Australia: Fascism or Communism?

With POD post-1945, which fate of Australia that's more likely? And how could it happen? How would this Australia's relationship with Southeast Asia and the rest?

Thanks in advance!
 
Well outright fascism is pretty much out of question. Communism, maybe if vastly more successful Vietnam early on and before US intervenes and domino theory turns out true. Very very unlikely, but perhaps maybe Australia briefly turns Communist. After this brief period of communism, counter-revolution establishes quasi-fascist government. But long before things go that far somebody would intervene. How it would affect South-east asia? I would guess that pretty much everyone there turns communist. However, again, before things went that far US would certainly intervene. They wouldn't be able to ignore it.
 
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Maybe not fascist, but ruled by military ala Peron's Argentina or Pinochet's Chile
Although I can't find a figure that could do that
 
Neither. Quite simply.

The Australian political spectrum throughout the Cold War proved inhospitable to either the far left or far right.

Avoiding the hyperbole of various wingnuts about person x,y,z of being fascists/communist, and whether certain individuals were communist agents or 'fellow travellers' of the cause, its nigh on impossible for Australia to be turned into a communist state, even if individuals who were of a communist bent were able to gain the highest office (through a Labor electoral victory), but that would prove pretty impossible as well as the party split over far left influence (amongst many other things) in '55.
 

Sumeragi

Banned
Australia is too much of a centralist liberal republican country to go either extreme except by external force. That's my take on it.
 
Maybe not fascist, but ruled by military
Why exactly, what would bring about this? Also confounding this is the fact that the Australian military is almost totally apolitical and non-integrated into the political system.
 
Agreed and why would Australia's many allies or other interested parties would let a military government take control post WW2, even if someone in Australia would wish to take such a step?

The world would have to be a very different place
 

Cook

Banned
Well, then explain why it's ridiculous
Don't say anything useless
Because the Australian military is built on British traditions; it is entirely apolitical.

In addition to which you are dealing with a nation that has had secret ballot and preferential voting for longer than anyone else; both are things geared to keep the body politic driving along the centre.

If Australia didn’t go to the political extreme during the great depression when 30% of the population was unemployed (higher than Germany’s) then it just isn’t going to happen.
 
The only fascist group of any importance in australia was the New Guard in the 30s so its a bit too early for this thread and in any case, its popularity was largely a knee jerk reaction to Jack Lang's Labor Party (the coup they planed against him incidently might make an interesting ATL).

As for communism, the most left wing of mainstream party in Australia is labor which is divided into a left and a right factions so them turning communist is very unlikely. In any case, during the cold war peoples here had pretty much the same view about communists as in the US (Prime Minister Menzies tried to outlaw the communist party in 1951).

The closest I could see a regime along those lines would be more authoritarian then totalitarian, maybe having over the years groups such as the League of Rights infiltrating mainstream political parties and influencing events from behind closed doors.
 
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