Australian Governmental Control in World War Two
World War II was the most devastating war in history and saw more people killed, service men, women and civilians alike than any war before or since. Virtually every part of the world was included in the conflict during the years 1939-1945, and Australia was involved extensively. Due to the nature of war the Australian Government imposed a series of wartime controls and restrictions that negatively affected the everyday life of civilians. During World War II, laws were introduced that restricted individual freedoms to promote the idea of austerity. The policies included cutting consumption, going without, wasting nothing, living simply, conscription, manpower controls, rationing and
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These include freedom of opinion, thought, association and freedom from arbitrary detention and are all about treating others fairly and being fairly treated yourself, and making genuine choices in daily life. Wilson says ‘Respect for human rights underpins the democratic processes of our society and is the cornerstone of a society that respects individuals and voluntary community collaboration’ (Tim Wilson, 2014). Despite this, the control the Australian Government exercised over its people in WWII encroached on all of these universally recognized human rights, and it was in 1948 after the atrocity of WWII that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was internationalised.
Throughout World War II the Australian Government implemented a number of wartime controls and restrictions on individual freedoms and consumption. Broadly, these included censorship, propaganda and rationing and they first came into play when the National Security Act of 1939 was passed. This act overpowered the guidelines of the constitution, hence giving the Commonwealth Government powers to make laws that it would otherwise not be authorised to (Anzacday organisation, 2015). Censorship was one of these new laws, and is the governmental control of information made public by the media, and so strictly banned the release of sensitive military information that The Department of
They were interested in killing people and the pay. Eventhough Germany didn’t do anything to Australia people had hatred of them and wanted to kill them. On Source 13A Corporal RE Antill says,’ I am itching to get a dig at a few Germans.’ Everyone had the ‘war fever’ and desired to fight. They felt that it was good pay if you fought in the war. On Source13A Corporal RE Antill also says,’ … its not bad money here 5/- a day and clothes and food…’ Serving in the war could earn you almost as much money as a cabinetmaker and it is half the amount of work. Although slightly below the basic wage, it was still appealing to many because they were struggling financially. In the modern era people are more aware of the consequences and you don’t earn much money so people are less willing to serve in
World War II (WWII) made a significant impact in shaping modern Australia. This war contributed to social, political and technological developments throughout Australia and the world.
However due to their disappointment, rations were phasing out of the picture slowly. This was because as scarce resources were in Australia, in Britain the economy was horrific. Therefore, Australia sent supplies such as food and other necessities in order to support Britain. The economy after the war gradually improved despite their support to Britain. With the war finished, Australia did not need to invest the amount of money into the war productions as they did during the war. Instead much of the expenses was spent to recover destruction caused by the Darwin bombing in 1942 as well as support to the families that lost their relatives in war. This continued for several years. In 1947 sugar rationing ended, next meat and clothing ration ending in 1998, followed by butter and tea rations ending in 1950. Petrol rationing was slowly disappearing in June 1949. But petrol supplies began decreasing rapidly to many people’s dismay, resulting in petrol rationing returning in November1949. Finally, in February 1950 the petrol rationing was
It appears that sections 2, 3 and 4(1)–(3) may be supported by the Defence Power, under section 51(vi). Section 2 provides the objects of the ASIATIC Act. It states that the legislation’s purposes, with respect to “defence of the Commonwealth of Australia”, to support any Australian Government agency and its members (s 2(i)), to control anti-social behaviour interfering the policies for defence (s 2(ii)), to prevent the recurrence of the anti-social behaviour (s 2(iii)), and associated the purposes (s 2(iv)). Dixon J stated that a law with respect to the defence power expresses connection to defence of the Commonwealth in its purpose or object, according to its purposive nature. This provision clearly states that the Act has the connection to the
In 1914, Australia had 100,000 Germans and when the first wold war began it was a tough time for the Germans in Australia. Before the war the Germans were actually respected because of the major help they gave to Australia. However when the war began, Germany was known as the enemy for the Australians, and some Australians didn’t relay trust the Germans during that time but they were loyal to Australia.
The fighting of World War Two saw numerous atrocities against not only human rights but also indigenous rights. This dark chapter in history inspired the formation of the United Nations which created a list of things that humans are entitled to, called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Despite this Aboriginal people in Australia did not enjoy the same rights and freedoms as many white Australians. Aboriginal people were denied the right to own land, reproduce and the right to be paid for work. Eddie Mabo played a significant role in improving the civil rights movement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by fighting for Indigenous land rights against the high court of Australia.
At the outbreak of war the Australians were signing up by the hundreds to serve ‘the mother country’ without conscription, but soon they began to realize that war wasn’t some romanticised adventure and the number of troops signing up began to slow down because they were learning more about war so they weren’t so keen to sign up anymore because of that the number of troops for the wars was so little that by 1916 they had a shortage of men. The Labour Party Prime Minister William (Billy) Hughes decided to have a referendum for the idea of conscription even though his party was opposed to it. Conscription had a big effect on Australia and it caused the nation to be divided over the issue because some people believed that the young men of Australia
‘Australia is at War’ is a primary source from the year 1939 and is a speech by renowned Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies (1894 – 1978). This speech was delivered at the beginning of World War II declaring Australia’s participation and assistance to its “Mother Land”, Great Britain. World War II was developed and initiated by the infamous Adolf Hitler, a notorious German leader and the head of the Nazis. German’s invasion of Poland initiated Great Britain’s move towards force rather than their original approach of negotiations and peace, as stated in Prime Minister Menzies’ speech, “they [Great Britain] have kept the door of negotiations open; they have given no cause for provocation.” So the purpose of this source, Menzies speech,
Government controls had a major impact on the change of Australian life and society during World War Two. It was necessary for the government to establish new controls in Australia during the Second World War in order to control the information being distributed to the public, protect Australian citizens and maintain peace within Australian society. The first example of government control in Australia is censorship. During World War Two, the government controlled the information that was made public to the media. This was often to stop information being leaked to the enemy and promote enthusiasm for the war.
Although both the World Wars had significant impacts on Australians, the statement that wartime controls in World War One had a greater impact on Australians than they did in World War Two is fairly inaccurate. There are a number of reasons as to why this was the case, as demonstrated through the government 's wartime controls. One of the wartime controls that was utilised by the government in both World Wars but had greater impact on Australians in World War Two was conscription. Another wartime control that had a higher degree of impact on Australians in World War Two than in World War One was the detainment and isolation of ‘enemy aliens’ when the government again took steps to protect their national security. With such a large number of servicemen deployed overseas, the role of women in Australia also changed drastically to meet the needs of the armed forces, the government and the economy and this influenced Australian life more in World War Two. Therefore, although both wars affected the lives of many Australians in mental, physical, social and economic aspects, the wartime controls of World War Two had a much greater impact on Australians than in World War One.
Currently, human rights in Australia are protected in different ways. Unlike most other similar liberal democracies, Australia has no Bill of Rights to protect human rights in one single document. Instead, some rights can be found in the Constitution, our common law and legislation which includes acts passed by the Commonwealth Parliament or State or Territory Parliaments.
Human rights are the right that any individual is entitled under their government, and it can be provided in divergent forms. Thus in Australia, there are no set of ‘Bill of Rights’, comparable to many other western countries that share similar legal values and standards. The American ‘Bill of Rights’ states that the government ensures the freedom of speech and religion, protection from torture and punishment, and the fair procedures of law . There has always been a great debate on whether Australian government should acquire a constitutional Bill of Rights. I believe that it is not necessary to obtain a Bill of Rights as it is not necessary for Australian legal system, and further, it can bring confusion, greater debate and litigations. There are other forms of human rights law introduced into Australian legal system which sets boundaries for the government to respect individual rights. Consequently, it proves the unnecessity for a Bill of Rights in Australia.
Good afternoon, my name is Stephanie Jones and I am a currently a human rights lawyer. Human rights are the basic freedoms and protections that everyone is entitled to purely for simply just being a human being. Today I would like to use this opportunity to discuss with you the greatly debated issue of an Australian Bill of Rights. Australia currently does not have a Bill of Rights, but is the current legal system coping without one? The answer to that question in my opinion is no. Australia currently is not adequately protecting individual human rights without having a Bill of Rights. While many people would argue that yes, Australia protects individual rights well enough as it is, just as many people passionately argue that Australia does indeed need a Bill of Rights for a variety of reasons which will be talked about in greater depth later on. In my talk with you today, I would like to discuss with you all what exactly a Bill of Rights is and what it aims to achieve, how a Bill of Rights has worked in other countries and some of the more popular arguments for and against having one.
The enthusiasm of many Australians led to the numerous volunteers participating in world war one in the defence of their British mother country against the Germans during world war one in Gallipoli, which lasted from 1914 to 1918.
Human rights are rights essential to all human being’s welfare, whatever their nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, skin colour, religion, language, or any other status. Every human is equally entitled to human rights without discrimination or question. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible. Universal human rights are often in correlation to the law, in the forms of agreements, customary international law, general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law lays down the requirements of Governments to act in certain ways or how not to act in certain ways that breach human rights. This is all put into place in order to promote and protect human rights and simply, freedom of individuals or groups. Human rights include civil and political rights, this includes the right to life, liberty and freedom of expression; as well as social, cultural and economic rights including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, and the right to work and receive an education. In Australia, where asylum seekers are detained on Nauru for processing, there has been much debate about whether this involuntary detention violates human rights, in which many cases the United Nations has stated it does.