The Just Fear? - A Wikibox Timeline

[Morraw]

THE JUST FEAR?

A Wikibox Timeline By Morraw​

In the study of Australian politics, 1951 has often been cited as a watershed year much akin to 1901, 1916, 1931, and 1945. Taking place against the backdrop of the Korean War and the height of the Red Scare, Australia was over the course of the year practically torn right down the center over the issue of Communism and the threat (real or perceived) it posed to society and the government. Specifically, the issue of whether-or-not to ban the Communist Party was the main political issue of the day; the question being first raised in the April of 1950 when the recently inaugurated Robert Menzies-led Liberal/Country Coalition introduced a bill to outlaw all Communist organisations in the Commonwealth (including those believed to be affiliated with their ideology) and seize completely and without compensation their premises and properties. Though the Communist Party had been forced to dissolve a decade earlier in 1940 under the first Menzies Government, his Labor successor John Curtin had lifted the ban not two years later, with the High Court invalidating the provisions that resulted in the dissolution in 1943; nevertheless, Menzies believed that he could once-and-for-all abolish the party of the 'Red Ideology' and end what he saw as a major threat to Australian stability.

After the introduction of the bill, fears were raised that the Labor-controlled Senate would use their majority to block the passage of the legislation; however, after a series of amendments and the threat of a double dissolution and early-election, Ben Chifley, the Labor leader, allowed for his party to approve the measure, and in October of 1950 the bill banning the Communist Party was signed into law. Of course, voices were soon raised - most loudly from the Communist Party itself - that the bill was 'unconstitutional' and 'anti-freedom'; the issue of the forced dissolving of their organisation being swiftly brought before the High Court which in the March of 1951 declared that Menzies' legislation was indeed prohibited by the Constitution and the ban thus lifted. Though the landmark decision was made just a month prior to that year's election in April, the Liberal/Country Coalition remained in power with a slightly reduced majority in the House (though they succeeded in gaining the Senate), and shortly thereafter Menzies called a constitutional referendum for September to grant the federal government the power to conclusively ban the Communist Party.

Tempers soon flared; though many middle-and-upper-class Australians (those that largely supported the Liberal Party) feared communism and agreed with Menzies' ban, many people in the lower-and-working-classes (with overwhelming representation in Labor) believed that should the referendum pass, further anti-worker and anti-safety net legislation would soon follow. Throughout the winter and spring of 1951, arguments for-and-against the ban made their way across the Commonwealth, with many pre-referendum polls determining that there was by-and-large a 50/50 split in society over those that supported and opposed dissolution. However, the issue itself was entirely a inter-party-issue; many younger and less affluent Liberal supporters disagreed with Menzies and believed that his government was subverting the Constitution and that the ban was an attack on freedom of speech - whilst the left-wing of the Country Party believed that the ban could result in the removal of tariffs that protected the trade of their rural constituents (something defended by rural communist trade unions).

However, in no other organisations did such a serious divide exist over the issue of 'banning communism' than that which almost tore apart the Labor Party. Since the late-1940's and especially after the Communist-led coal strikes of 1949 which helped bring down the Chifley-led Labor Government, anti-communist sentiment had been running high amongst the more socially conservative and largely Catholic working class Labor voters who had in the early-1940's set up 'Industrial Groups' (nicknamed 'Groupers') within trade unions to combat the threat of communist infiltration which had been rife in the 1930's. Heavily influenced by the theories of the Catholic anti-communist activist B. A. Santamaria and supported by the prominent Melbourne Archbishop Daniel Mannix, this faction of the Labor Party - most strong in Victoria and Queensland - campaigned alongside the Menzies Government and against their new parliamentary leader, Herbert Evatt, for a 'yes' result in the referendum; Evatt himself fearful that a vote either way could lead to another Labor split much akin to 1916 or 1931.

The referendum campaigns themselves were fast fought and brutal; up until September, fear and smear tactics from both sides made up much of the public marketing to swing fence-sitters one-way-or-the-other. The Groupers, including many high-ranking conservative Labor leaders such as Arthur Calwell, heavily campaigned that a 'no' vote would result in complete communist infiltration of Australian society, the institution of 'mandatory atheism', and that the nation (still under sway of the White Australia policy) would be be 'swamped' by the 'Red Chinese' that Australia was actively fighting in Korea. A slogan used by both Liberal and Labor 'yes' supporters came to the fore; the fear of communism being described as "the just fear" which Australians must overcome by voting 'yes' in September; the 'no' side flinging accusations of "fascist" and "dictator" against Prime Minister Menzies when he used the catchphrase in an August speech with equally tasteless jibes such as "pinko" and "commie-lover" soon being thrown back by the 'yes' supporters. By September, the polls hadn't moved in months and the 50/50 split over the issue of the ban remained in place.

The polls were prescient; by a margin of only 15,857 votes (out of over 4,700,000) and with a majority of the states, the constitutional amendment to ban the Communist Party and any 'likewise organisations' had been accepted by the people of Australia. Fear of communist infiltration and the overthrow of the Commonwealth was seen by many as more-than-enough reason to vote 'yes' in September; the Prime Minister himself, after his successful reelection in April and now equally successful referendum result, hailed the outcome as a "victory for democracy" and moved swiftly to reinstitute his 1950 bill which, after a few alterations, passed through the House and now Coalition-controlled Senate with little issue - all whilst the 'no' voters looked on dismayed, perhaps not quite believing the people had just voted to ban one of the largest minor parties. The question was soon raised; what does this mean for the future of Australia?

Only time would tell...