How did Curtin win office?

[sen entertainment bloke]

Just watched Curtin on the ABC. It appeared that independents deserted Menzies and crossed the floor.

I thought independents were a recent phenomenon in the house of reps. Presume he won an election sometime during the war anyway.

Anyone else see it? Gee they all smoked a lot.

 

[Mr Q]

I haven't watched it yet apart from the beginning, however Curtin did win an election in 1943.

 

[wce_all_da_way]

Anyone else see it? Gee they all smoked a lot.

Hehe that's what I was thinking while watching it.

Only caught the end though, interesting show.

 

[finders]

Watched the lot it was a great insight to our War effort and how Churchill wanted to screw us by sending our troops to the lost cause of Burma. A must for all history students.

 

[Bombers 2003]

He became Prime Minister in 1942 because Menzies was unable to stand up to Churchill

 

[Gary Shadforth]

As the Japanese descended down through the Pacific Islands, after the bombing of Darwin in 1942, to invade the great expanse of the land of Australia, the population of just over 6 million people, including a majority of his own party members had become fed up with Robert Menzies as the incumbent prime minister. He, Menzies, in his own words ' .... was British to the bootstraps ... ' and was away most of the time in London sucking up to Churchill and his warlords.

It was Churchill who was decreeing such a thing as the 'Brisbane Line'. Australia's north was to have an imaginary line drawn across the top end from just below Murwillumbah in the east and somewhere on the West Australian coastline. The top end was to be left for the Japanese to conquer and, according to Churchill, the Brits would come along sometime and rescue the given-up portion of our country from the Japs at some undefined date. Such was a ridiculous notion as the British Isles were under siege from the Hitler's Germany. British troops were never, nor ever be, in a position to defend Australia or reclaim the top end of our nation as was bullshitted by an out-of-touch Churchill.

Churchill was insisting that the Australian troops remain deployed under the command of the Brits and serve in Burma. Curtin wanted them home.

Australia’s 14th Prime Minister is widely regarded as one of the greatest. John Curtin’s achievement rests on his leadership of the nation during much of World War II. Curtin’s rejection of the British strategy for Australian troops enabled the successful defence of New Guinea. And, in a remarkable move, he put US General Douglas MacArthur in charge of Australia’s defence forces. Although he had been a strong opponent of conscription during World War I, as leader during the 1939–45 conflict, Curtin made the decision to send conscripted troops to serve outside Australia.

Curtin’s leadership during these difficult wartime years was acknowledged by Australian voters at the 1943 election which resulted in far and away the greatest victory ever recorded by the ALP at the federal level. It was also without precedent in that it provided the first and only instance when one party, the ALP, won every seat contested in either House in the prime minister’s home state of Western Australia.

Such was Curtin’s standing and integrity within the community that the 1943 election was fought on a campaign slogan of ‘You can’t have Curtin as a leader unless you vote for Labor’. 1943 was the first and only election that Curtin contested as prime minister and the dramatic landslide victory for him and his government provides a testament to the public’s overwhelming confidence in their national leader and a vindication of his 20 months in office.

Labor won 49 of the 74 seats and the Opposition parties 23, with Coles and Wilson retaining the other two seats. Labor was equally triumphant in the upper House – winning all the contested Senate seats in all six states. From 1 July 1944, when the newly elected senators took their seats, Labor had 22 of the 36 Senate members. In the interim Labor increased its Senate representation to 18 with the inclusion of the first woman – Senator Dorothy Tangney from Western Australia.

In his last election speech Curtin had specified three tasks for the incoming government: to ‘direct the coming offensive against Japan’, ‘be responsible for Australia’s part in the peace conference’ and work ‘for demobilization and post-war reconstruction’. In performing these tasks the Curtin Government from 1 July 1944 was the first Labor federal government to control both Houses of Parliament since the conscription split in 1916. The five and a half year period which followed when the ALP could implement its legislative program without disruption in either House of the Commonwealth Parliament was only paralleled in the past by the experience of the Fisher Labor Government 1910 to 1913 and the Fisher and Hughes governments from 1914 to 1916. Control of both Houses has not been seen in the period since 1949 until the Howard Liberal Government's election wins of 2004.

 

[chooke]

Control of both Houses has not been seen in the period since 1949 until the Howard Liberal Government's election wins of 2004.

What about the Fraser Govts of 1975 and 1977?

 

[DaveW]

From Adam Carr's election archive:

Arthur Coles

Coles stood on a "non-party, win the war" platform, but he was in
effect a UAP candidate. He joined the parliamentary UAP in early
1941, but resigned again in August following the deposition of
Menzies. He joined with the other independent, Wilson, in voting
against the budget on 7 October 1941, bringing down the Fadden
government. Thereafter he supported the Curtin government.

Alex Wilson

2. Wilson was an independent Country candidate.

Wilson joined with the other independent, Coles, in voting against
the budget on 7 October 1941, bringing down the Fadden Government.
Thereafter he supported the Curtin Government.

 

[RUNVS]

Im so glad Curtin was in power for the important parts of WW2 as he stood up to Churchill and put Australian interests over the interests of the British Empire. If Curtin wasnt in power then Australia may have been invaded as we would have lost the conflict in Malaya.

 

[DaveW]

Just watched Curtin on the ABC. It appeared that independents deserted Menzies and crossed the floor.

It was the Fadden govt they brought down. The movie ran through this sequence of events quite quickly but Fadden replaced Menzies as PM in the scene previous.

I thought independents were a recent phenomenon in the house of reps.

Yes, this is true to an extent.

As this table shows, independents have traditionally been quite rare in the House of Reps.

Yet in recent years, the chamber has seen the following elected independents: Ted Mack, Phil Cleary, Allan Rocher, Paul Filing, Graeme Campbell, Pauline Hanson*, Peter Andren, Bob Katter and Tony Windsor.

(*albeit as a Liberal on the ballot paper)

 

[Gary Shadforth]

.... an out-of-touch Churchill.

I would also like to say that Churchill never, never ever came to Australia in his life-time. 'Out of touch' ... just one thought I have of the great war-mongeror and why I say the old bastard was out of touch.

And I, like thousands of others, was appalled in the late 1960s when the Victorian government, so far down the track from WW11, named a town in his name, built as accommodation for workers during the construction of the Hazelwood Power Station.

The man had never done anything for our country and could only see the Brisbane Line as some kind of fortress, so meek, against what could have been a Japanese invasion. Thank God for our US alliance.

Strange though, the old scoundrel was born half Yank.

Paying my repects to Peter Casserly

 

[Wicked Lester]

It was the Fadden govt they brought down. The movie ran through this sequence of events quite quickly but Fadden replaced Menzies as PM in the scene previous.

Yes, this is true to an extent.

As this table shows, independents have traditionally been quite rare in the House of Reps.

Yet in recent years, the chamber has seen the following elected independents: Ted Mack, Phil Cleary, Allan Rocher, Paul Filing, Graeme Campbell, Pauline Hanson*, Peter Andren, Bob Katter and Tony Windsor.

(*albeit as a Liberal on the ballot paper)

She was not a Liberal on the ballot paper. She'd been disendorsed and stood as an independent.

 

[put me in coach]

She was not a Liberal on the ballot paper. She'd been disendorsed and stood as an independent.

Damn straight. Disendorsed well before the 1996 landslide defeat of Keating's ratbag government.

 

[DaveW]

Hanson was disendorsed; but not until after the close of nominations.

Thus she appeared as the Liberal Party candidate on the printed ballot paper.

http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/When/elections/1996/hor/divisions/gdvs_qld.htm
Scroll down to Oxley.

 

[Wicked Lester]

Hanson was disendorsed; but not until after the close of nominations.

Thus she appeared as the Liberal Party candidate on the printed ballot paper.

http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/When/elections/1996/hor/divisions/gdvs_qld.htm
Scroll down to Oxley.

You're quite right. I stand corected.

 

[put me in coach]

You're quite right. I stand corected.

ditto

 

[Mr Q]

Allan Rocher, Paul Filing, Graeme Campbell

All three of these were only elected on the back of disendorsement by their parties. Rocher was the Liberal member for Curtin, Filing the Lib member for Moore, and Campbell the Labor member for Kalgoorlie until 1996. Oddly enough, both Campbell and Filing later went down the One Nation track and got nowhere. All three were in the 1996 election, where Campbell won because everyone wanted to give Keating a kick up the arse, and the others because no one wanted Noel Crichton-Brown lackeys getting into power.

Rocher in particular was elected because the Libs (ie NCB) tried to push him out of Curtin to shoehorn a member of the Court family in - something that went down particularly badly in the electorate (I was in Curtin at the time). As a consequence, Labor played dead, ensuring they'd run third and push Rocher over the top of Court. Must say it was the only time I've ever put the eventual elected candidate anywhere other than last in the elections I've voted in - IIRC, I actually tactically voted for Rocher despite not really having much time for him as an MP (I really didn't want another Court out there).

 

[sen entertainment bloke]

It was the Fadden govt they brought down. The movie ran through this sequence of events quite quickly but Fadden replaced Menzies as PM in the scene previous.

So that's where Fadden fits into the web of Australian politics. Thanks.

Didn't pick it up, unless Fadden and Menzies were similar in appearance in the show. It looked like a disgruntled Menzies as Curtin assumed office.

On reflection about the main theme from the show, it looks strange to have brought the troops home through a scene that could have turned pear shaped. (although the consensus seems to be that Burma would have ended in prisoners galore)

Guess all the troops went into the jungles and did there bit afterwards so it worked out. Wonder if Elsie married the dentist.

Interesting period of history.

 

[Dry Rot]

Just watched it.

Great show. Curious that there are no comments here about some subtext about about using our troops at the behest of the Brits or Yanks.

As far as we went, Churchill was a ****.

Puts the "great" Johnny Howard into some perspective.

 

[RUNVS]

Just watched it.

Great show. Curious that there are no comments here about some subtext about about using our troops at the behest of the Brits or Yanks.

As far as we went, Churchill was a ****.

Puts the "great" Johnny Howard into some perspective.

If John Howard was in Curtin's position back in WW2 then he would have blindly done exactly what the British and Americans wanted us to do and that could have led to Australia being invaded by the Japanese. When it comes down to it Howard would rather please the British and Americans than do what is best for the country.

 

[put me in coach]

If John Howard was in Curtin's position back in WW2 then he would have blindly done exactly what the British and Americans wanted us to do and that could have led to Australia being invaded by the Japanese. When it comes down to it Howard would rather please the British and Americans than do what is best for the country.

One word: Bullshit!

 

[skilts]

In a raffle. First prize was a house.