Australian Politics: The Life of Gough Whitlam Essay

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Australia as a nation was still very closely tied to the British. Therefore when war was finally declared after a period of appeasement, Australia’s Prime Minister Robert Menzies of the United Australia Party, made his famous Melancholy Duty speech, committing Australia to the war effort. However as the war waged on, and when Winston Churchill’s promised support was most needed, they weren’t there. It was America that showed up to help save our proud nation, leading to disillusionment in Britain’s supposed benevolent power and a turn to the USA for help.

Australia’s response to the threat of communism after WW2 was extraordinary. Australia and its politicians immediately recognised what could happen of a result of the domino theory. With the Soviet Union influencing so many countries and causing China, Vietnam, and North Korea to turn Communist it was only matter of time until it reached Australia, and all in all this was when Australia took action.

Communism was greatly feared in Australia, and Australia would've done anything to keep it out of the country, “It took us not five minutes to decide that when this thing came to the point of action we would be in it…”- Robert Menzies. The Australian

Australians were anti-communist during the Vietnam War; due to a level of hype that the society, the media, and the government were exposed to. The “domino effect” was a popular analogy during the Vietnam War, which represented the spread from communist Russia’s web of power was growing into South East Asia and the halt of communism in Vietnam would signify the half of communism’s

In 1945, after World War II had finished, Australia finally felt at peace – that was until Communism began to have an effect on the entire world. Australia had a lot to fear, with the threat likely to infiltrate the country both domestically (an established Communist Party) and internationally (a geographical location close to countries that had already fallen victim to communism, such as China and Korea). Australia responded to both of these threats in a way that caused a lot of political controversy and has created bonds with other parts of the world that are still activated today.

In conclusion, policies were put into place both nationally and internationally in order to fight communism within Australia and without. Internationally, Australia sought to form closer ties with her strong allies and so formed treaties to bring them together. Doing this helped the Menzies government in their bid to contain communism and stop the Domino Theory. To contain communism the Menzies government needed to introduce Forward Defence and “defend” Australia from the potential threat of communism. Australia entered the Korean War, Vietnam War and Malayan Emergency to do this. Within Australia, the use of propaganda also helped fight the threat. By attempting to ban the Communist Party of Australia and claiming that a Soviet spy ring worked in Australia, the government spread the fear of communism; people thought that communism had to be dangerous if the government got involved with it. With the use of those policies and

Asian migration wave has had a significant impact on the Australian Political Policies as Asian it is a significant issue because it helped to make Australia richer and more culturally diverse today. It has also helped to change Political Policies to benefit other migrants positively. The slides hat follow allow you to observe present discussions and will also include an insight into the Asian Migration Wave, Impacts relating to Australia’s political policies as well as whether these impacts were continuous or changed.

His life is an example of his spirit, overcoming the difficulties with which he was presented, and making himself stronger as a result of it. Churchill was a more than just a great speaker though; he was a great man and a great leader as well. He took over as Prime Minister of Britain during one of the most trying times ever to come upon the country, and led his country to eventual victory over their adversaries. The analysis of his speech allows one to come closer to understanding the true rhetorical genius of the man known as Churchill. In particular,

The Australian domestic politics from 1945 - 1950’s was severely impacted due to the threat of communism. This statement is found to be true by assessing key communist acts after World War II. During 1945 – 1950’s there were many events and decisions made that impacted Australian domestic politics, which were due to the threat of communism. Three events that played a key role in impacting Australia domestic politics were the 1951 Referendum, the Petrov Affair and the splitting of the Labor Party.

The erosion of Neville Chamberlain’s# reputation was brought about quickly as his policy of appeasement failed to prevent WW2. The Cato# collective branded him as a criminal in the ‘Guilty men’#. Churchill# further reinforced this view telling the commons “England has been offered a choice between war and shame. She has chosen shame, and will get war.”#. These more orthodox views starkly contrast the reactions of the public and media pre-war. Hailed as a hero “Most newspapers supported Chamberlain uncritically, and he received thousands of gifts, from a silver dinner service to many of his trademark umbrellas.”#, with

Winston Churchill worked extremely hard and achieved many high positions in his lifetime. Not many people have accomplished what he achieved. Since he was young, Winston Churchill had wanted to be like his father, but instead, he went way

This was considered the Domino theory which Australia feared. When World War II had finished and communism started spreading into Asia, right on the doorstep of Australia, that’s when the Menzies Government decided to react. After three decades of war and depression Australians wanted stability and security. Throughout the 1930's and most of the 1940's, Australia’s Communist Party gained increasing support within the trade union movement and also from the public. Many people were unemployed and started supporting communism, as communist countries like Russia had no unemployment, where many Australian saw this as a way to get employed.

In Pearson’s speech, the criticism of John Howard, who was at the time the Prime Minister, throughout the speech

Firstly, the threat of communism was immense. There was a genuine belief and somewhat fear of communism from Asia sprawling into Australian society. The main objective of the South-East Asia defence treaty, known as SEATO, involved preventing Southern Vietnam from becoming a communist state by force of arms and terrorism. According to The Sydney Morning Herald (June 24, 1971),

Macmillan can also be seen as a strong leader by the way that he was viewed, earning the nickname “supermac”. He undoubtably had popularity and support from the public partly due to his unflappable nature. admittedly towards then end of his prime ministership he became less popular due to the rise of satire and political scandals such as the Profumo affair. Nevertheless, this still shows how their dominance can also be put down to the party’s strong leadership in being able to take advantage of an incredibly disunited Labour. Another way in which they were able to do this was by creating a united conservative front bench.