf War Peace Treaty
. Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
lasted until 2009 and was highly controversial. Following the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden
at the hands of US forces in May 2011, Prime Minister Julia Gillard
announced that Australian forces would remain in Afghanistan and said that Bin Laden's death offered a "small measure of justice" to the families of the 105 Australians who been killed in Al Qaeda attacks in New York, Bali, London and Mumbai since the commencement of the conflict. As of May 2011, a further 24 Australian military personnel had been killed while serving in the Afghanistan conflict (including one with the British Armed Forces).
John Howard
served as Prime Minister
from 1996 until 2007, the second-longest prime ministerial term after Robert Menzies
. One of the first programs instigated by the Howard government
was a nationwide gun control scheme, following a mass shooting at Port Arthur. The government sought to reduce Australia's government deficit and introduced industrial relations reforms, particularly as regards efficiency on the waterfront. After the 1996 election, Howard and treasurer Peter Costello
proposed a Goods and Services Tax
(GST) which they successfully took to the electorate in 1998. In 1999, Australia led a United Nations force into East Timor to help establish democracy and independence for that nation, following political violence.
The government also accelerated the pace of privatisation, beginning with the government-owned telecommunications corporation, Telstra
. Howard's government continued some elements of the foreign policy of its predecessors, based on relations with four key countries: the United States, Japan, China, and Indonesia
. The Howard administration strongly supported US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.
Australia hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics
in Sydney to great international acclaim. The Opening Ceremony
featured a host of iconic Australian imagery and history and the flame ceremony honoured women athletes, including swimmer Dawn Fraser
, with Aboriginal runner Cathy Freeman
lit the Olympic Flame
. At the Closing Ceremony, President of the International Olympic Committee
, Juan Antonio Samaranch
, declared:
Sydney played host to other important world events over the decade including the 2003 Rugby World Cup
, the APEC Leaders conference of 2007
and Catholic World Youth Day 2008
. Melbourne hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games
.
In 2001, Australia celebrated its Centenary of Federation
, with a program of events, including the creation of the Centenary Medal
to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government.
The Howard government expanded immigration overall but instituted often controversial tough immigration laws to discourage unauthorised arrivals of boat people. While Howard was a strong supporter of traditional links to the Commonwealth
and to the United States alliance
, trade with Asia, particularly China, continued to increase dramatically, and Australia endured an extended period of prosperity. Howard's term in office coincided with the 2001 11 September attacks. In the aftermath of this event, the government committed troops to the Afghanistan War
(with bi-partisan support) and the Iraq War (meeting with the disapproval of other political parties).
Southern Australia was affected by a very severe drought
, through much of the first decade of the 21st century. By late 2006 water storage throughout southern Australia were at record low levels. Severe restrictions on urban water usage were put in place in every state capital city (except Hobart and Darwin) in 2005-06, and irrigation in the Murray-Darling Basin
was heavily curtailed. Consequently, issues relating to fresh water supply became an important topic for political discussion, though the economic impact of the drought was felt most keenly only in Australia's sparsely populated agricultural areas.
Howard lost his substantial majority at the 1998 Federal election, improved on it at the 2001 Federal election and at the 2004 election against Labor's Mark Latham
. The government however resoundingly lost the 2007 Federal election to the Labor Party
led by Kevin Rudd
with a wave of support for change and a slogan for "new leadership" for the country.
Kevin Rudd
held the office until June 2010, when he was replaced following internal Labor Party coup by his colleague and deputy Julia Gillard
. Rudd used his term in office to symbolically ratify the Kyoto Protocol
and lead an historic parliamentary apology to the Stolen Generation
(those Indigenous Australians
who had been removed from their parents by the state during the early 20th century to the 1960s). The mandarin Chinese speaking former diplomat also pursued energetic foreign policy and initially sought to instigate a price on carbon in the Australian economy to combat Global Warming
. His prime ministership coincided with the initial phases of the Financial crisis of 2007–2010, to which his government responded through a large package of economic stimulus - the management of which later proved to be controversial.
The Black Saturday bushfires struck Victoria
on and around Saturday 7 February 2009. The fires occurred during extreme bushfire-weather conditions, and resulted in Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire; 173 people died and 414 were injured as a result of the fires.
Amidst increasing controversy on management of stimulus spending over policy directions on taxation, immigration and climate change, the Labor Party replaced Rudd with Julia Gillard
, who became the first woman Prime Minister of Australia and narrowly retained office against the Liberal-National Coalition led by Tony Abbott
, at the 2010 Federal election by securing the support of independent members of the first hung parliament
in Australia since the 1940 election
.
The drought was broken difinitively by severe flooding associated with the la niña weather effect
in the summer of 2010-2011. Queensland in particular suffered dramatic flooding
which swept through parts of the capital city of Brisbane and caused some deaths and serious financial loss. Soon after tropicla cyclone Yasi
struck the already belaguered coast.
Following two and half decades of economic reform and amidst booming trade with Asia, Australia - in stark contrast to most other Western nations - avoided recession following the 2008 collapse of financial markets and Global Economic Crisis. Following the 2010 election, the Gillard Government
entered an alliance with the Australian Greens
and was destabilized by breaking an election promise not to introduce a carbon tax, by leadership rivalry and by lacking the numbers to push some controversial legislation through the Parliament. Nevertheless, the cross-bench alliance continued to operate and though facing declining poll support and firm opposition from the Liberal-National Coalition, in October the government successfully passed its Clean Energy Bill, 2011
aimed to restructure the Australian economy in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with Climate Change
by increasing costs to industry for carbon emissions.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in political, social and cultural terms and towards engagement with the United States and Asia.
End of the 1940s
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
was formed, with Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
as its founding leader. The party would come to dominate the early decades of the post war period. Outlining his vision for a new political movement in 1944, Menzies said:
In April 1945, Prime Minister John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
despatched an Australian delegation which included attorney-general and minister for external affairs H V Evatt to discuss formation of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. Australia played a significant mediatory role in these early years of the United Nations, successfully lobbying for an increased role for smaller and middle-ranking nations and a stronger commitment to employment rights into the U.N. Charter. Evatt was elected president of the third session of the United Nations General Assembly (September 1948 to May 1949).
When Labor Prime Minister John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
died in July 1945, Frank Forde
Frank Forde
Francis Michael Forde PC was an Australian politician and the 15th Prime Minister of Australia. He was the shortest serving Prime Minister in Australia's history, being in office for only eight days.-Early life:...
served as Prime Minister from 6–13 July, before the party elected Ben Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
as Curtin's successor. Chifley, a former railway engine driver, won the 1946 election. His government
Chifley Government
The Chifley Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Ben Chifley. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1945 to 1949.-Background:...
introduced national projects, including the Snowy Mountains Scheme
Snowy Mountains Scheme
The Snowy Mountains scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. It consists of sixteen major dams; seven power stations; a pumping station; and 225 kilometres of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts and was constructed between 1949 and 1974. The Chief engineer was Sir...
and an assisted immigration program and pursued centralist economic policies - making the Commonwealth the collector of income tax, and seeking to nationalise the private banks. At the conference of the New South Wales Labor Party in June 1949, Chifely sought to define the labour movement as having:
With an increasingly uncertain economic outlook, after his attempt to nationalise the banks and a strike by the Communist-dominated Miners Federation, Chifley lost office at the 1949 federal election to Menzies newly established Liberal Party, in coalition with the Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
.
Immigration and the Post War Boom
After World War IIMilitary history of Australia during World War II
Australia entered World War II shortly after the invasion of Poland, declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939. By the end of the war, almost a million Australians had served in the armed forces, whose military units fought primarily in the European theatre, North African campaign, and...
, Australia launched a massive immigration program
Post war migrant arrivals, australia
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Ben Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949, established the Federal Department of Immigration and thereby launched a large scale immigration program...
, believing that having narrowly avoided a Japanese invasion, Australia must "populate or perish." As Prime Minister Ben Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
would later declare, "a powerful enemy looked hungrily toward Australia. In tomorrow's gun flash that threat could come again. We must populate Australia as rapidly as we can before someone else decides to populate it for us." Hundreds of thousands of displaced Europeans, including for the first time large numbers of Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, migrated to Australia. More than two million people immigrated to Australia from Europe during the 20 years after the end of the war
Post war migrant arrivals, australia
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Ben Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949, established the Federal Department of Immigration and thereby launched a large scale immigration program...
.
From the outset, it was intended that the bulk of these immigrants should be mainly from the British Isles, and that the post-war immigration scheme would preserve the British character of Australian society. Although Great Britain remained the predominant source of immigrants, the pool of source countries was expanded to include Continental Europe
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
an countries in order to meet Australia's ambitious immigration targets. From the late 1940s onwards, Australia received significant waves of people from countries such as Greece, Italy, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, Germany, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and the Netherlands. Australia actively sought these immigrants, with the government assisting many of them and they found work due to an expanding economy and major infrastructure projects.
The Australian economy stood in sharp contrast to war-ravaged Europe, and newly arrived migrants found employment in a booming manufacturing industry and government assisted programs such as the Snowy Mountains Scheme
Snowy Mountains Scheme
The Snowy Mountains scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. It consists of sixteen major dams; seven power stations; a pumping station; and 225 kilometres of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts and was constructed between 1949 and 1974. The Chief engineer was Sir...
. This hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
and irrigation
Irrigation in Australia
Irrigation in Australia is a widespread practice to supplement low rainfall levels in Australia with water from other sources to assist in the production of crops or pasture. As the driest inhabited continent, irrigation is required in many areas for production of crops for domestic and export use...
complex in south-east Australia consisted of sixteen major dams and seven power stations constructed between 1949 and 1974. It remains the largest engineering project undertaken in Australia. Necessitating the employment of 100,000 people from over 30 countries
Post war migrant arrivals, australia
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Ben Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949, established the Federal Department of Immigration and thereby launched a large scale immigration program...
, to many it denotes the birth of multicultural Australia.
In 1949 the 1941–1949 Labor government (led by Ben Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
after John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
's death in 1945) was defeated by a
Australian federal election, 1949
Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced...
Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
-National Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
Coalition government headed by Menzies. Politically, Menzies Government and the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
dominated much of the immediate post war era, defeating the Chifley Government
Chifley Government
The Chifley Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Ben Chifley. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1945 to 1949.-Background:...
in 1949, in part over a Labor proposal to nationalise banks and following a crippling coal strike influenced by the Australian Communist Party. Menzies became the country's longest-serving Prime Minister and the Liberal party, in coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
with the rural based Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
, won every federal until 1972.
As in the United States in the early 1950s, allegations of communist influence in society saw tensions emerge in politics. Refugees from Soviet dominated Eastern Europe immigrated to Australia, while to Australia's north, Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
won the Chinese civil war
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
in 1949 and in June 1950, Communist North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
invaded South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. The Menzies government responded to a United States led United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
request for military aid for South Korea and diverted forces from occupied Japan
Occupied Japan
At the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States with contributions also from Australia, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This foreign presence marked the first time in its history that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power...
to begin Australia's involvement in the Korean War
Military history of Australia during the Korean War
The military history of Australia during the Korean War was very eventful. Japan's defeat in World War II heralded the end to 35 years of Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula...
. After fighting to a bitter standstill, the UN and North Korean signed a ceasefire agreement in July 1953. Australian forces had participated in such major battles as Kapyong
Battle of Kapyong
The Battle of Kapyong , also known as the Battle of Jiaping , was fought during the Korean War between United Nations forces—primarily Australian and Canadian—and the Chinese communist People's Volunteer Army...
and Maryang San. 17,000 Australians had served and casualties amounted to more than 1,500, of whom 339 were killed.
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, the Menzies Government attempted to ban the Communist Party of Australia
Communist Party of Australia
The Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991; it was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Australia, which then renamed itself, becoming the current Communist Party of Australia. The CPA achieved its greatest political strength in the 1940s and faced an attempted...
, first by legislation in 1950 and later by referendum, in 1951. While both attempts were unsuccessful, further international events such as the defection
Petrov Affair
The Petrov Affair was a dramatic Cold War spy incident in Australia in April 1954, concerning Vladimir Petrov, Third Secretary of the Soviet embassy in Canberra.- History :...
of minor Soviet Embassy official Vladimir Petrov
Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov (diplomat)
Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov was a member of the Soviet Union's clandestine services who became famous in 1954 for his defection to Australia.-Early life:...
, added to a sense of impending threat that politically favoured Menzies’ Liberal-CP government, as the Labor Party pushed centralist economics and split over concerns about the influence of the Communist Party over the Trade Union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
movement, resulting in the a bitter split in 1955
Australian Labor Party split of 1955
The Australian Labor Party split of 1955 was a splintering of the Australian Labor Party along sectarian and ideological lines in the mid 1950s...
and the emergence of the breakaway Democratic Labor Party
Democratic Labor Party (historical)
The Democratic Labor Party was an Australian political party that existed from 1955 until 1978.-History:The DLP was formed as a result of a split in the Australian Labor Party that began in 1954. The split was between the party's national leadership, under the then party leader Dr H.V...
(DLP). The DLP remained an influential political force, often holding the balance of power in the Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
, until 1974. Its preferences supported the Liberal and Country Party. The Labor party was led by H.V. Evatt after Chifley’s death in 1951. Evatt retired in 1960, and Arthur Calwell
Arthur Calwell
Arthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
succeeded him as leader, with a young Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
as his deputy.
Menzies presided over a period of sustained economic boom and the beginnings of sweeping social change - with the arrivals of rock and roll music
Australian rock
Australian rock, sometimes called OZ Rock is used to describe the various rock and many pop bands and solo artists from Australia. Australia has a rich history of rock music and an appreciation of the roots of various rock genres, usually originating in the United States but also Britain, Ireland,...
and television in the 1950s. In 1956, Television in Australia began broadcasting, Melbourne hosted the Olympics and, for the first time, performing artist Barry Humphries
Barry Humphries
John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE is an Australian comedian, satirist, dadaist, artist, author and character actor, best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife and "gigastar", and Sir Les Patterson, Australia's foul-mouthed cultural attaché to the...
performed the character of Edna Everage as a parody of a house-proud housewife of staid 1950's Melbourne suburbia (the character only later morphed into a critique of self-obsessed celebrity culture). It was the first of many of his satirical stage and screen creations based around quirky Australian characters.
In 1958, Australian country music
Australian country music
Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass, to yodelling to folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English folk music, by the traditions of Australian bush balladeers, as well as by popular American...
singer Slim Dusty
Slim Dusty
David Gordon "Slim Dusty " Kirkpatrick AO, MBE was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and producer, with a career spanning nearly eight decades. He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australian poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson that represented the Australian Bush...
, who would become the musical embodiment of rural Australia, had Australia's first international music chart hit with his bush ballad
Bush ballad
Bush songs or bush ballads are a folk music and poetry tradition in Australia's outback. The rhyming songs, poems and tales often relate to the itinerant and rebellious spirit of Australia, a young country. The lyrical tradition of bush songs was born of settlers and influenced by Aboriginal...
Pub With No Beer
Pub with No Beer
A Pub With No Beer is the title of a humorous country song made famous by country singers Slim Dusty and Bobbejaan Schoepen ....
, while rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
er Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...
's Wild One
Wild One (Johnny O'Keefe song)
"Wild One" or "Real Wild Child" is an Australian rock and roll song written by Johnny Greenan, Johnny O'Keefe, and Dave Owens. Sydney disc jockey Tony Withers was credited with helping to get radio airplay for the song but writer credits on subsequent versions often omit Withers, who later worked...
became the first local recording to reach the national charts, peaking at #20. Before sleeping through the 1960s Australian cinema produced little of its own content in the 1950s, but British and Hollywood studios produced a string of successful epics from Australian literature
Australian literature
Australian literature is the written or literary work produced in the area or by the people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding colonies. During its early western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies, therefore, its literary tradition begins with and is linked to...
, featuring home grown stars Chips Rafferty
Chips Rafferty
Chips Rafferty MBE was an iconic Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the 1940s until his death in 1971, and during this time he performed regularly in major Australian feature films as well as appearing in British and American...
and Peter Finch
Peter Finch
Peter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
.
Menzies remained a stanuch supporter of links to the monarchy
Monarchy in Australia
The Monarchy of Australia is a form of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of Australia. The monarchy is a constitutional one modelled on the Westminster style of parliamentary government, incorporating features unique to the Constitution of Australia.The present monarch is...
and British Commonwealth and formalised an alliance with the United States
ANZUS
The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty is the military alliance which binds Australia and New Zealand and, separately, Australia and the United States to cooperate on defence matters in the Pacific Ocean area, though today the treaty is understood to relate to attacks...
, but also launched post-war trade with Japan, beginning a growth of Australian exports of coal, iron ore and mineral resources that would steadily climb until Japan became Australia's largest trading partner.
In the early 1950s, the Menzies government saw Australia as part of a “triple alliance,” in concert with both the US and traditional ally Britain. At first, “the Australian leadership opted for a consistently pro-British line in diplomacy,” while at the same time looking for opportunities to involve the US in South East Asia. Thus, other than the Korean War, the government also committed military forces to the Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
and hosted British nuclear tests
British nuclear tests at Maralinga
British nuclear tests at Maralinga occurred between 1955 and 1963 at the Maralinga site, part of the Woomera Prohibited Area, in South Australia. A total of seven major nuclear tests were performed, with approximate yields ranging from 1 to 27 kilotons of TNT equivalent...
after 1952. Australia was also the only Commonwealth country to offer support to the British during the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
.
Menzies oversaw an effusive welcome to Queen Elizabeth II on the first visit to Australia by a reigning monarch
Monarchy in Australia
The Monarchy of Australia is a form of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of Australia. The monarchy is a constitutional one modelled on the Westminster style of parliamentary government, incorporating features unique to the Constitution of Australia.The present monarch is...
, in 1954. However, as British influence declined in South East Asia, the US alliance came to have greater significance for Australian leaders and the Australian economy. British investment in Australia remained significant until the late 1970s, but trade with Britain declined through the 1950s and 1960s. In the late 1950s the Australian Army began to re-equip using US military equipment. In 1962, the US established a naval communications station at North West Cape
Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt
Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt is located on the northwest coast of Australia, north of the town of Exmouth, Western Australia. The town of Exmouth was built at the same time as the communications station to provide support to the base and to house dependent families of U.S...
, the first of several built over the next decade. Most significantly, in 1962, Australian Army advisors
Australian Army Training Team Vietnam
The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam was a specialist unit of the Australian Army that operated during the Vietnam War. Raised in 1962, the unit was raised solely for service as part of Australia's contribution to the war in Vietnam, providing training and assistance to South Vietnamese forces...
were sent to help train South Vietnamese forces, in a developing conflict the British had no part in.
The ANZUS
ANZUS
The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty is the military alliance which binds Australia and New Zealand and, separately, Australia and the United States to cooperate on defence matters in the Pacific Ocean area, though today the treaty is understood to relate to attacks...
security treaty, which had been signed in 1951, had its origins in Australia’s and New Zealand’s fears of a rearmed Japan, but found new impetus through anti-communism. Its obligations on the US, Australia and New Zealand are vague, but its influence on Australian foreign policy thinking, at times significant. The SEATO treaty, signed only three years later, clearly demonstrated Australia’s position as a US ally in the emerging cold war. On 26 November 1967, Australia became the seventh nation to put a satellite into Earth orbit, launching WRESAT
WRESAT
WRESAT was the name of the first Australian satellite. It was named after its designer....
from Woomera.
When Menzies retired in 1965, he was replaced as Liberal leader and Prime Minister by Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
.The Holt Government
Holt Government
The Holt Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Harold Holt. It was made up of members of a Liberal Party of Australia-Country Party of Australia coalition in the Australian Parliament from 26 January 1966 – 17 December 1967.- Background :The...
increased Australian commitment to the growing War in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
; oversaw conversion to decimal currency and faced Britain's withdrawal from Asia by visiting and hosting many Asian leaders and by expanding ties to the United States, hosting the first visit to Australia by an American President, his friend Lyndon Johnson. Significantly, Holt's government introduced the Migration Act 1966, which effectively dismantled the vestigial mechanisms of the White Australia Policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
and increased access to non-European migrants, including refugees fleeing the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Holt also called the 1967 Referendum which removed the discriminatory clause in the Australian Constitution which excluded Aboriginal Australians from being counted in the census - the referendum was one of the few to be overwhelmingly endorsed by the Australian electorate (over 90% voted 'yes').
Holt won the 1967 election with the largest parliamentary majority in 65 years, but Holt drowned while swimming at a surf beach in December 1967 and was replaced by John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
(1968–1971). The Gorton Government
Gorton Government
The Gorton Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Gorton. It was made up of members of a Liberal Party of Australia-Country Party of Australia coalition in the Australian Parliament from January 1968 to March 1971.-Background:The Liberal Party...
began winding down Australia's commitment to Vietnam, increased funding for the arts, standardised rates of pay between the men and women and continued moving Australian trade closer to Asia. The Liberals suffered a decline in voter support at the 1969 election
Australian federal election, 1969
Federal elections were held in Australia on 25 October 1969. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Gorton with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the Australian...
and internal party division saw Gorton replaced by William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
(1971–1972) and, facing a reinvigorated Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
led by Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
, the Liberals entered their final stretch in office of a record 23 straight years period.
1960s and 1970s: The "Australian New Wave"
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
began to be active in preserving Australia’s natural, cultural and historic heritage. Australian TV, while always dependent on US and British imports, saw locally made dramas and comedies appear, and programs such as Homicide developed strong local loyalty while Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo is an Australian television series for children created by John McCallum, produced from 1966–1968, telling the adventures of a young boy and his intelligent pet kangaroo, in the Waratah National Park in Duffys Forest, near Sydney, New South Wales.Ninety-one 30-minute...
became a global phenomenon. Liberal Prime Minister John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
, a battle scarred former fighter pilot, described himself as "Australian to the bootheels" and his Gorton Government
Gorton Government
The Gorton Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Gorton. It was made up of members of a Liberal Party of Australia-Country Party of Australia coalition in the Australian Parliament from January 1968 to March 1971.-Background:The Liberal Party...
established the Australian Council for the Arts, the Australian Film Development Corporation and the National Film and Television Training School.
The late 1960s and early 1970s are often associated with a flowering of Australian culture. Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
achieved greater rights, immigration restrictions and censorship laws were swept aside, theatre and opera companies were established across the country, and Australian rock music blossomed. The 1971 Springbok rugby tour
1971 Springbok tour
The 1971 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia was a controversial six-week rugby union tour by the South African national team to Australia. Anti-apartheid protests came to being all around the country. The tour is perhaps most infamous for a state of emergency being declared in Queensland...
was influential in raising awareness of Aboriginal injustice in Australia and also led Australia to become the first Western nation to cut sporting ties with South Africa. In a significant move against South Africa's apartheid regime, many Australians (including Wallabies) demonstrated against tours by the racially selected South African team. The Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
altered the traditionalist ethos of the game of cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
in the 1970s, inventing World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
from which have evolved many aspects of the various modern international forms of the game.
The iconic Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
finally opened in 1973 after numerous delays. In the same year, Patrick White
Patrick White
Patrick Victor Martindale White , an Australian author, is widely regarded as an important English-language novelist of the 20th century. From 1935 until his death, he published 12 novels, two short-story collections and eight plays.White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, shifting narrative...
became the first Australian to win a Nobel Prize for Literature. Australian History had begun to appear on school curriculums by the 1970s and from the early 1970s, the Australian cinema began to produce the Australian New Wave
Australian New Wave
The Australian New Wave was an era of resurgence in worldwide popularity of Australian cinema...
of feature films based on uniquely Australian themes. Film funding began under the Gorton government, but it was the South Australian Film Corporation
South Australian Film Corporation
South Australian Film Corporation is a South Australian Government statutory corporation established in 1972. Former State Premier Don Dunstan played an instrumental role in the foundation of the Corporation and its early film production activities....
that took the lead in supporting filmmaking and among their great successes were quintessential Australian films Sunday Too Far Away
Sunday Too Far Away
Sunday Too Far Away is an Australian feature film which was directed by Ken Hannam and released in 1975. It belongs to the Australian Film Renaissance which occurred during that decade....
(1974) Picnic at Hanging Rock
Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)
Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1975 Australian feature film directed by Peter Weir and starring Anne-Louise Lambert, Helen Morse, Rachel Roberts and Vivean Gray. The film is adapted from the novel of the same name, by author Joan Lindsay....
(1975), Breaker Morant
Breaker Morant (film)
Breaker Morant is a 1980 Australian film about the court martial of Breaker Morant, directed by Bruce Beresford and starring British actor Edward Woodward as Harry "Breaker" Morant...
(1980) and Gallipoli
Gallipoli (1981 film)
Gallipoli is a 1981 Australian film, directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee, about several young men from rural Western Australia who enlist in the Australian Army during the First World War. They are sent to Turkey, where they take part in the Gallipoli Campaign. During the...
(1981). The national funding body, the Australian Film Commission
Australian Film Commission
The Australian Film Commission was an Australian government agency with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a production arm responsible for production and commissioning of films for government...
, was established in 1975.
Significant changes also occurred to Australia’s censorship laws after the new Liberal Minister for Customs and Excise, Don Chipp
Don Chipp
Donald Leslie Chipp, AO was an Australian politician, and the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats.-Early life:...
, was appointed in 1969. In 1968, Barry Humphries and Nicholas Garland’s cartoon book featuring the larrikin character Barry McKenzie
Barry McKenzie
Barry "Bazza" McKenzie is a fictional character originally created by the Australian comedian Barry Humphries for a comic strip, written by Humphries and drawn by New Zealand artist Nicholas Garland, in the British satirical magazine Private Eye.-Background:The Private Eye comic strips were...
was banned. Yet only a few years later, the book had been made as a film, partly with the support of government funding. Anne Pender suggests that the Barry Mckenzie character both celebrated and parodied Australian nationalism. Historian Richard White also argues that “while many of the plays, novels and films produced in the 1970s were intensely critical of aspects of Australian life, they were absorbed by the ‘new nationalism’ and applauded for their Australianness.”
Australia and the Vietnam War
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
in 1962, so beginning Australia's decade long involvemt in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
, the leader of the government in South Vietnam, had requested security assistance from the US and its allies. The Australian government supported the commitment as part of global effort to stem the spread of communism in Europe and Asia.
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
, later became politically contentious and saw massive protests, though they were for the most part peaceful. The United States launched a major escalation of the war in 1965 and the Holt Government
Holt Government
The Holt Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Harold Holt. It was made up of members of a Liberal Party of Australia-Country Party of Australia coalition in the Australian Parliament from 26 January 1966 – 17 December 1967.- Background :The...
which succeeded Menzies, increased Australia's military commitment to the conflict. Holt won a massive majority in the 1967 Election. By 1969 however, anti-war protests were gathering momentum and opposition to conscription was growing, with more people believing the war could not be won. The Gorton Government
Gorton Government
The Gorton Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Gorton. It was made up of members of a Liberal Party of Australia-Country Party of Australia coalition in the Australian Parliament from January 1968 to March 1971.-Background:The Liberal Party...
(returned with a reduced majority at the 1969 Election) ceased to replace Australian personnel from 1970. There were large Moratorium marches in 1970 and 1971 and Australia's troop commitment continued to wind down through 1971 with the last battalion leaving Nui Dat in November. The election of the Whitlam Government
Whitlam Government
The Whitlam Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1972 to 1975.-Background:...
in 1972 brought Australia's small remaining involvement in the war to an official close in June 1973 with the withdrawal of the last platoon guarding the Australian Embassy in Saigon. Australian forces were largely based at Nui Dat
Nui Dat
Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province was the location of a prominent Australian military base in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The site was chosen by Lieutenant General John Wilton in 1966 and was built mainly by men from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment...
, Phuoc Tuy province and participated in such notable battles as the Battle of Long Tan
Battle of Long Tan
The Battle of Long Tân was fought between the Australian Army and Viet Cong forces in a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tân, about north east of Vũng Tàu, South Vietnam...
against the Viet Cong in 1966 and defending against the 1968 Tet Offensive. Almost 60,000 Australians had served in Vietnam and 521 had died as a result of the war. As the war became unpopular, protestors and conscienscious objectors became prominent and soldiers often met a hostile reception on their return home in the later stages of the conflict.
In early 1975 the communists launched a major offensive resulting in the fall of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
on 30 April. The Royal Australian Airforce assisted in final humanitarian evacuations. In the aftermath of the communist victory, Australia assisted in re-settlement of Vietnamese refugees, with thousands making their way to Australian through the 1970s and 1980s.
Papua New Guinea and Nauru Independence
Australia had administered Papua New Guinea and Nauru for much of the 20th century. British New Guinea (Papua) had passed to Australia in 1906. German New GuineaGerman New Guinea
German New Guinea was the first part of the German colonial empire. It was a protectorate from 1884 until 1914 when it fell to Australia following the outbreak of the First World War. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups...
was captured by Australia during the First World War, becoming a League of Nations Mandate
League of Nations mandate
A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administering the territory on behalf of the League...
after the war. Following the bitter New Guinea Campaign
New Guinea campaign
The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II.Before the war, the island of New Guinea was split between:...
of World War II which saw occupation of half the island by Imperial Japan, the Territory of Papua and New Guinea
Territory of Papua and New Guinea
The Territory of Papua and New Guinea was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New Guinea in 1949...
was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered Territory of Papua and Territory of New Guinea
Territory of New Guinea
The Territory of New Guinea was the Australia-controlled, League of Nations-mandated territory in the north eastern part of the island of New Guinea, and surrounding islands, between 1920 and 1949...
in 1949. Under Liberal Minister for External Territories Andrew Peacock
Andrew Peacock
Andrew Sharp Peacock AC, GCL , is a former Australian Liberal politician. He was a minister in the Gorton, McMahon and Fraser governments, and was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia 1983–1985 and 1989–1990...
, Papua and New Guinea adopted self-government in 1972 and on 15 September 1975, during the term of the Whitlam Government
Whitlam Government
The Whitlam Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1972 to 1975.-Background:...
in Australia, the Territory became the independent nation of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
.
Australia had captured the island of Nauru
Nauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
from the German Empire in 1914. After Japanese occupation during World War II, it became a UN Trust Territory under Australia and remained so until achieving independence in 1968. In 1989 Nauru sued Australia in the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
in The Hague for damages caused by mining. Australia settled the case out of court agreeing to a lump sum settlement of A$107 million and an annual stipend of the equivalent of A$2.5 million toward environmental rehabilitation.
Whitlam, Fraser and constitutional crisis
Elected in December 1972 after 23 years in opposition, LaborAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
won office under Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
and introduced a significant program of social change and reform. Whitlam said before the election: “our program has three great aims. They are – to promote equality; to involve the people of Australia in … decision making…; and to liberate the talents and uplift the horizons of the Australian people.”
Whitlam’s actions were immediate and dramatic. Within a few weeks the last military advisors in Vietnam were recalled, and national service ended. The People’s Republic of China was recognised (Whitlam had visited China while Opposition Leader in 1971) and the embassy in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
closed. Over the next few years, university fees were abolished and a national health care scheme established. Significant changes were made to school funding, something Whitlam regarded as “the most enduring single achievement” of his government. Divorce and family law was liberalised.
Whitlam's radical and imperious style eventually alienated many voters, and some of the state governments were openly hostile to his government. As it did not control the senate, much of its legislation was rejected or amended. The Queensland Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
government of Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
had particularly bad relations with the Federal government. Even after it was re-elected at elections in May 1974
Australian federal election, 1974
Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution...
, the Senate remained an obstacle to its political agenda. At the only joint sitting of parliament, in August 1974, six keys pieces of legislation were passed.
In 1974, Whitlam selected John Kerr, a former member of the Labor Party and presiding Chief Justice of New South Wales
Chief Justice of New South Wales
The Chief Justice of New South Wales is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of New South Wales. The Chief Justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court as well as the administrative head...
to serve as Governor General. The Whitlam Government was re-elected with a decreased majority in the lower house in the 1974 Election
Australian federal election, 1974
Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution...
. In 1974–75 the government thought about borrowing US$4 billion in foreign loans. Minister Rex Connor
Rex Connor
Reginald Francis Xavier "Rex" Connor , Australian politician, was a minister in the Whitlam government and promoted government investment to support national development...
conducted secret discussions with a loan broker from Pakistan, and the Treasurer, Jim Cairns
Jim Cairns
James Ford "J. F." Cairns , Australian politician, was prominent in the Labor movement through the 1960s and 1970s, and was briefly Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam government...
, misled parliament over the issue. Arguing the government was incompetent following the Loans Affair
Loans Affair
The Loans Affair, also called the Khemlani Affair, is the name given to the political scandal involving the Whitlam Government of Australia in 1975, in which it was accused of attempting to borrow money illegally from Middle Eastern countries by bypassing standard procedure as dictated by the...
, the opposition Liberal-Country Party Coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
delayed passage of the government’s money bills in the Senate, until the government would promise a new election. Whitlam refused, Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
, leader of the Opposition insisted. The deadlock came to an end when the Whitlam government was dismissed by the Governor General, John Kerr on 11 November 1975 and Fraser was installed as caretaker Prime Minister, pending an election. The "reserve powers" granted to the Governor General
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
by the Australian Constitution, had allowed an elected government to be dismissed without warning by a representative of the Monarch.
At elections held in late 1975, Malcolm Fraser and the Coalition were elected in a landslide victory.
The Fraser Government
Fraser Government
The Fraser Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. It was made up of members of a Liberal Party of Australia-Country Party of Australia coalition in the Australian Parliament from November 1975 to March 1983...
won two subsequent elections. Fraser maintained some of the social reforms of the Whitlam era, while seeking increased fiscal restraint. His government included the first Aboriginal federal parliamentarian, Neville Bonner
Neville Bonner
Neville Thomas Bonner AO was an Australian politician, and the first indigenous Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia...
, and in in 1976, Parliament passed the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976
Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976
In Australian history, the Aboriginal Land Rights Act established the basis upon which Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory could claim rights to land based on traditional occupation. The Act was strongly based on the recommendations of Justice Woodward, who chaired the Aboriginal Land...
, which, while limited to the Northern Territory, affirmed "inalienable" freehold title to some traditional lands. Fraser established the multicultural broadcaster SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
, welcomed Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
boat people refugees, opposed minority white rule in Apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
and opposed Soviet expansionism. A significant program of economic reform however was not pursued and, by 1983, the Australian economy was in recession, amidst the effects of a severe drought. Fraser had promoted "states’ rights" and his government refused to use Commonwealth powers to stop the construction of the Franklin Dam
Franklin Dam
The Franklin Dam or Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of most significant environmental campaigns in Australian history.The dam was...
in Tasmania in 1982. A Liberal minister, Don Chipp
Don Chipp
Donald Leslie Chipp, AO was an Australian politician, and the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats.-Early life:...
had split off from the party to form a new social liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
party, the Australian Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
in 1977 and the Franklin Dam proposal contributed to the emergence of an influential Environmental movement in Australia
Environmental Movement in Australia
Beginning as a conservation movement, the environmental movement in Australia was the first in the world to become a political movement and Australia was home to the world's first Green Party....
, with branches including the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
, a political party which later emerged out of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
to pursue environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
as well as left-wing social and economic policies.
1980s and 1990s
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
, a less polarising Labor leader than Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
, defeated Fraser at the 1983 Election
Australian federal election, 1983
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election, following a double dissolution...
. The new government stopped the Franklin Dam project via the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
. The 1980s saw severe concerns about Australia's future economic health take hold, with severe current account deficits and high unemployment at times. Hawke, together with treasurer Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
undertook micro-economic and industrial relations reform designed to increase efficiency and competitiveness. After the initial failure of the Whitlam model and partial dismantling under Fraser, Hawke re-established a new, universal system of health insurance called Medicare
Medicare (Australia)
Medicare is Australia's publicly funded universal health care system, operated by the government authority Medicare Australia. Medicare is intended to provide affordable treatment by doctors and in public hospitals for all resident citizens and permanent residents except for those on Norfolk Island...
. Hawke and Keating abandoned traditional Labor support for tariffs to protect industry and jobs. They moved to deregulate Australia’s financial system and ‘floated’ the Australian dollar
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
. An agreement was reached with trade unions to moderate wage demands and accept more flexible working condition arrangements by accepting tax cuts in return. Ultimately, many of the reforms, continued by successive governments, appear to have been successful in pushing the economy along.
The Australian Bicentenary
Australian Bicentenary
The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1970 on the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook landing and claiming the land, and again in 1988 to celebrate 200 years of permanent European settlement.-1970:...
was celebrated in 1988 along with the opening of a new Parliament House
Parliament House, Canberra
Parliament House is the meeting facility of the Parliament of Australia located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The building was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects and opened on 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia...
in Canberra. The following year the Australian Capital Territory achieved self government and Jervis Bay became a separate territory administered by the Minister for Territories.
A supporter of the US alliance
ANZUS
The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty is the military alliance which binds Australia and New Zealand and, separately, Australia and the United States to cooperate on defence matters in the Pacific Ocean area, though today the treaty is understood to relate to attacks...
, Hawke committed Australian naval forces to the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. After four successful elections, but amid a deterioring Australian economy and rising unemployment, the intense rivalry between Hawke and Keating led the Labor Party to replace Hawke as leader and Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
became Prime Minister in 1991.
Unemployment reached 11.4% in 1992 - the highest since the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. The Liberal-National Opposition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
had proposed an ambitious plan of economic reform
Fightback!
Fightback! was a radical economic policy package, 650 pages long, proposed by then Liberal Party leader John Hewson.-Key elements:The key elements of Fightback! were:...
to take to the 1993 Election, including the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax
Goods and Services Tax (Australia)
The GST is a broad sales tax of 10% on most goods and services transactions in Australia. It is a value added tax, not a sales tax, in that it is refunded to all parties in the chain of production other than the final consumer....
. Keating shuffled treasurers and campaigned strongly against the tax and won the 1993 Election. During his time in office, Keating emphasised links to the Asia Pacific region, co-operating closely with the Indonesian President, Suharto, and campaigned to increase the role of APEC as a major forum for economic co-operation. Keating was active in indigenous affairs and the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
's historic Mabo decision in 1992 required a legislative response to recognition of Indigenous title to land, culminating in the Native Title Act 1993
Native Title Act 1993
The Native Title Act of 1993 provides for determinations of native title in Australia. The Act was passed by the Keating Labor Government in response to the High Court's decision in Mabo v Queensland...
and the Land Fund Act 1994. In 1993, Keating established a Republic Advisory Committee, to examine options for Australia becoming a republic. With foreign debt, interest rates and unemployment still high, and after a series of ministerial resignations, Keating lost the 1996 Election to the Liberals' John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
.
Indigenous Australia
Campaigns for indigenous rights in Australia have a long history. In the modern era, 1938 was an important year. With the participation of leading indigenous activists like Douglas NichollsDouglas Nicholls
Sir Douglas Ralph "Doug" Nicholls KCVO, OBE, was a prominent Aboriginal Australian from the Yorta Yorta people. He was a professional athlete, Churches of Christ pastor and church planter, ceremonial officer and a pioneering campaigner for reconciliation.Nicholls was the first Aboriginal person to...
, the Australian Aborigines Advancement League organised a protest "Day of Mourning" to mark the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
of British in Australia and launched its campaign for full citizenship rights for all Aborigines. In the 1940s, the conditions of life for Aborigines could be very poor. A permit system restricted movement and work opportunities for many Aboriginal people. In the 1950s, the government pursued a policy of "assimilation" which sought to achieve full citizenship rights for Aborigines but also wanted them to adopt the mode of life of other Australians (which very often was assumed to require suppression of cultural identity).
From the 1950s onwards, Australians began to rethink their attitudes towards racial issues. An Aboriginal rights movement was founded and supported by many liberal white Australians and a campaign against the White Australia policy was also launched. The 1967 referendum
Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals)
The referendum of 27 May 1967 approved two amendments to the Australian constitution relating to Indigenous Australians. Technically it was a vote on the Constitution Alteration 1967, which became law on 10 August 1967 following the results of the referendum...
was held and overwhelmingly approved to amend the Constitution, removing discriminatory references and giving the national parliament the power to legislate specifically for Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
. Contrary to frequently repeated mythology, this referendum did not cover citizenship on Aboriginal people, nor did it give them the vote: they already had both. However, transferring this power away from the State parliaments
Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
The Parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Commonwealth of Australia. Before the formation of the Commonwealth in 1901, the six Australian colonies were self-governing, with parliaments which had come into existence at various...
did bring an end to the system of Indigenous Australian reserves which existed in each state, which allowed Indigenous people to move more freely, and exercise many of their citizenship rights for the first time. From the late 1960s a movement for Indigenous land rights
Indigenous land rights
Indigenous land rights are hangtime the rights of indigenous peoples to land, either individually or collectively. Land and resource-related rights are of fundamental importance to indigenous peoples for a range of reasons, including: the religious significance of the land, self-determination,...
also developed.
Various groups and individuals were active in the pursuit of equality and social justice from the 1960s. In the mid 1960s, one of the earliest Aboriginal graduates from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, Charles Perkins, helped organise freedom rides
Freedom Ride (Australia)
The Freedom Ride of 1964 and 1965 was a significant event in the history of civil rights for Indigenous Australians.Inspired by the Freedom Riders of the American Civil Rights Movement, students from Sydney University formed a group called the Student Action for Aboriginals, led by Charles Perkins...
into parts of Australia to expose discrimination and inequality. In 1966, the Gurindji people of Wave Hill station (owned by the Vestey Group
Vestey Group
The Vestey Group is a privately owned UK group of companies, comprising an international food product business and significant cattle ranching and sugar cane farming interests in Brazil and Venezuela.-Business origins:William...
) commenced strike action led by Vincent Lingiari
Vincent Lingiari
Vincent Lingiarri, AM , was an Aboriginal rights activist who was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to the Aboriginal people. Lingiarri was a member of the Gurindji people. In Vincent's earlier life he worked as a stockman at Wave Hill Cattle Station. He also played...
in a quest for equal pay and recognition of land rights.
Indigenous Australians began to take up representation in Australian parliaments during the 1970s. In 1971 Neville Bonner
Neville Bonner
Neville Thomas Bonner AO was an Australian politician, and the first indigenous Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia...
of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
was appointed by the Queensland Parliament to replace a retiring senator, becoming the first Aborigine in Federal Parliament. Bonner was returned as a Senator at the 1972 election and remained until 1983. Hyacinth Tungutalum
Hyacinth Tungutalum
Hyacinth Gabriel Tungutalum was an Australian politician. He was the Country Liberal Party member for Tiwi in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1974 to 1977. Tungutalum was the first indigenous member of the Legislative Assembly.Tungutalum was a traditional owner on the Tiwi Islands...
of the Country Liberal Party
Country Liberal Party
The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...
in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
and Eric Deeral of the National Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
of Queensland, became the first Indigenous people elected to territory and state legislatures in 1974. In 1976, Sir Douglas Nicholls
Douglas Nicholls
Sir Douglas Ralph "Doug" Nicholls KCVO, OBE, was a prominent Aboriginal Australian from the Yorta Yorta people. He was a professional athlete, Churches of Christ pastor and church planter, ceremonial officer and a pioneering campaigner for reconciliation.Nicholls was the first Aboriginal person to...
was appointed Governor of South Australia, becoming the first Aborigine to hold vice-regal office in Australia. Aiden Ridgway of the Australian Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
served as a senator during the 1990s, but No indigenous person was elected to the House of Representatives, until West Australian Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
Ken Wyatt
Ken Wyatt
Kenneth George Wyatt AM is a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the electoral division of Hasluck in Western Australia for the Liberal Party of Australia...
, in August 2010.
In 1984, a group of
Pintupi Nine
The Pintupi Nine is a group of nine Pintupi people who lived a traditional hunter-gatherer desert-dwelling life in Australia's Gibson Desert until 1984, when they made contact with their relatives near Kiwirrkurra. They are sometimes also referred to as "the lost tribe".They are believed to be the...
Pintupi
Pintupi
Pintupi refers to an Australian Aboriginal group who are part of the Western Desert cultural group and whose homeland is in the area west of Lake MacDonald and Lake Mackay in Western Australia. These people moved into the Aboriginal communities of Papunya and Haasts Bluff in the west of the...
people who were living a traditional hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
desert-dwelling life were tracked down in the Gibson Desert
Gibson Desert
The Gibson Desert covers a large dry area in the state of Western Australia and is still largely in an almost "pristine" state. It is about in size, making it the 5th largest desert in Australia, after the Great Sandy, Great Victoria, Tanami and Simpson deserts.-Location and description:The Gibson...
in Western Australia and brought in to a settlement. They are believed to be the last uncontacted tribe
Uncontacted peoples
Uncontacted people, also referred to as isolated people or lost tribes, are communities who live, or have lived, either by choice or by circumstance, without significant contact with globalized civilisation....
in Australia. In 1985, the Hawke Government returned ownership of Uluru
Uluru
Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
(formerly known as Ayers Rock) to the local Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal people.
In 1992, the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
handed down its decision in the Mabo Case, declaring the previous legal concept of terra nullius to be invalid. That same year, Prime Minister Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
said in his Redfern Park Speech
Redfern Park Speech
The Redfern Park Speech was made on 10 December 1992 by the Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating at Redfern Park in Redfern, New South Wales...
that European settlers were responsible for the difficulties Australian Aboriginal communities continued to face: ‘We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practiced discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice’. In 1999 Parliament passed a Motion of Reconciliation
Motion of Reconciliation
The Motion of Reconciliation was a motion to the Australian Parliament introduced on 26 August 1999. Drafted by Prime Minister John Howard in consulation with Aboriginal Senator Aden Ridgeway , it dedicated the Parliament to the "cause of reconciliation" and recognised historic maltreatment of...
drafted by Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
and Aboriginal Senator Aden Ridgeway
Aden Ridgeway
Aden Derek Ridgeway , Australian politician, was a member of the Australian Senate for New South Wales, from 1999 to 2005, representing the Australian Democrats. During his term he was the only Aboriginal member of the Australian Parliament.-Early history:Ridgeway was born in Macksville, New South...
naming mistreatment of Indigenous Australians as the most "blemished chapter in our national history".
A great many indigenous Australians have been prominent in sport and the arts. Several styles of Aboriginal art have developed in modern times, including the watercolour paintings of Albert Namatjira
Albert Namatjira
Albert Namatjira , born Elea Namatjira, was an Australian artist. He was a Western Arrernte man, an Indigenous Australian of the Western MacDonnell Ranges area...
's Hermannsburg School
Hermannsburg School
The Hermannsburg School is an art movement, or art style, which began at the Hermannsburg Mission in the 1930s. The most well known artist of the style is Albert Namatjira...
, and the acrylic Papunya Tula
Papunya Tula
Papunya Tula, or Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, is an artist cooperative formed in 1972 that is owned and operated by Aboriginal people from the Western Desert of Australia. The group is known for its innovative work with the Western Desert Art Movement, popularly referred to as "dot painting"...
"dot art" movement. The Western Desert Art Movement became a globally renowned 20th century art movement. Oodgeroo Noonuccal
Oodgeroo Noonuccal
Oodgeroo Noonuccal was an Australian poet, political activist, artist and educator. She was also a campaigner for Aboriginal rights...
(1920–1995) was a famous Aboriginal poet, writer and rights activist credited with publishing the first Aboriginal book of verse: We Are Going (1964). Sally Morgan
Sally Morgan (artist)
Sally Jane Morgan is an Australian Aboriginal author, dramatist, and artist. Morgan's works are on display in numerous private and public collections in both Australia and around the world.-Early life:...
's novel My Place
My Place (book)
My Place is an autobiography written by artist Sally Morgan in 1987. It is about Morgan's quest for knowledge of her family's past and the fact that she has grown up under false pretences. The book is a milestone in Aboriginal literature and is one of the earlier works in indigenous writing.-...
was considered a breakthrough memoir in terms of bringing indigenous stories to wider notice. Leading Aboriginal intellectuals Marcia Langton
Marcia Langton
Marcia Lynne Langton is one of Australia's leading Aboriginal scholars. She holds the Foundation Chair in Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia...
(First Australians
First Australians
First Australians is an Australian historical documentary series produced over the course of six years and first aired in October 2008. The documentary is part of a greater project that further consists of a hard-cover book, a community outreach program and a substantial website featuring over 200...
, 2008) and Noel Pearson ("Up From the Mission", 2009) are active contemporary contributors to Australian literature
Australian literature
Australian literature is the written or literary work produced in the area or by the people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding colonies. During its early western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies, therefore, its literary tradition begins with and is linked to...
. 1955's Jedda
Jedda
Jedda was the last movie made by the Australian filmmaker Charles Chauvel. The film is most notable for being the first to star two Aboriginal actors in the leading roles, and also to be the first Australian film shot in colour...
, was the first Australian feature film to star Aboriginal actors in lead roles and the first to be entered at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. 1976's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1972 Booker Prize-nominated novel by Thomas Keneally, and a 1978 Australian film of the same name directed by Fred Schepisi. The novel is based on the life of bushranger Jimmy Governor....
directed by Fred Schepisi was an award winning historical drama from a book by Thomas Keneally
Thomas Keneally
Thomas Michael Keneally, AO is an Australian novelist, playwright and author of non-fiction. He is best known for writing Schindler's Ark, the Booker Prize-winning novel of 1982 which was inspired by the efforts of Poldek Pfefferberg, a Holocaust survivor...
about the tragic story of an Aboriginal Bushranger
Bushranger
Bushrangers, or bush rangers, originally referred to runaway convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities...
. The canon of films related to Indigenous Australians also increased over the period of the 1990s and early 21st Century. In 2006, Rolf de Heer's Ten Canoes
Ten Canoes
Ten Canoes is a 2006 film. It was directed by Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr and starred Crusoe Kurddal. The title of the film arose from discussions between de Heer and David Gulpilil about a photograph of ten canoeists poling across the Arafura Swamp, taken by anthropologist Donald Thomson in...
became the first major feature film to be shot in an indigenous language and the film was recognised at Cannes
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
and elsewhere. In sport Evonne Goolagong Cawley became the world number-one ranked tennis player in 1971 and won 14 Grand Slam titles during her career. In 1973 Arthur Beetson
Arthur Beetson
Arthur Henry "Artie" Beetson, OAM , was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He represented Australia and Queensland from 1964 to 1981. His position was at prop. Beetson became the first Indigenous Australian to captain his country in any sport. and is frequently cited as the best...
became the first Indigenous Australian to captain his country in any sport when he first led the Australian National Rugby League team, the Kangaroos. In 1982, Mark Ella
Mark Ella
Mark Gordon Ella is an Indigenous Australian former rugby union player, often considered as one of his country's all-time greats in that sport. In a relatively short career , Mark Ella established himself as one of the all-time greats in world rugby union...
became Captain of the Australian National Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
Team, the Wallabies. Olympic gold medalist Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman
Catherine Astrid Salome "Cathy" Freeman, OAM is former Australian sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.Freeman was the first ever Aboriginal...
lit the Olympic flame at the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
2000 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics was described by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch as the most beautiful ceremony the world has ever seen. Held on the evening of Friday 15 September 2000, the Opening Ceremony represented everything Australian, from sea creatures and flora/fauna...
in Sydney.
In the early 21st century, much of indigenous Australia continued to suffer lower standards of health and education than non-indigenous Australia. In 2007, the Close the Gap campaign was launched by Olympic champions Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman
Catherine Astrid Salome "Cathy" Freeman, OAM is former Australian sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.Freeman was the first ever Aboriginal...
and Ian Thorpe
Ian Thorpe
Ian James Thorpe OAM , nicknamed the Thorpedo and Thorpey, is an Australian swimmer who specialises in freestyle, but also competes in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian, and with three gold and two silver medals, was the most...
with the aim of achieving Indigenous health equality within 25 years. In 2007, Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
and Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough
Mal Brough
Malcolm Thomas "Mal" Brough is a former Australian politician and Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 to November 2007, representing the Division of Longman, Queensland...
launched the Northern Territory National Emergency Response
Northern Territory National Emergency Response
The Northern Territory National Emergency Response was a package of changes to welfare provision, law enforcement, land tenure and other measures, introduced by the Australian federal government under John Howard in 2007 to address claims of rampant child sexual abuse and neglect in Northern...
. In response to the Little Children are Sacred
Little Children are Sacred
Little Children are Sacred is the report of a Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse commissioned by the government of the Northern Territory, Australia, was publicly released on 15 June 2007...
Report into allegations of child abuse among indigenous communities in the Territory, the government banned alcohol in prescribed communities in the Northern Territory; quarantined a percentage of welfare payments for essential goods purchasing; despatched additional police and medical personnel to the region; and suspended the permit system for access to indigenous communities.
During much of the twentieth century, Australian governments had removed many aboriginal children from their families. This practice did great damage to the Aboriginal people, culturally and emotionally, giving rise to the term stolen generation
Stolen Generation
The Stolen Generations were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments...
to describe these families. Since the publication in 1997 of a federal government report, Bringing Them Home
Bringing Them Home
Bringing Them Home is the title of the Australian "Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families"...
all state governments have followed the recommendation of the report in issuing formal apologies for their past practices to the Aboriginal people, as have many local governments. The Howard government refused to make such an apology on behalf of the federal government, despite pleas from the Aboriginal people and from many sections of the wider community, saying that it implied intergenerational guilt on modern non-indigenous Australia. However, the new government under Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
led a formal bi-partisan apology on 13 February 2008.
Republicanism
In the early 21st century, Australia remains a constitutional monarchyConstitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
under the Australian Constitution adopted in 1901, with the duties of the monarch performed by a Governor General selected by the Australian Government. Australian republicanism which had been a feature of the 1890s faded away during the First World War. Support for the Monarchy in Australia
Monarchy in Australia
The Monarchy of Australia is a form of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of Australia. The monarchy is a constitutional one modelled on the Westminster style of parliamentary government, incorporating features unique to the Constitution of Australia.The present monarch is...
peaked during the Menzies years with the wildly successful 1954 tour by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. Prince Charles attended school in Australia during the 1960s. The issue of a republic did not arise again until the 1970s. In the 1990s it was bought to the forefront of national debate by Prime Minister Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
, who promised in 1993 to introduce an "Australian federal republic" by the centenary of Federation in 2001.
The Howard Government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
called a Constitutional Convention
Australian Constitutional Convention 1998
The Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 was a Constitutional Convention which gathered at Old Parliament House, Canberra from 2–13 February 1998. It was called by the Howard Government to discuss whether Australia should become a republic...
to examine the issue in 1998. Delegates included appointees and elected representatives representing republicans, monarchists and neutral parties. The Convention proposed a republican model and a referendum was called for the approval of the Australian electorate. The referendum
Australian republic referendum, 1999
The Australian republic referendum held on 6 November 1999 was a two-question referendum to amend the Constitution of Australia. The first question asked whether Australia should become a republic with a President appointed by Parliament following a bi-partisan appointment model which had...
held on 6 November 1999 failed to achieve the support of either a majority of voters or a majority of states. The national vote of the electors in favour of Australia becoming a republic was 45.13%, with 54.87% against.
The Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
advocated for the republic, while the Liberals
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
permitted members to campaign for either side. Notable campaigners for the republic included all the living former Labor Prime Ministers and former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
and incumbent Treasurer Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
. Notable Monarchists included Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
, former Labor opposition leader Bill Hayden
Bill Hayden
William George "Bill" Hayden AC was the 21st Governor-General of Australia. Prior to this, he represented the Australian Labor Party in parliament; he was a minister in the government of Gough Whitlam, and later became Leader of the Opposition, narrowly losing the 1980 federal election to the...
and Liberal Aboriginal elder Neville Bonner
Neville Bonner
Neville Thomas Bonner AO was an Australian politician, and the first indigenous Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia...
. Future leaders of the Liberal Party Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
who led the Australian Republican Movement
Australian Republican Movement
The Australian Republican Movement is a non-partisan lobby group advocating constitutional change in Australia to a republican form of government, from a constitutional monarchy.-Foundation:...
and Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
who supported Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy is a group that aims to preserve Australia's current constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II as Queen of Australia...
took opposing views.
Justice Michael Kirby (a monarchist and leading figure in progressive Australian jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
) ascribed the failure of the republic referendum to ten factors: lack of bi-partisanship; undue haste; a perception that the republic was supported by big city elites; a "denigration" of monarchists as "unpatriotic" by republicans; the adoption of an inflexible republican model by the Convention; concerns about the specific model proposed (chiefly the ease with which a Prime Minister could dismiss a president); a republican strategy of using big "names" attached to the Whitlam era
Whitlam Government
The Whitlam Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1972 to 1975.-Background:...
to promote their cause; strong opposition to the proposal in the smaller states; a counter-productive pro-republican bias in the media; and an instinctive caution among the Australian electorate regarding Constitutional change.
Some republicans blamed the conservative and monarchist Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
(elected in 1996), whose leadership certainly did not aid the republican cause. But there were other significant factors, including a split between "minimalist" republicans who wanted an Australian president to be chosen by the federal Parliament (as happens in, for example, Germany), and more "radical" republicans who wanted a directly elected President, as in the Irish Republic. Public opinion suggested that a republic would only be acceptable if a president was directly elected. Since the referendum proposal was for an indirectly elected president, many radicals opposed it.
The Gillard Labor Government
Gillard Government
The Gillard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia, which is led by the Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard. Julia Gillard became Prime Minister on the 24th of June 2010 after challenging her predecessor, Kevin Rudd for the position of leader of the parliamentary...
which took power in a hung parliament
Hung parliament
In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
following the 2010 Australian Election has indicated an intention not to revisit the issue of a vote for an Australian republic during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, while the Opposition Liberal-National Coalition is led by Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
, a supporter of the constitutional monarchy. Cultural interest in the Royal Family endures, with 7 million Australians (one third of the population) tuning in to watch the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
The wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. Prince William, the eldest son of Charles, Prince of Wales, first met Catherine Middleton in 2001, when both were studying at the University of St Andrews. Their...
in April 2011.
In 2011, Australian public support for a republic fell to its lowest level since March 1994. Support for a republic outright was 41%, with support rising to 48 per cent of respondents in a scenario with Charles on the throne and his wife, Camilla, as princess consort.
Military engagements in the late twentieth century
Following the Vietnam War, Australian military forces were largely kept at home through the rest of the 1970s and 1980s, other than service in United Nations peacekeepingUnited Nations peacekeeping
Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations as "a unique and dynamic instrument developed by the Organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict create the conditions for lasting peace"...
missions. RAAF helicopters operated in the Sinai; and Australian forces assisted in a British Commonwealth operation when Zimbabwe won its independence; as well as a similar operation in Namibia.
Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
was Prime Minister at the time of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
which ushered in a new era of international relations. Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
warships were deployed to the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
by the Hawke Government in 1991 and remained in the region to enforce UN-imposed sanctions against Iraq.
Peacekeeping
Australian forces were very active in UN peacekeeping through the 1990s. In 1993, Foreign Minister Gareth EvansGareth Evans (politician)
Gareth John Evans, AO, QC , is a former Australian politician from 1978 to 1999 representing the Australian Labor Party, serving in a number of ministries including Attorney-General and Foreign Minister from 1983 to 1996 in the Hawke and Keating governments. He was president and chief executive...
was active in the search for a settlement to ongoing troubles in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
in the aftermath of the genocidal 1970s Pol Pot
Pol Pot
Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....
regime. Australia contributed the force commander and the operation's communications component to the UN operation. In the ultimately unsuccessful Somalia intervention, a battalion-level Australian contingent was employed to aid in the delivery of humanitarian aid in the Baidoa area. In 1994, Australia deployed medical staff to the UN force in Rwanda sent to deal with the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
. A UN Peacekeeping engagement in Bougainville began in 1997, to aid in resolving the long-running conflict between the Papua New Guinea government Bougainville separatists.
There have been a number of other peacekeeping and stabilisation operations: notably in Bougainville, including Operation Bel Isi (1998–2003); as well as Operation Helpem Fren and the Australian led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) in the early 2000s; and the 2006 East Timorese crisis
East Timor
Australia led an important international military mission to East TimorEast Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
in 1999. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed the former Portuguese colony. Successive Australian governments, concerned to maintain good relations with Indonesia, had accepted Indonesia control of the territory, however the fall of Indonesian President Suharto and a shift in Australian policy by the Howard Government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
in 1998 precipitated a proposal for a referendum on the question of independence. New Indonesian President B. J. Habibie was prepared to consider a change of status for East Timor. In late 1998, Australian Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
drafted a letter Indonesia setting out a major change in Australian policy, suggesting that the East Timor be given a chance to vote on independence within a decade. The letter upset President BJ Habibie, who saw it as implying Indonesia was a "colonial power" and he decided in response to announce a snap referendum. A UN sponsored
United Nations Mission in East Timor
The United Nations Mission in East Timor was established by Security Council Resolution 1246 on 11 June 1999 for a period up to 31 August 1999...
referendum held in August 1999 showed overwhelming approval for independence. After the result was announced, violent clashes, instigated by a suspected anti-independence militia, sparked a humanitarian and security crisis in the region.
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
consulted UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
and lobbied U. S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
to support an Australian led peace keeper force to end the violence. Australia, who contributed 5,500 personnel and the force commander, Major General Peter Cosgrove
Peter Cosgrove
General Peter John Cosgrove AC, MC is a retired Australian Army officer. He was the Chief of the Defence Force from 3 July 2002 to 3 July 2005, when he retired from active service...
, to the UN-backed International Force for East Timor and began deploying on 20 September 1999 and successfully restored order. The operation had been politically and militarily tense. Australia re-deployed frontline combat aircraft northward and detected an Indonesian submarine within the vicinity of Dili Harbour as INTERFET forces approached. While the intervention was ultimately successful, Australian-Indonesian relations would take several years to recover.
Al Qaeda
In 1998, a wealthy dissident Saudi Islamist, Osama Bin LadenOsama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, declared a fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
calling for the killing of "Americans and their allies -- civilians and military... in any country in which it is possible to do it" in order to bring to an end the ongoing enforcement of the blockade against Iraq
Iraq sanctions
The Iraq sanctions were a near-total financial and trade embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council on the nation of Iraq. They began August 6, 1990, four days after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, stayed largely in force until May 2003 , and certain portions including reparations to Kuwait...
and presence of US troops in the Arabian Peninsula, thus bringing Australians into the line of fire in what would latterly grow to be defined as the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. Following the 11 September terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda in 2001, Australia invoked the ANZUS Treaty and offered support to the United States. In the aftermath of this event, the Howard Government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
committed troops to the Afghanistan War
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
(with bi-partisan support) and the Iraq War (meeting with the disapproval of other political parties). SAS troops formed the most high-profile part of Operation Slipper
Operation Slipper
Operation Slipper is the Australian Defence Force contribution to the war in Afghanistan. The operation commenced in late 2001 and is ongoing...
, Australia's contribution to the invading force in the 2001 United States war in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. A small number of Australians, including David Hicks
David Hicks
David Matthew Hicks is an Australian who was convicted by the United States of America Guantanamo Military Commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, on charges of providing material support for terrorism...
, were captured in and around the Afghan Theatre having spent time training or fighting with Al Qaeda aligned Islamist paramilitaries. Islamists following the Al Qaeda modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
bombed a nightclub in Bali in 2002 and killed 88 Australian civilians. The following year, the Iraq War was launched by a U.S.-British led Coalition to overthrow the Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
government of Iraq for its non-compliance with the 1991 Gulf War Peace Treaty
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
The Howard Government supported the disarmament of Iraq during the Iraq disarmament crisis. Australia later provided one of the four most substantial combat force contingents during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, under the operational codename Operation Falconer. Part of its contingent were among the...
lasted until 2009 and was highly controversial. Following the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
at the hands of US forces in May 2011, Prime Minister Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
announced that Australian forces would remain in Afghanistan and said that Bin Laden's death offered a "small measure of justice" to the families of the 105 Australians who been killed in Al Qaeda attacks in New York, Bali, London and Mumbai since the commencement of the conflict. As of May 2011, a further 24 Australian military personnel had been killed while serving in the Afghanistan conflict (including one with the British Armed Forces).
Turn of the century
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
served as Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
from 1996 until 2007, the second-longest prime ministerial term after Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
. One of the first programs instigated by the Howard government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
was a nationwide gun control scheme, following a mass shooting at Port Arthur. The government sought to reduce Australia's government deficit and introduced industrial relations reforms, particularly as regards efficiency on the waterfront. After the 1996 election, Howard and treasurer Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
proposed a Goods and Services Tax
Goods and Services Tax (Australia)
The GST is a broad sales tax of 10% on most goods and services transactions in Australia. It is a value added tax, not a sales tax, in that it is refunded to all parties in the chain of production other than the final consumer....
(GST) which they successfully took to the electorate in 1998. In 1999, Australia led a United Nations force into East Timor to help establish democracy and independence for that nation, following political violence.
The government also accelerated the pace of privatisation, beginning with the government-owned telecommunications corporation, Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
. Howard's government continued some elements of the foreign policy of its predecessors, based on relations with four key countries: the United States, Japan, China, and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. The Howard administration strongly supported US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.
Australia hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney to great international acclaim. The Opening Ceremony
2000 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics was described by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch as the most beautiful ceremony the world has ever seen. Held on the evening of Friday 15 September 2000, the Opening Ceremony represented everything Australian, from sea creatures and flora/fauna...
featured a host of iconic Australian imagery and history and the flame ceremony honoured women athletes, including swimmer Dawn Fraser
Dawn Fraser
Dawn Fraser AO, MBE is an Australian champion swimmer. She is one of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times – in her case the 100 meters freestyle....
, with Aboriginal runner Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman
Catherine Astrid Salome "Cathy" Freeman, OAM is former Australian sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.Freeman was the first ever Aboriginal...
lit the Olympic Flame
Olympic Flame
The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...
. At the Closing Ceremony, President of the International Olympic Committee
Presidents of the International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is a corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas on 23 June 1894. Its membership consists of the 205 National Olympic Committees...
, Juan Antonio Samaranch
Juan Antonio Samaranch
Don Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquis of Samaranch, Grandee of Spain , known in Catalan as Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló , was a Catalan Spanish sports administrator who served as the seventh President of the International Olympic Committee from 1980 to 2001...
, declared:
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
, the APEC Leaders conference of 2007
APEC Australia 2007
APEC Australia 2007 was a series of political meetings held around Australia between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2007...
and Catholic World Youth Day 2008
World Youth Day 2008
The 23rd World Youth Day 2008 was a Catholic youth festival that started on 15 July and continued until 20 July 2008 in Sydney, Australia. It was the first World Youth Day held in Australia and the first World Youth Day in Oceania. This meeting was decided by Pope Benedict XVI, during the Cologne...
. Melbourne hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
.
In 2001, Australia celebrated its Centenary of Federation
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
, with a program of events, including the creation of the Centenary Medal
Centenary Medal
The Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...
to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government.
The Howard government expanded immigration overall but instituted often controversial tough immigration laws to discourage unauthorised arrivals of boat people. While Howard was a strong supporter of traditional links to the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
and to the United States alliance
ANZUS
The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty is the military alliance which binds Australia and New Zealand and, separately, Australia and the United States to cooperate on defence matters in the Pacific Ocean area, though today the treaty is understood to relate to attacks...
, trade with Asia, particularly China, continued to increase dramatically, and Australia endured an extended period of prosperity. Howard's term in office coincided with the 2001 11 September attacks. In the aftermath of this event, the government committed troops to the Afghanistan War
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
(with bi-partisan support) and the Iraq War (meeting with the disapproval of other political parties).
Southern Australia was affected by a very severe drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
, through much of the first decade of the 21st century. By late 2006 water storage throughout southern Australia were at record low levels. Severe restrictions on urban water usage were put in place in every state capital city (except Hobart and Darwin) in 2005-06, and irrigation in the Murray-Darling Basin
Murray-Darling Basin
The Murray-Darling basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, whose name is derived from its two major rivers, the Murray River and the Darling River. It drains one-seventh of the Australian land mass, and is currently by far the most significant agricultural...
was heavily curtailed. Consequently, issues relating to fresh water supply became an important topic for political discussion, though the economic impact of the drought was felt most keenly only in Australia's sparsely populated agricultural areas.
Howard lost his substantial majority at the 1998 Federal election, improved on it at the 2001 Federal election and at the 2004 election against Labor's Mark Latham
Mark Latham
Mark William Latham , an author and former Australian politician, was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005....
. The government however resoundingly lost the 2007 Federal election to the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
led by Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
with a wave of support for change and a slogan for "new leadership" for the country.
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
held the office until June 2010, when he was replaced following internal Labor Party coup by his colleague and deputy Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
. Rudd used his term in office to symbolically ratify the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
and lead an historic parliamentary apology to the Stolen Generation
Stolen Generation
The Stolen Generations were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments...
(those Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
who had been removed from their parents by the state during the early 20th century to the 1960s). The mandarin Chinese speaking former diplomat also pursued energetic foreign policy and initially sought to instigate a price on carbon in the Australian economy to combat Global Warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. His prime ministership coincided with the initial phases of the Financial crisis of 2007–2010, to which his government responded through a large package of economic stimulus - the management of which later proved to be controversial.
The Black Saturday bushfires struck Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
on and around Saturday 7 February 2009. The fires occurred during extreme bushfire-weather conditions, and resulted in Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire; 173 people died and 414 were injured as a result of the fires.
Amidst increasing controversy on management of stimulus spending over policy directions on taxation, immigration and climate change, the Labor Party replaced Rudd with Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
, who became the first woman Prime Minister of Australia and narrowly retained office against the Liberal-National Coalition led by Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
, at the 2010 Federal election by securing the support of independent members of the first hung parliament
Hung parliament
In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
in Australia since the 1940 election
Australian federal election, 1940
Federal elections were held in Australia on 21 September 1940. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
.
The drought was broken difinitively by severe flooding associated with the la niña weather effect
El Niño-Southern Oscillation
El Niño/La Niña-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is a quasiperiodic climate pattern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years...
in the summer of 2010-2011. Queensland in particular suffered dramatic flooding
2010–2011 Queensland floods
A series of floods hit Australia, beginning in December 2010, primarily in the state of Queensland including its capital city, Brisbane. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least seventy towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was...
which swept through parts of the capital city of Brisbane and caused some deaths and serious financial loss. Soon after tropicla cyclone Yasi
Cyclone Yasi
Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi was a tropical cyclone that made landfall in northern Queensland, Australia in the early hours of Thursday, 3 February 2011. Yasi originated from a tropical low near Fiji. The system intensified to a Category 3 cyclone at about 5pm AEST on 31 January 2011...
struck the already belaguered coast.
Following two and half decades of economic reform and amidst booming trade with Asia, Australia - in stark contrast to most other Western nations - avoided recession following the 2008 collapse of financial markets and Global Economic Crisis. Following the 2010 election, the Gillard Government
Gillard Government
The Gillard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia, which is led by the Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard. Julia Gillard became Prime Minister on the 24th of June 2010 after challenging her predecessor, Kevin Rudd for the position of leader of the parliamentary...
entered an alliance with the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
and was destabilized by breaking an election promise not to introduce a carbon tax, by leadership rivalry and by lacking the numbers to push some controversial legislation through the Parliament. Nevertheless, the cross-bench alliance continued to operate and though facing declining poll support and firm opposition from the Liberal-National Coalition, in October the government successfully passed its Clean Energy Bill, 2011
Clean Energy Bill, 2011
The Clean Energy Bill 2011 is a package of legislation that will establish a proposed Australian emissions trading scheme designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and limit global warming.-History:...
aimed to restructure the Australian economy in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with Climate Change
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
by increasing costs to industry for carbon emissions.
Reference
- Bambrick, Susan ed. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Australia (1994)
- Basset, Jan. The Oxford Illustrated Dictionary of Australian History (1998)
- Davison, Graeme, John Hirst, and Stuart Macintyre, eds. The Oxford Companion to Australian History (2001) online at many academic libraries; also excerpt and text search
- Day, David. Claiming a Continent: A New History of Australia (2001);
- Dennis, Peter, Jeffrey Grey, Ewan Morris, and Robin Prior. The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History. 1996)
- Jupp, James, ed. The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origins (2nd ed. 2002) 960pp excerpt and text search
- Macintyre, Stuart. A Concise History of Australia. (2009) excerpt and text search
- O'Shane, Pat et al. Australia: The Complete Encyclopedia (2001)
- Robinson GM, Loughran RJ, and Tranter PJ. Australia and New Zealand: economy, society and environment.(2000)
- Shaw, John, ed. Collins Australian Encyclopedia (1984)
- Welsh, Frank. Australia: A New History of the Great Southern Land (2008)
History
- Bennett, Bruce et al. The Oxford Literary History of Australia (1999)
- Bennett, Tony, and David Carter. Culture in Australia: Policies, Publics and Programs (2001) excerpt and text search
- Bolton, Geoffrey. The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 5: 1942-1995. The Middle Way (2005)
- Bramble, Tom. Trade Unionism in Australia: A History from Flood to Ebb Tide (2008) excerpt and text search
- Bridge, Carl ed., Munich to Vietnam: Australia's Relations with Britain and the United States since the 1930s, Melbourne University Press 1991
- Carey, Hilary. Believing in Australia: A Cultural History of Religions (1996)
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- Firth, Stewart. Australia in International Politics: An Introduction to Australian Foreign Policy (2005) online edition
- Grant, Ian. A Dictionary of Australian Military History - from Colonial Times to the Gulf War (1992)
- Hearn, Mark, Harry Knowles, and Ian Cambridge. One Big Union: A History of the Australian Workers Union 1886-1994 (1998)
- Hutton, Drew, and Libby Connors. History of the Australian Environment Movement (1999) excerpt and text search
- Kelly, Paul. The End of Certainty: Power, Politics and Business in Australia, (1994), history of 1980s
- Kleinert, Sylvia. and Margo Neale. The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture (2001)
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- Lowe, David. Menzies and the 'Great World Struggle': Australia's Cold War 1948-54 (1999) online edition
- Martin, A. W. Robert Menzies: A Life (2 vol 1993-99), online at ACLS e-books
- McIntyre, Stuart. The History Wars (2nd ed. 2004), historiography
- McLachlan, Noel. Waiting for the Revolution: A History of Australian Nationalism (1989)
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- McLean, David. "From British Colony to American Satellite? Australia and the USA during the Cold War," Australian Journal of Politics & History" (2006) 52 (1), 64–79. Rejects satellite model. online at Blackwell-Synergy
- Megalogenis, George. The Longest Decade (2nd ed. 2009), politics 1990-2008
- Moran, Albert. Historical Dictionary of Australian Radio and Television (2007)
- Moran, Anthony. Australia: Nation, Belonging, and Globalization Routledge, 2004 online edition
- Murphy, John. Harvest of Fear: A History of Australia's Vietnam War (1993)
- Watt, Alan. The Evolution of Australian Foreign Policy 1938–1965, Cambridge University Press, 1967
- Webby, Elizabeth, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Australian Literature (2006)