History
Response of Australian government to communism:
Petrov Affair:
Early 1954- late 1955
Vladimir Petrov defected to Australia and told Menzies of a
communist spy ring in Australia
Menzies announced this at the last parliament siting before
the election
This timing was crucial because the polls showed that
Menzies was most likely to lose the election
Vladimirs wife, Evdokia Petrov, was not told of this
defection and was set to be deported back to Russia. But,
after a scene at the airport, also defected
Menzies won the following election and after an
investigation it was found that no communist spy ring was
found
Menzies attempt to ban communist party:
Spreading of anti communist propaganda against the back
drop of Korean war
Menzies presented the communist dissolution bill into the
house of reps, passed because the liberals had more seats
Sent to the senate, who refused to pass it, amendments
were made and it was sent back
Was sent backed to senate and passed by senate under
fear of duress
bill was sent to high court who found it unconstitutional
referendum was held in 1951 but was narrowly defeated
ANZUS 1951
Australia, new Zealand and united states. Its purpose was
to provide support to the other countries in the treaty,
which was more symbolic then it was practical. It provided
military support in case of an armed attack, where the
other countries would help defend each other. For the first
time in history a military pact was not made with Britain,
and it signalled Australians growing interest in south east
Asia.
SEATO 1954
South East Asian treaty organisation. Countries involved
Britain, France, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, Australia,
new Zealand and the united states. Its aim was to defend
countries from the threat of communism, particularly in the
south-east Asian region. Military assistance would be
provided, as well as economic assistance to help third
world countries from falling into communism. It signalled
our interest in the South East Asian region, and Menzies
saw it as giving extra protection to Australians.
Reforms of PM (Gough Whitlam)
Foreign Policy:
Recognition of China promised diplomatic relations
between Australia and the Peoples Republic of China in
1971, when he visited as opposition leader.
Re-opened Australias Beijing embassy, supported chinas
membership in the UN.
Granted Papua New Guinea self government in 1973 and
independence in 1975.
Multiculturalism:
Removed integration and assimilation policy and introduced
multiculturalism.
Ended a number of discriminatory practices related to
immigration and citizenship.
The government encouraged for migrants through radio
programs in community languages and SBS.
Australias Role as a Global Citizen:
Australias international actions:
Active involvement in Korean war (1950-53), Vietnam war
(1962-72), Afghanistan war (2001) and Iraq war (2003)
UN peace keeping efforts in Kashmir (1950-85), Israel ( 156present), Cambodia (1989-93) and east Timor ( 1999present)
Regional agreements to promote trade and development
Australias role in UN:
Since 45, over 1500 Australians have contributed to peace
keeping efforts in over 25 different countries.
Australia also has an extensive role in UNESCO.
Changing rights and freedoms Aboriginals
Freedom Rides:
Happened in 1965
To expose the general racism towards aboriginals in towns
and cities of Australia and to show what was really
happening in some out back towns. To complete a survey of
aboriginal life in the visited towns.
The ride did expose the racism in Australian towns
1967 Referendum:
The referendum in 1967 was to determine whether
aboriginal people should be included in the census
The referendum achieved aboriginal people being counted
in the census
Mabo:
Eddie Mabo was a member of the Merriam tribe who lived
on Murray island
In the 1970s the Queensland government began to remove
the rights of islanders to their lands. Mabo and some other
islanders took the QLD government to court and lost
They appealed to the high court of Australia and finally in
June 1972, the high court found in favour of Mabo,
tragically he had already died.
The turning point was really the establishment of the
principle of native title.
The high court overturned the idea of terra nullius that had
been in place since 1788.
The case led to the native title act (1993) which
recognised the notion of native title and recognised the
rights of owners of freehold property.
Gurindji people walk off:
Initially it was over poor living conditions, but eventually
turned into a land rights protest
The Gurindji people moved off wave hill, the cattle farm
where they worked for lord vestey and received poor living
conditions and worked only for rations, lead by Vincent
Lingiari at set up camp at Victoria River and in 1967 they
moved to wattle creek.
The Gurindji people were formally handed their land back
in 1975 by then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
Wik people:
Wik decision is a decision of the High Court of Australia
delivered on 23 December 1996 on whether statutory
leases extinguish native title rights. The court found that
the statutory pastoral leases under consideration by the
court did not bestow rights of exclusive possession on the
leaseholder. As a result, native title rights could co-exist
depending on the terms and nature of the particular
pastoral lease. Where there was a conflict of rights, the
rights under the pastoral lease would extinguish the
remaining native title rights.
The decision provoked a significant debate in Australian
politics. It led to intense discussions on the validity of land
holdings in Australia. Some political leaders criticized the
court for being out of touch and for introducing uncertainty
into Australian life. The Howard Government formulated a
10 point plan to bring certainty to land ownership in
Australia. This plan led to the longest debate in the
Australian Senates history.
In 1992 the High Court of Australia found in the Mabo case
that aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders had rights to their
land before the arrival of British colonization. Those rights
depended on the local laws and customs. Native title was
not defined by the Wik decision. However it is commonly
accepted to include rights to perform ceremony, or to
gather foods or medicines.
The Sixties in Australia
the 60s described a time of change and youthful rebellion,
which lasted from 1967-1973. It ceased when the world slipped
into a recession.
The 60s youth was inspired by American and British music,
fashion, TV, drinking and drug taking.
This era was related to the sexual liberation for women, helped
by the availability of the pill and Flower Power, a group
formed to spread world wide peace and love and an end to all
wars.
The idea of a stereotypical family, mum, dad, 2-3 kids fell apart
as the times changed.
Many The elderly were horrified ay what Australias youth had
become.
Youths rebelled by girls wearing miniskirts, mid-riffs and hotpants, and guys by growing their long.
older Australians thought that conscription should be
introduced to make men of these long-haired lay a-bouts.
The beetles became a huge influence within Australia, with
most younger people watching their every move and action.
In the late 60s Hair, a rock musical, toured Australia. Its theme
was about stopping the draft and the Vietnam war. It was the first
time in Australia that there had been full nudity and a celebration
of sexuality on stage. It was the beginning of the hippie culture or
counter-culture. Hippies rejected materialism, greed and war.
It was the era of the 'baby boomers' (people born between
1946 and 1960).
A Timeline of Aboriginal issues in 20thC Australia
Protection policy 1883 - removing children from their families to
aid assimilation gained momentum. This issue later became
known as the "stolen generations. Many of these children
suffered abuse in their foster homes or in the institutions that
they were placed.
Assimilation 1940- was government policy that meant that
Aboriginal people were forced to give up their culture and
traditions and adopt mainstream Australians values and culture.
1962 Aboriginal Australians were given the right to vote in
elections.
1963 Aboriginals in the NT petitioned the Federal Govt about
mining on sacred sites. This led to the formation of the Aboriginal
Land Rights Commission which opposed further destruction of
sacred sites.
1965 Freedom Rides To expose the general racism towards
aboriginals in towns and cities of Australia and to show what was
really happening in some out back towns. To complete a survey
of aboriginal life in the visited towns.
The ride did expose the racism in Australian towns
the Federal Government replaced the Assimilation policy with a
new policy of Integration- 1970s This policy recognised the
rights of Aboriginal people to run their own affairs, keep their
customs and be equal to other Australians.
1966 Gurindji group walked off Wave Hill station in the NT. Their
strike lasted 9 years and led to a campaign for Aboriginal land
rights. An outcome from this strike was a that there was to be no
discrimination in pay for aboriginals and non-aboriginals.
1967 A referendum was passed that allowed Aboriginals to be
counted in the census as Australian citizens.
1972 On Australia Day the Aboriginal tent Embassy was formed
on the lawns of Parliament House. It was a group of tents
designed to embarrass the McMahon govt into recognizing
Aboriginal land rights.
1990s now, self determination. Aboriginals became activly
involved in planning the programs designed to help them and
their society.
1967 Referendum
In 1967 a referendum with two questions was held in Australia.
A referendum is a vote on an issue or issues to change the
Constitution
The result was that 89% of Australian voters agreed that they
should.
It was seen as providing full citizens rights to all Aboriginal
Australians.
It did not provide any new rights for them.
Aboriginal people were now to be counted in the Census. They
would also be counted when taxation from the Federal
Government was given back to the states to be spent on health,
education, etc.
It showed wide spread community support for Aboriginal
Australians. No other referendum had ever received such
support.
The Korean War 1950-53
1950- North Korea (communist) invaded south Korea
(democratic)
Reasons They invaded the south because they
believed that the Americans werent interested in
the South. A short while south Koreas capital Seoul
was captured, and a call for help came, with 15
countries including Australia answering the plea.
What Happened Initial invasion most of the south
was captured, including capital.
Why we fought we thought we were fighting
against not only Korea but, against communism in
general, and the safety of Australia. As a nation we
were very supportive because we thought it would
benefit us and protect us from the growing threat of
communism.
North korea gained the support of china and russia.
Two very powerful countries.
The UN came into the picture and launched a
massive attack, pushing the enemy back to their
lines and further, capturing the captial of north
Korea.
1953- June Korean war ended on the base of a truce, basically
leaving them where they started.
What was the Vietnam War about? (1962-72)
Vietnam, called Indochina, before World War II, was controlled by
the French as a colony. The Japanese captured it during World
War II.
After WWII the French returned and continued to occupy Vietnam
until 1954. At that time, the North Vietnamese successfully
defeated the French at the famous battle of Dien Bien Phu.
This period of time was called the Cold War (1945-1989). This
was a confrontation between the United States, a Western,
democratic and capitalist system and the Soviet Union, a
communist and totalitarian system.
In 1955 America began sending military advisers to South
Vietnam and by 1965 they had over 100,000 troops there. By
1968 this number had grown to 500,000.
The United States justified this intervention by declaring that the
countries of South-east Asia were like dominoes. If one fell to
communism this would lead to the fall of others. (Domino Effect)
Why we got involved
We wanted to prevent the spread of communism (domino theory)
Eventually, it might lead to an attack on Australia.
Australia was a member of SEATO and ANZUS. These two treaty
organizations meant that Australia could be called to support the
South Vietnamese government if they requested it. This
happened in 1965.
The real reason was the United States wanted more allies to help
it in Vietnam and Australia wanted to be sure of United States
support if it was needed it in the future.
Australian involvement
1962 30 Army military advisers were sent to help train the South
Vietnamese Army.
In 1964 the Menzies Government introduced conscription. It
operated on a lottery system of birthday dates for 20 year-olds.
1965 Prime Minister Menzies sent a battalion of troops to help the
USA in South Vietnam.
The decision was controversial because it was supposed to be
from a South Vietnamese request. In reality the request came
after the Australian Government announcement.
The decision was a popular one at the time. Most newspapers
supported it, church leaders and the trade unions also supported
it, too. The Australian Labor Party opposed the sending of troops.
There was sufficient opposition for the Government to avoid a
public send-off for the troops.
Our links with America were made clear in 1966 when Australias
new Prime Minister, Harold Holt, pledged to US President Johnson
that Australia would go all the way with LBJ.
Our main role was in search and destroy missions in which
villages were surrounded and searched. If Vietcong supplies were
found the village was burnt. Networks of underground tunnels
were destroyed and Vietcong suspects were interrogated and
handed over to South Vietnamese troops.
By 1969 Australia began to withdraw our troops and the last men
were brought home by the new Whitlam Labor government in
1972.
Anti-Vietnam War Protests
Late 1960s and early 1970s were a time that saw the rise of
protest movements across Australia. Causes included: Opposition
to the Vietnam War, Racial equality, Equal rights for women and
Environmental protection
First protests were small and non-violent. They were organised by
already established anti-war movements. They were made up of
middle aged and middle class people and young radicals who
favoured extreme change.
Forms of Protest
Teach-ins took place from 1965. Speakers holding a variety of
opinions debated the issues.
The Youth Campaign Against Conscription (YCAC) university
students who organised marches and demonstrations.
Save Our Sons (SOS) movement (1965) largely middle-aged
women held silent protest vigils.
Seamens Union in 1965 refused to carry war materials to
Vietnam.
From 1966 protests became more radical. Young men burned
their draft cards and protests saw clashes between the
demonstrators and the police.
Some young men decided to go to jail rather than be
conscripted. The courts could exempt those who could prove they
were pacifists (opposed to all wars on religious or moral grounds).
The Vietnam moratoriums were mass gathering of thousands of
people, all rallying to withdraw our troops from Vietnam, and stop
the National Service act from going through parliament. This was
important because it was the first time that a protest was met
with a nationwide response. The first moratorium, held may 1970
and over 200 thousand people marched. It was a peaceful
protest, no arrests made, but the 2nd moratorium (September
1970) was smaller, but much more violent, 200 arrests were
made in Sydney alone. The third moratorium (June 1971) was
again violent and much more people were against the Vietnam
war. These protests helped to bring our troops home, and gave
the government a good idea at the level of support they were
receiving from the public.
Grounds for opposition to the Vietnam War
It was believed that Australians were being sent to fight for an
unpopular and corrupt dictatorship.
It was a civil war and we had no business being there.
It was immoral to send young conscripts who were too young to
vote. You had to be 21 at that time to vote.
Television coverage showed the horrors of war eg use of
napalm, execution of old people, women and children.
Fire free zones places where Vietnamese villages were
bombed ad machined gunned without restriction.
"Mai Lai Massacre" in 1968 where 120 Vietnamese were
slaughtered shocked the world.
The question was, "Did we have to kill them, in order to save
them? Could they have been any worse off under communism?"
Public opinion began to change in August 1969 55% of
Australians favoured withdrawing the troops.
During 1970 and 1971 huge public protests called the Vietnam
Moratoriums (stop the war) saw hundreds of thousands of people
take to the streets in protest.
These protest finished when Gough Whitlam and his Labor
Government were elected in 1972 on a promise to bring home
the troops. (By this time most had already come home).
Why was the policy of multiculturalism introduced?
Australia introduced multiculturalism because:
We had experienced waves of post-war immigration from
over 100 countries
Prejudices of many Australians were fading because of
overseas travel and contact with migrants in Australia
Migrant communities were becoming more confident - 2nd
and 3rd generation migrants were better educated or
successful in business and therefore more confident.
The time was right for social reform. There had been solid
post-war economic growth and politicians saw it as time to
help the disadvantaged in the community, including
migrants. Some migrants still worked in low paid jobs in
the clothing, textile and metal industries. They were hard
jobs that were poorly paid.
What did the policy of multiculturalism result in?
Migrants gained resources to help settle in but were not
forced to shed their culture.
An Ethnic Affairs Council was created to advise the Federal
Government on matters relating to migrants.
Ethnic radio stations and later television states were set up
to broadcast in different languages.
Interpreter and translation services were established to
help migrants who could not speak English.
TIMELINE
Communism
1951
Referendum to ban communist party ANZUS signed by us
1954
Petrov affair occurred SEATO was signed by us
Korean war 1950-1953
Vietnam War 1962-1972
1955
USA sent military advisers to Vietnam
1962
Australia sent 30 military advisors to Vietnam
1964
Conscription introduced
1965
USA had 100,000 troops there
1968
Mai Lai Massacre occurred
1970-71
Moratoriums occurred (mass protests against Vietnam war)
1972
Last of the Australian troops brought home
Aboriginal Related
1883
Protection policy introduced
1940
Assimilation introduced
1970s
Integration policy introduced
Eddie Mabo campaigned for land rights
1990s
Self determination introduced
1962
Aboriginals given right to vote
1965
Freedom rides (chicka Dixon and Charles Perkins)
1966
Gurindji people walk off commenced
1967
Referendum to count aboriginals in the census
1972
Aboriginal tent embassy erected
1975
Gurindji peoples land formally given back
1993
Native title act
1996
The Wik decision (weather native title extinguishes pastoral
leases)
OTHER
1972-75
Whitlam was prime minister for this time
1973
Papua New Guinea became self governed
1946-60
Baby Boomers generation birth range
1945-89
The cold war
