PRESENTATION TOPIC

“Australia Since Federation”

Wayne Muller

Griffith University

26th June 2008

Presentation Structure: A Chronological Approach with Integrating Themes

• (1) 1901-1919• (2) The 1920s to 1939 • (3) Post WWW 2• (4) The 1950s• (5) The 1960s• (6) The 1970s• (7) The 1980s and 1990s• (8) The new century

1901-1919

• A new century- a new country• The new government and its political groupings

– Free Traders versus Protectionists

– The Labour Party

• Legislation:– “The Immigration Restriction Act”- the beginnings of “White

Australia”

– Establishment of a range of tariffs on imports

– Establishment of a Court of Arbitration and Conciliation

– etcetera

1901-1919 (Continued)

• Australia as a “Social Laboratory” and a “Working Man’s Paradise” (The Australian Settlement)– From “mateship” emerged a collectivist notion of

society (USA- Individualism)– “Mother England” but rejection of the “heredity

class system”– Franchise for women– The trade union movement and the Labor Party– The “basic wage”- the “Harvester Judgment”– Early components of a “welfare state”

1901-1919 (Continued)

• “The Australian Settlement”- Paul Kelly– White Australia– Industry protection– State paternalism– Wage arbitration– Imperial benevolence

• World War One (As per the earlier presentation)

The 1920s to 1939

• The soldiers return– Challenge of reabsorption of 100,000 men– The disastrous “Soldier Resettlement Scheme”– The emergence of the Returned Soldiers’ League (The RSL)

• Establishing the national capital- Canberra- 1927

• Economic Boom and then the Great Depression– The dominance of social and political conservatism including

the political emergence of the rural based “Country Party”– The “class based” impact of the Great Depression

• Participation in World War 2

Post WWW 2

• The soldiers return- marriage- booming birth rates- the “baby boomer generation”

• Suburbanisation- but initial shortages of energy and materials

• Immigration- “The Widening Net”- “Populate or Perish”– Continuity of British migrants- assisted passages

– The beginning of the flow of migrants from southern Europe especially Greeks and Italians

– Immigration of refugees (“Reffos”)

The 1950s

• An era of optimism and stability- emergence of the concept of “The Lucky Country”- Donald Horne

• “Nation Building”- The Snowy Mountains Scheme

• The triumph of suburban consumerist lifestyles:– The suburban home and the “picket fence”– The Holden Car– The arrival of television– The Hills Hoist and the Victa motor mower

The 1950s (Continued)

• Passion for the monarchy- the Queen’s visit to Australia- 1954

• The political dominance of the Conservatives- “The Robert Menzies Era”

• The Melbourne Olympics- 1956• The fear of Communism- “Reds under

the Bed” (USA- McCarthyism)

The 1960s

• Some continuity with the 1950s, but• The radical generation- dissent, protest

movements, alternative lifestyles, pacifism, etc• Foreign Policy “all the way with LBJ”• The emergence of the anti Vietnam War

phenomenon• Significant “generational gaps”• “The Lucky Country” continued

The 1970s

• The “Whitlam Years”- Social and Economic Reform

• OPEC and the first “oil shock”

• 11/11/1975 “The Dismissal” and Constitutional Controversy

• Japan as an increasing trading partner

The 1980s and 1990s

• The political dominance of the Australian Labor Party (to 1996)

• Economic reform and deregulation-> creating a globally based economy- Friedmanite economics and “Economic Rationalism”

• The re-emergence of the Conservatives- “John Howard’s Australia”

• Debates over our relationships with “Asia”• The Republic Debate and the failed referendum

of 1999

The 1980s and 1990s (Continued)

• An interpretation of this era- The dismantling of “The Australian Settlement”

• “The Australian Settlement”- Paul Kelly– White Australia– Industry protection– State paternalism– Wage arbitration– Imperial benevolence

The New Century

• The Olympic Games in Sydney• The ongoing economic boom fed by China’s demand

for our commodities- “The Lucky Country” revisited• The dominance of the conservative political parties

(until November 2007)• Terrorism- 9/11 and the Bali bombings• Refugees, illegal immigrants- “The Pacific Solution”• Close political engagement with the USA- “The

Coalition of the Willing”• The beginnings of the “Rudd Era”