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History of Australia (view source)
Revision as of 17:02, September 29, 2009
, 17:02, September 29, 2009→World War II
===World War II===
===World War II===
* see [[Rationing]] for economic controls
* see [[Rationing]] for economic controls
The historic ethnic tensions surfaced in new forms. The Irish, who dominated the labor Party, had always been hostile to the British Empire, but now they compromised and were willing to fight for Australia, and leaped at the chance to realign Australia with the United States.
The historic ethnic tensions surfaced in new forms. The Irish, who dominated the ALP (Australian Labor Party), had always been hostile to the British Empire, but now they compromised and were willing to fight for Australia, and leaped at the chance to realign Australia with the United States.
The oppositon (the United Australia Party and the Country Party) strongly favoured the British Empire, and were eager to send the Navy and Air Force, which came under British command. They were also eager to send all four of Australia's divisions to help out but were stunned when the 8th Division in Malaya was surrendered to the Japanese with the fall of Singapore. Everyone agreed that two of the three divisions in the Middle East had to be returned promptly, but the oppositionb secretly supported [[Winston Churchill]]'s scheme that would divert the divisions to defending Burma. Curtin refused and the divisions came home.
The oppositon (the United Australia Party and the Country Party) strongly favoured the British Empire, and were eager to send the Navy and Air Force, which came under British command. They were also eager to send all four of Australia's divisions to help out but were stunned when the 8th Division in Malaya was surrendered to the Japanese with the fall of Singapore. Everyone agreed that two of the three divisions in the Middle East had to be returned promptly, but the oppositionb secretly supported [[Winston Churchill]]'s scheme that would divert the divisions to defending Burma. Curtin refused and the divisions came home.
==World War II==
Curtin became prime minister in October 1941. Nearly 500,000 men were under arms both at home and abroad out of a total population of 7,000,000.
Curtin appealed to his ALP to allow the use of the Citizen Military Forces outside Australia, a dramatic reversal of historic labor policy. Curtin was motivated by electoral calculations and a shrewd response to the campaign of the opposition. In addition American General [[Douglas MacArthur]] influenced Curtin, and the move should be seen in the light of Curtin's appeal for greater assistance from the United States at a time when the Southwest Pacific was low on the list of global priorities. That is, the Americans insisted that Australian soldiers fight as hard for Australia as American soldiers were doing.
Curtin also held the post of Defense Minister, and under his direction Australia took rapid strides to full wartime production. In September 1942 Curtin launched the "austerity campaign," saying, "If we do not strip ourselves to save our country, the enemy will do it with ruthless efficiency and a maximum of misery." New restrictions were imposed on sporting events; taxes were raised on all classes of entertainment; liquor consumption was cut back; hotel meals were limited to three courses, and tough laws curbed black markets. Some items were petty, but program was designed to boost the national morale with a sense that everyone is sacrificing at a time when soldiers were dying for their country. It also financed the war as far as possible by taxation supplemented by public national loans, and it placed the highest priority on war production. By December 1942, 60% of Australia's men were in uniform or on fulltime war work of all kinds. The factories cut their civilian production in half, as 500,000 of 700,000 factory workers made war goods.
Over 200,000 women entered war industry by the end of 1942. Thousands of others joined auxiliary women's branches of the fighting services: WAAAF (Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force), which services cars, drives ambulances, performs administrative and clerical routine, etc.; AWAS (Australian Women's Army Service) numbering 6,000, some of whose members have been posted for combat duty in coastal batteries; WRANS (Women's Royal Australian Naval Service); and WANS (Women's Australian National Service).
The voters gave the Curtin ministry a strong mandate in the election of August 1943, with 49 of the 75 seats in the House of Representatives (as well as the support of two independents), giving the Government 51 seats to the Opposition's 23. Curtin's ALP swept the Senate seats and obtained a majority in the upper house for the first time in 20 years. The Opposition was a coalition of the United Australia Party and the Country Party, both conservative and anti-socialist. About 800,000 of the 4,000,000 Australian voters were in uniform and most supported Curtin.
The Curtin government and the subsequent [[Ben Chifley]] Labor government sought to manage the economy and encourage industry and full employment without resorting to nationalization, socialism or the welfare state.
Curtin's physical and mental health worsened after 1943, and he died in July 1945 with victory over Japan in sight.
====Finances====
====Finances====