AK's Australian Election Series - Master Thread

[Dr. Cynic]

With this particular history going as it is, will Don Chipp still breakaway from the Liberals to form the Democrats?

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

With this particular history going as it is, will Don Chipp still breakaway from the Liberals to form the Democrats?

We'll have to wait and see, in this timeline, Chipp was one of the Liberal MPs from Victoria who re-gained his seat in 1970, after losing it in 1967. It will depend on who is in government during that period, and the success of the Australia Party (who already have a Senator in this TL)

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

In the House of Representatives, the 1973 election was very similar to the 1970 election, with no change in the territories or Western Australia, and Labor losing only one seat each in South Australia and Victoria. The now-reunited Communist Party's vote share remained stagnant, which meant it was a drop of over 6%, given the loss of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party. Now down to only one seat in the House of Representatives, the Communists still managed to elect a Senator from New South Wales, narrowly beating the Australia Party candidate. The National Country Party, a result of the Country Party absorbing the DLP, did better in Queensland and Western Australia compared to the old parties' 1970 totals, particularly in the Senate, although made little headway into metropolitan areas in Australia, particularly the old DLP stronghold of Victoria.

In terms of seats, here's a summary of each state's results from the 1973 election in the House of Representatives:
New South Wales (46 seats) – 31 Labor, 7 Liberal, 7 National Country, 1 Communist
Victoria (33 seats) – 16 Labor, 12 Liberal, 5 National Country
Queensland (18 seats) – 10 Labor, 4 Liberal, 4 National Country
South Australia (12 seats) – 7 Labor, 5 Liberal
Western Australia (9 seats) – 6 Labor, 1 Liberal, 2 Country
Tasmania (4 seats) – 4 Labor
Northern Territory (1 seat) – 1 Labor
Australian Capital Territory (1 seat) – 1 Labor
Total – 77 Labor, 28 Liberal, 17 Country, 1 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1970:
New South Wales: 2 Labor, 1 Liberal, 1 Communist, 1 Australia Party
Victoria: 2 Labor, 2 Liberal, 1 Marxist-Leninist Communist
Queensland: 2 Labor, 2 Liberal, 1 Country
South Australia: 3 Labor, 2 Liberal
Western Australia: 2 Labor, 2 Liberal, 1 Country
Tasmania: 2 Labor, 2 Liberal, 1 Democratic Labor
Total: 13 Labor, 11 Liberal,  3 National Country 2 Communist, 1 Australia Party

Here's the Senate summary from 1973:
New South Wales: 2 Labor, 2 Liberal, 1 Communist
Victoria: 2 Labor, 2 Liberal, 1 Australia Party
Queensland: 2 Labor, 1 Liberal, 2 National Country
South Australia: 3 Labor, 2 Liberal
Western Australia: 2 Labor, 1 Liberal, 2 National Country
Tasmania: 3 Labor, 2    Liberal
Total: 14 Labor, 10 Liberal, 4 National Country, 1 Australia Party, 1 Communist

Summary of 1973 election:

House of Representatives
Labor – 76 (-1)
Liberal – 29 (+1)
National Country – 18 (+1)*
Communist – 1 (-1)
* - Change is from 1970 Country figure.

Senate
1970: 13 Labor, 11 Liberal,  3 National Country 2 Communist, 1 Australia Party
1973: 14 Labor, 10 Liberal, 4 National Country, 1 Australia Party, 1 Communist
Total: 27 Labor, 21 Liberal,  7 National Country, 3 Communist, 2 Australia Party

Two-party preferred vote: 55.69-44.31

Having lost is Senate majority, the Communists and Australia Party jointly holding the balance of power, the Whitlam Government entered its third term by introducing a bill that would give the territories Senate representation, each territory would have two Senators, elected at each House of Representatives election. This easily passed both houses, and was effective for the next election, due in 1976. In the wake of the 1973 election, in which the Liberals were led by moderate John Gorton, a leadership spill occurred, on the back of Gorton's moderate campaign not achieving a lot. The leadership ballot was between Gorton, and fellow Victorian Malcolm Fraser, the latter from the conservative wing of the party. Fraser proved successful in the leadership ballot, and Gorton resigned to the backbench shortly afterwards. Doug Anthony remained leader of the National Country Party.

The Snowy River Scheme, having been under construction for almost a quarter of a century, was finally completed in 1973. While this infrastructural milestone benefited southeastern Australia to a great degree, the Australian economy, which went through significant growth in the 1950s and 1960s, aside from a recession in the early 1960s, was beginning to show signs of slowing down and indeed, regression. Inflation, which had reached around 6.5% at the start of 1972, before dipping to below 5% a year later, was about to skyrocket to 12% by the start of 1974. This was partially caused by the world economy, by the oil crisis that broke out in October of 1973, by the UK's entry in what was then the EEC, and lowered foreign investment in, and economic productivity out of Australia.

In late 1973, around the commencement of the oil crisis, a commission was created to devise the best method for recognising Aboriginal land rights in the Northern Territory. One year later, landmark legislation was introduced into Parliament, allowing a claim of land title, on the criterion that claimants provide enough evidence of traditional association. After passing the House of Representatives easily, the legislation went to the Senate, where although the Communists opposed the bill, on the basis that no-one should own land, the bill passed easily, and became law early in 1975. Along with Labor, the Australia Party, and most Liberal and Country Senators, voted in favour of the bill.

A referendum, proposed in early 1974, would, if validated, enable those in the ACT and NT alike to vote in future referenda. At this point in time, only those in the states could vote in referenda. The votes from the territories would be incorporated into the national total, and only three states would need to vote Yes to have a referendum passed, along with a majority of the national vote. Another two referendum questions, which would ensure Senate elections, both regular half-Senate elections and double dissolutions, were held at the same time as House of Representatives elections, and allow the federal government to give grants to local governments, were also put onto the table.

Referenda questions:

Question A (Altering the Constitution)
“Do you approve of the proposed changes that would allow residents of the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory to vote in referenda, and to change the requirement for passing from four states plus a national majority, to three states plus a national majority?”

Question B (Elections)
“Do you approve of amending electoral law to ensure Senate elections are held in conjunction with House of Representatives elections?”

Question C (Local Government Grants)
“Do you approve of a proposed law that would enable the Commonwealth Government to provide monetary grants to local governments?”

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

All three referenda were passed with supermajorities of between 68 and 85%, which ensured all Australians could vote in referenda, the days of House-only federal elections, of which two occurred in the 1950s, were over, and local government bodies could apply for federal monetary assistance respectively. Despite this success of the referenda, the economic outlook for Australia remained bleak, and was going to become bleaker - by the start of financial year 1974/75, which also marked the metrification of Australia's road signs, inflation had reached 14%, and unemployment, which had stayed under 3% since the early 1960s recession, began to rise, by July 1974 it had reached 4.25%. Despite this, the government proceeded with lowering tariffs by 20% in June 1974, and announced they would not be cutting or delaying any government programs.

In July 1974, former SA Premier Steele Hall, who had been elected as a Liberal Senator in South Australia the previous year, announced he was joining the Australia Party, and would run for Senate at the next federal election. Hall, who was in the moderate wing of the SA Liberals, and who supported abolishing the old gerrymander in SA state politics, had enough of what he called the "extremes", and decided to join the Australia Party, believing fellow moderate Australians needed a strong voice. Current Australia Party leader, Gordon Barton, stepped aside as leader to pave way for Hall, Barton felt he could connect with the people better than he could. October of 1974 would see Bankcard launched, Bankcard being the very first credit card introduced into the Australian market.

Late 1974 saw two very notable events, firstly in early December, Rex Connor, the Minerals and Energy Minister, wanted to borrow money to fund ongoing infrastructure programs, such as a natural gas pipeline, and upgrades to interstate railways. The rationale for the loan was because the government's reserves were becoming low by this point in time, although Connor bypassed the Loan Council, the avenue through which Australian governments must pursue in order to take out loans. Connor contacted Tirath Khemlani, a Pakistani-born employee at commodity trader Dalamal and Sons, based in London, to secure the loan. Much of early 1975 consisted of correspondence about the loan, which continued through May of that year, although the loan, which was for three billion dollars, never eventuated. PM Whitlam subsequently banned Connor from all loan-related activities in May 1975, and then tried to obtain the loan through a US bank. Secondly, Cyclone Tracy ravaged Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974, killing 71 people, and leaving over 80% of Darwin's 47,000 inhabitants homeless, with many moving to Adelaide and Sydney, never to return to the Top End. PM Whitlam was criticised by the Opposition, and some in the Labor caucus, for his brief visit back to Australia, while on a tour of Europe, in the wake of Cyclone Tracy.

Another disaster struck Australia in January 1975, when an ore carrier crashed into Hobart’s Tasman bridge, sinking the bridge, and killing 12 people. This essentially divided Hobart, and the eastern suburbs of Hobart soon feel into deprivation – crime rose 41%, and the Tasman Bridge, funded with federal funds, did not re-open until late in 1977. Government funded radio station 2JJ, or Double J, took to the airwaves the same month in Sydney, and helped Australian bands and signers gain more exposure. Internationally during this period, the conflict in Vietnam, which Australia had withdrawn from back in 1970, ended with the Fall of Saigon on the 25th of April, 1975.

July 1975 saw the formation of Australia Post and Telecom, Australia’s provider of postal services and phone services respectively, from the Postmaster-General’s Department. It was also decided at this point in time to hold a convention on changing the national anthem, from this late 1975 convention, a referendum question would be held in conjunction with the next election, and four choices, the incumbent national anthem God Save the Queen, Advance Australia Fair, Song of Australia and Waltzing Matilda, would be offered to Australian voters. In the event no song achieved a majority as per the conditions of a referendum, a runoff between the top two highest polling songs would be held.

Papua New Guinea gained its independence from Australia on the 16th of September, 1975, and three months later, on the 7th of December, Indonesian forces, supported by Australia, the US and the UK, invaded East Timor, which was formerly a Portuguese colony since the start of the 18th century. Sadly, five journalists from Australia perished two months prior from Indonesian troops, who had already moved into the area. Back home, a new libertarian party, the Progress Party, was founded by John Singleton, for those who were after a radical free-market alternative to even the Liberal Party.

By the end of 1975, the Loans Affair had been publicized in the media, Khemlani himself had been interviewed by the Australian media that October about the loan, which was never secured. The economy wasn’t getting any better either – while inflation had peaked at 18% in April of 1975, before dropping sharply to a still high 12% in September, it was back up to 14% by the end of 1975. Unemployment had also hit 5%, the worst since the end of the 1930s. Entering 1976, and tobacco advertising was banned on TV and radio in Australia, effective from the 1st of March. Random alcohol breath testing was commenced by the Victorian government around the same time, in a move to combat intoxicated driving. Around this period, the Opposition were critical of the Government’s low intake of South Vietnamese refugees, believing they should be taking in more from the now-fully communist Vietnam.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

1976, while seeing a clear rejection of the Whitlam Government, who suffered a 15.8% swing against them on primary votes, did not see an endorsement of the Fraser-led opposition – far from it actually. The Liberal Party went backwards by 11.7%, losing votes to both the Australia Party and the new Progress Party, particularly the latter. The National Country Party also lost 3.9% of the primary vote, primarily to the Progress Party, and the Communist Party suffered a minimal loss in their primary vote. As a result, the national two-party preferred vote at this election was merely a left/right preference indication. The Progress Party did best in WA, winning half the lower house seats, and the Australia Party did best in SA, winning a plurality of seats. The National Anthem referendum saw a tie for first place, meaning Advance Australia Fair and Waltzing Matilda would advance to the runoff referendum, and God Save the Queen was no longer the national anthem, although its successor was yet to be determined.

In terms of seats, here's a summary of each state's results from the 1976 election in the House of Representatives:
New South Wales (45 seats) – 15 Labor, 11 Liberal, 6 National Country,  5 Progress, 5 Australia Party, 3 Communist
Victoria (34 seats) – 13 Liberal, 11 Labor, 4 Progress, 3 National Country, 3 Australia Party
Queensland (18 seats) – 6 National Country, 4 Liberal, 3 Labor, 3 Australia Party, 2 Progress
South Australia (12 seats) – 5 Australia Party, 4 Labor, 3 Liberal
Western Australia (10 seats) – 5 Progress, 3 Liberal, 2 Labor
Tasmania (4 seats) – 2 Labor, 1Liberal, 1 Progress
Australian Capital Territory (2 seats) – 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Northern Territory (1 seat) – 1 Progress
Total – 38 Labor, 35 Liberal, 18 Progress, 17 Australia Party, 15 National Country, 3 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1973:
New South Wales: 2 Labor, 2 Liberal, 1 Communist
Victoria: 2 Labor, 2 Liberal, 1 Australia Party
Queensland: 2 Labor, 1 Liberal, 2 National Country
South Australia: 3 Labor, 2 Australia Party
Western Australia: 2 Labor, 1 Liberal, 2 National Country
Tasmania: 3 Labor, 2    Liberal
Total: 14 Labor, 10 Liberal, 4 National Country, 1 Australia Party, 1 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1976:
New South Wales: 1 Labor, 1 Liberal, 1 Communist, 1 National Country, 1 Australia Party
Victoria: 2 Liberal, 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party, 1 Progress
Queensland: 2 National Country, 1 Progress, 1 Liberal, 1 Labor
South Australia: 2 Australia Party, 2 Labor, 1 Liberal
Western Australia: 2 Progress, 1 Liberal, 1 National Country, 1 Labor
Tasmania: 2 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 Liberal , 1 Australia Party
Australian Capital Territory: 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Northern Territory: 1 Labor, 1 Progress
Total: 10 Labor, 7 Liberal, 6 Progress, 6 Australia Party,  4 National Country, 1 Communist

Summary of 1976 election:

House of Representatives
Labor – 38 (-38)
Liberal – 35 (+7)
Progress – 18 (+18)
Australia Party – 17 (+17)
National Country – 15 (-3)
Communist – 3 (+2)

Senate
1973: 14 Labor, 10 Liberal, 4 National Country, 1 Australia Party, 1 Communist
1976: 10 Labor, 7 Liberal, 6 Progress, 6 Australia Party,  4 National Country, 1 Communist
Total: 24 Labor, 16 Liberal,  8 National Country, , 8 Australia Party*, 6 Progress, 2 Communist
* Steele Hall, elected as a Liberal Senator in 1973, defected to the Australia Party in 1974.

Two-party preferred vote: 55.16-44.84

While the next Government of Australia, given the composition of both houses of Parliament, was yet to be determined, Gough Whitlam remained caretaker PM, and the runoff referendum for the national anthem was set for the 26th of June, 1976. With the Liberals and Nationals only holding 53 seats between them, they would need the support of the Progress Party to govern in the lower house, although in the upper house, the Australia Party’s support would be required to pass legislation. Labor, holding 38 seats, would only have 58 seats if the Australia Party and Communist members supported a Labor-led government, and the Progress Party looked extremely unlikely to support a Labor-led government.

Referendum question:

On the 12th of June, in the year 1976, you voted for a song to use as Australia’s national anthem, and the most popular responses were “Advance Australia Fair” and “Waltzing Matilda”. Which of these songs do you prefer to use as the national anthem?

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Two weeks after the 1976 federal election, Australians had chosen a new national anthem, namely Waitzing Matilda, but their new government still wasn't quite determined, although pundits had been predicting a Liberal-National Country-Progress government, based on the three parties' united stance against Labor. On the final day of June, 1976, Gough Whitlam announced his retirement as Labor leader, and thus Prime Minister, effective as soon as the new government was formed. The following day, on the 1st of July, it was announced that the Liberal, National Country and Progress Parties had drawn up an agreement to form a government, with a majority of 10 over all other parties, almost three weeks after the election.

The agreement contained the following terms:

• The Progress Party would be entitled to four ministerial posts, namely the Ministries of Industry and Commerce, Employment and Industrial Relations, Productivity, and Post and Telecommunications.
• The National Country Party leader, namely Doug Anthony, would remain Deputy Prime Minister, despite the NCP winning fewer seats than the Progress Party. This was to ensure the stability between the Liberal and National Country Parties.
• Malcolm Fraser, leader of the Liberal Party, will serve as Prime Minister.
• The agreement will last until the next election, due in 1979, barring a double dissolution, in line with the 1974 amendment to the Constitution.
• No further expansion of the federal government will occur.
• A commitment to giving states back their traditional powers.
• A commitment to lowering taxes.
• A proposal to amend the Constitution of Australia to protect and enshrine freedom of speech and religion.
• A proposal to amend the Constitution of Australia to officially delegate powers not attributed to the federal government to the state governments, and by extension, local governments.
• These referenda would take place in conjunction with the next federal election.

Steele Hall and the Australia Party once again restated how they would not blindly rubber stamp the new government's agenda in the Senate, and that they would need to negotiate legislation with them to get it passed. The Australia Party would thus sit on the crossbenches in both chambers, along with the Communist Party, leaving Labor to form the Opposition. Meanwhile, Labor held a leadership ballot to replace Gough Whitlam, for their first new leader in 12 years. It came down to a battle between Jim Cairns, former Deputy PM, and Bill Hayden, former Treasurer. Hayden came out triumphant, as most Labor MPs did not want to elect a leader who had been tainted by the 1974/75 Loans Affair.

The Fraser Government's first Budget, in August of 1976, saw proposals to lower income taxes across the board significantly, re-grant the rights of tax raising to the states, in line with re-granting states their traditional powers, numerous cuts across the federal government, notably to the ABC,  a proposal to alter Medibank to allow the HIC (Health Insurance Commission) to enter the insurance business, a 20% paycut to all MPs and Senators, and a 10% paycut to all federal government employees. With four votes outside of the government coalition required for the budget to pass the Senate, negotiation with the Australia Party was required.

While the Australia Party agreed on the pay cuts for MPs, and were willing to accept the Medibank reforms, provided that the levy was neither raised nor expanded to lower-income Australians, they did not want to cut ABC funding to the extent the government did, and stated that the most they will cut from federal employees' salaries was 5%. After some negotiations, including income tax cuts not as deep as originally proposed (the top rate went down to 45%, as opposed to the 30% proposal), federal employees' salaries were cut by 7%, and the budget was passed after a few weeks, in September of 1976.

The government also upheld its commitment to allowing refugees from Vietnam to settle in Australia, and many thousands would come to Australia over the remainder of the decade. Tens of thousands of Asian migrants would also settle in Australia during this period, a trend which had increased over the 1970s, since the White Australia Policy was abolished at the start of the decade. By the end of 1976, Australia's inflation rate had started to come down, to 12%, although the unemployment rate had increased since the end of 1975 to 6.5%. The government stated that the effects of the 1970s oil crisis were still lingering, and to give their reforms a chance in improving the economy, and thus the country.

1977, the first full year of the Liberal-NCP-Progress Government, started with two tragedies - the first being the Connellan air disaster, in with an ex-employee of Connellan Airways took six lives with him, when he stole a plane and hit the Connellan building in Alice Springs. The second occurred a mere five days later, on the 10th of January, saw the murder of two inner Melbourne women, which would remain unsolved, although was later linked to an earlier murder in North Melbourne from 1975. Politically, early 1977 saw the creation of a special TV licence - namely for a proposed TV channel catering for Australia's growing ethnic minority population, although its funding model was not quite decided - ranging from  the Communist and Labor parties' desire of being 100% government funded, while at the other end of the spectrum, the Progress Party wanted it to be a private network like the other commercial channels.

The most notable political decision in 1977 was not by the federal government, but by the Queensland state government led by Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who banned street marches and demonstrations on the 4th of September. Bjelke-Petersen, who had won three elections as Queensland Premier for the National Country Party, was inspired to implement the ban from a march by university students the preceding year, which attracted more than a thousand protesters, and was stopped by the police. This was followed by a raid by the police on a northern Queensland hippie commune, in which the commune was destroyed on the suspicion marijuana was inside. Bjelke-Petersen stated "The days of street marches are over, don't even bother applying for a permit!" on the evening news, on the 4th of September. This did not affect the state election held late in 1977, the Bjelke-Petersen government was returned for a fourth time, amid the Queensland Liberals at both levels, and a significant number of the national NCP representatives, gritting their teeth,

After more negotiations, the proposed TV channel that would cater primarily for Australia's ethnic minority channel, was officially named the Special Broadcasting Service, and while it would be funded like the commercial channels, there would be some government guidance, primarily regarding content. It would broadcast on both VHF Channel 0 and UHF Channel 28, as virtually no Australians had UHF aerials at this time, with plans to switch to a UHF-only service by 1985. SBS was set to take the airwaves by no later than 1980. Meanwhile, in Tasmania, the Tasman Bridge was finally re-opened, almost three years after it was damaged in the disaster which saw Hobart very much divided. By the end of 1977, inflation was down to 8%, while unemployment fell slightly to 6%, although had fluctuated throughout the year in the 6-7% range.

1978, like 1977 before it, also started off relatively grim - Australia's first terrorist attack occurred on the 13th of February, when a bomb outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney killed three people and injured another 11, during the inaugural CHOGRM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting), a spinoff of the biennial CHOGM meetings. PM Fraser immediately called the army in for the rest of the meeting, and the instigators of the bombing were never found. Not long afterwards, Don Chipp, a Liberal MP from southeastern Melbourne, defected to the Australia Party, citing the government as becoming too extreme. This brought the government's majority down to 8. Not long afterwards, Liberal MP Peter Richardson from southern Perth defected to the Progress Party, which was already strong in Western Australia.

On the subject of CHOGM, 1977's CHOGM meeting in Scotland saw PM Fraser, like Whitlam before him, condemn apartheid South Africa, and other nations with a minority rule government, particularly Rhodesia. Back to 178, Cyclone Alby struck southwestern Western Australia on the 4th of April, killing five people and causing significant damage to the region. The 1978 budget would see the abolition of federal estate tax, or as some called it, death duties, lowering of tax on companies, along with some more federal tightening, particularly the restriction of Medibank to those earning under $30,000 a year, although this was amended to $35,000 in the Senate. Inflation was down to 7%, and unemployment was down to 5.5%, although this was still higher than it was at the end of 1975.

Before the end of 1978, commercial whaling came to an end in Australia, when the last whale caught by Cheynes Beach Whaling Company in Albany, Western Australia, was caught on the 20th of November, bringing an end to the last whaling company in the Southern Hemisphere. This was not the act of any government legislation, federal or state, rather local environmental lobbying in Western Australia, and the company had been struggling for the previous decade, courtesy of dwindling stocks and an increase in fuel costs. It was later converted into a museum about Albany's history of whaling, and a starting point for whale watching tours.

1979, prior to the impeding election due in the first half of the year, proved to be fairly uneventful, with the exception of Communist leader Ted Hill announcing his retirement post-election. Hill had stated "Clearly Communism in Australia needs a new direction, and thus a new leader". Hill also cited the party's declining fortunes as a reason for his retirement. Longtime Premier of South Australia, Labor's Don Dunstan, announced his retirement on the 15th of February, citing ill health. He was replaced by his deputy, Des Corcoran, who was quite similar to the old DLP in terms of political positions.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

With this particular history going as it is, will Don Chipp still breakaway from the Liberals to form the Democrats?

We'll have to wait and see, in this timeline, Chipp was one of the Liberal MPs from Victoria who re-gained his seat in 1970, after losing it in 1967. It will depend on who is in government during that period, and the success of the Australia Party (who already have a Senator in this TL)

Looks like the Democrats as we know them won't exist, although Chipp has joined the Australia Party.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

The 1979 federal election, in some ways, was a repeat of 1976 - six parties competing for the vote, each of them winning seats in both houses. However, the composition was somewhat different - in terms of votes, the NCP surged over 7%, the Progress Party also had a slight increase in their vote, both of which now outpolled the Liberal Party, which went backwards by 5.5% to a mere 13.8%, the same amount of the vote as their partners, the NCP, and centrist party the Australia Party. Labor jumped 2% to 31%, while the Communist Party was back in double digits at 10.3%. The right (Liberal-NCP-Progress) won 53.79% of the national two-party preferred vote, while the left (Labor-Communist) won 46.21%. All three referenda, the first two of which were spearheaded by the Progress Party, passed by varying margins: while the freedom of speech referendum passed 82-18, the government powers referendum passed by a comparatively small 59-41, and the retirement of judges' referendum passed 65-35.

In terms of seats, here's a summary of each state's results from the 1979 election in the House of Representatives:
New South Wales (45 seats) – 15 Labor, 8 National Country,  7 Liberal, 7 Progress, 5 Communist,
3 Australia Party
Victoria (34 seats) – 13 Liberal, 12 Labor, 3 Progress, 4 National Country, 2 Australia Party
Queensland (18 seats) – 9 National Country, 6 Labor, 2 Progress, 1 Liberal
South Australia (12 seats) – 6 Australia Party, 4 Labor, 2 Liberal
Western Australia (10 seats) – 6 Progress, 2 Labor, 1 Liberal, 1 National Country
Tasmania (4 seats) – 3 Labor, 1 Progress
Australian Capital Territory (2 seats) – 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Northern Territory (1 seat) – 1 Progress
Total – 43 Labor, 24 Liberal, 22 National Country, 20 Progress, 12 Australia Party, 5 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1976:
New South Wales: 1 Labor, 1 Liberal, 1 Communist, 1 National Country, 1 Australia Party
Victoria: 2 Liberal, 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party, 1 Progress
Queensland: 2 National Country, 1 Progress, 1 Liberal, 1 Labor
South Australia: 2 Australia Party, 2 Labor, 1 Liberal
Western Australia: 2 Progress, 1 Liberal, 1 National Country, 1 Labor
Tasmania: 2 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 Liberal , 1 Australia Party
Total: 8 Labor, 7 Liberal, 5 Progress, 5 Australia Party,  4 National Country, 1 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1979:
New South Wales: 1 Labor, 1 Liberal, 1 Communist, 1 National Country, 1 Australia Party
Victoria: 2 Liberal, 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party, 1 National Country
Queensland: 2 National Country, 2 Labor, 1 Progress
South Australia: 2 Australia Party, 2 Labor, 1 Liberal
Western Australia: 2 Progress, 1 Liberal, 1 National Country, 1 Labor
Tasmania: 3 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 Liberal
Australian Capital Territory: 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Northern Territory: 1 Labor, 1 Progress
Total: 12 Labor, 6 Australia Party, 5 Liberal, 5 Progress, 5 National Country, 1 Communist

Summary of 1979 election:

House of Representatives
Labor – 43 (+5)
Liberal – 24 (-11)
National Country – 22 (+7)
Progress – 20 (+2)
Australia Party – 12 (-5)
Communist – 5 (+2)

Senate
1976: 8 Labor, 7 Liberal, 5 Progress, 5 Australia Party,  4 National Country, 1 Communist
1979: 12 Labor, 6 Australia Party, 5 Liberal, 5 National Country, 5 Progress, 1 Communist
Total: 20 Labor, 12 Liberal, 11 Australia Party, 10 Progress, 9 National Country, 2 Communist

Two-party preferred vote: 53.79-46.21

The incumbent Liberal-NCP-Progress Government, led by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, who had to ward off a challenge from the NCP in his own seat, and whose party lost 11 seats, was returned with 66 seats between the three parties, for a majority of 6. In the Senate, the Australia Party and Communists continued to jointly hold the balance of power. Back in government, and with all three referenda passed, the government, particularly Progress Party leader John Singleton, were keen to lead Australia into the 1980s. On the opposition side of the chamber, Bill Hayden remained Labor leader, and the new Communist leader was Eric Aarons, first elected to the House of Representatives in 1976.

Once Parliament resumed in June of 1979, legislation was introduced to introduce a value added tax, as part of the government's tax overhaul system. Following the example of the UK Government, who introduced a VAT six years prior, the proposed VAT, to be known as the Goods and Services Tax or GST for short, was spearheaded by Progress leader and MP John Singleton from WA. The GST would be set at 10%, and would be introduced in conjunction with more reductions in income and corporation taxes, particularly the latter, the removal of wholesale sales tax, along with the devolution of federal "sin taxes", namely taxes on alcohol and tobacco, to the state and territory governments. The VAT would be transferred to the state and territory governments as an additional revenue stream, and would apply to all goods and services sold in Australia.

Negotiations of the GST were hard enough in the House of Representatives - The NCP stated that they wanted it to not apply to food. The Australia Party outright opposed it in its proposed form, with Steele Hall stating that it would "hurt all Australians, especially working and middle class Australians". After some negotiations, involving a cut in the proposed rate to 7%, keeping some income tax brackets higher than intended by the Government, a raise in welfare benefits by 7% (to balance the GST introduction), and exemptions on government services and fresh food, from the Australia Party (except the NCP food amendment) the GST was passed late in 1979.  The GST, and the associated changes to other taxes and benefits, would come into effect on the 1st of July, 1980.

Before 1979 was out, legislation re-organising Commonwealth-level police forces was passed, enabling the creation of the Australian Police Force, or AFP for short. This came into existence in early 1980, and had support from the Labor Party. Bill Hayden, however, was not in favour of the GST introduction, even more so than Hall and the Australia Party. Despite the amendments, Hayden described it as an "attack on the poorest Australians". The 1979 CHOGM meeting, held in Lusaka, Zambia, saw an official declaration condemning apartheid in South Africa, along with setting the foundations for the new state of Zimbabwe, and new leader Robert Mugabe.

Entering the 1980s, inflation was down to a mere 5%, with unemployment still higher than it was pre-1976, at 5.5%. On the 24th of March, 1980, Australia made a decision about the upcoming Moscow Olympics, that Australia would be boycotting the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, in line with allies the United States. Around this time, Don Chipp became deputy leader of the Australia Party. The 1980 budget also saw a proposal which would restrict tuition-free university to those from households earning under $25,000 a year, households earning between $25,000-$50,000 a year, would be eligible for the proposed government loan system, and households earning more than $50,000 would have to pay for tuition out of their own pocket. This caused not only opposition from Labor, who outright opposed the amendment, and the Australia Party, who were extremely skeptical about the proposal, but also from the NCP, as they believed the proposal as it stood would disadvantage young adults in rural areas. It was decided to shelve the proposal for the time being.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

While the higher education amendment did not succeed, another government proposal, namely that of floating the Australian dollar, effective late in 1980, was successful. The dollar, which spent most of the 1970s fluctuating against the US dollar, would now float freely, so to speak, and the Australian dollar's value would now fluctuate to the foreign exchange market. This move by the government was another in their series of economic liberalisations, and aided in opening up the Australian economy even more to the global market.

1980 in other events saw Candice Reed, Australia's first "test-tube" baby, born on the 23rd of June, and the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain from a camp site near Ayers Rock on the 17th of August, who was later found to have been killed by a dingo, some 32 years after Azaria passed away. The initial investigation from the police came to the conclusion that Lindy Chamberlain, Azaria's mother, had murdered her, and that her father, Michael Chamberlain, was an accessory. Only Lindy would end up in prison in 1982, on the basis of the "dingo ate my baby" story not being taken seriously by the police, until further evidence surfaced in 1986. Lindy was released in 1987, on the basis of a piece of Azaria's clothing found in the bush where the Chamberlains had been camping. By the time 1980 was over, the Bjelke-Petersen government had been returned once again, the Court government in WA was returned, although with Progress Party support, and a controversial report commissioned by the Victorian state government recommended scrapping most of Victoria's passenger railways, and expanding the freeway network. While more freeways were to be built, public protests ensured the railways stayed.

On the 20th of January, 1981, Prime Minister Fraser was amongst one of the first to congratulate newly inaugurated US President Ronald Reagan on his victory. A month later, keeping in line with the firm anti-communist stance of the Fraser Government, Australia withdrew their recognition of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia, whom only the Communist Party supported, and even then, there were severe intra-party splits over Pol Pot.

Domestically, 1981 saw the brewing dissent over the proposed Franklin Dam in Tasmania - while many Tasmanians wanted it constructed, a significant number did not. The proposal was to build a dam on the Gordon River, dating back to the late 1970s, and the dam would generate jobs and electricity alike for those in southwestern Tasmania. On the anti-dam side of things, there had already been a massive 10,000 strong protest in Hobart in July of 1980, and despite a revisal to the proposal in 1981, Labor Premier Doug Lowe resigned over the issue in 1981. The anti-dam groups' main reasons for opposition were destruction of wildlife and habitat, and preservation of SW Tasmania.

The significant opposition (a majority of Tasmanians supported the dam, although only by a margin of 60-40 in a late 1980 poll), to the Franklin Dam saw the creation of a new political party, the Natural Law Party. Despite Deputy Australia Party leader Don Chipp, who was seen to be to the left of leader Steele Hall, opposing the dam, this was seen as being insufficient amongst some Tasmanians, particularly local activist and leader of the 1980 protest, Bob Brown. This led to the formation of the Natural Law Party, on the 22nd of April, 1981, otherwise known as Earth Day. Perhaps in response to the creation of the Natural Law Party, Don Chipp challenged Steele Hall for leader of the Australia Party, and succeeded in July of 1981. Hall would remain in the Senate until the 1982 election, where he would retire from federal politics.

By September of 1981, the Tasmanian government held a referendum on which proposal of the dam should be built, which resulted in 49% of Tasmanians supporting the original proposal, another 9% supporting the amended proposal, while the other 42% of votes were informal, at least three quarters of these were marked "No Dams" by protest voters. Once again, Bob Brown led the campaign against the dam. After Premier Lowe was replaced by Harry Holgate in November of 1981, the Tasmanian Labor Party, who held 19 seats to the Liberals' 11, the Progress Party's 4, and the Australia Party's 1 seat, was very split over the issue, and two Labor members became independents over the dam issue. The government fell in early 1982, and a Liberal-Progress government, which was fully committed to the dam, was elected that February.

The victory of the new Liberal-Progress government in Tasmania meant that the dam was going to be built after all - even if the Commonwealth government had the power to intervene, the current federal government would not have intervened  - Malcolm Fraser, Doug Anthony and John Singleton, along with almost all of their fellow MPs, were staunch defenders of states' rights. While this was a major blow to the Natural Law Party, who won two seats in the 1982 Tasmanian election, they decided to steer their attention to the upcoming federal election, due no later than July of 1982. Meanwhile, in Queensland, the Bjelke-Petersen government's attempt to stop Aboriginal people from buying land proved to be unsuccessful, as while free speech was protected in the Constitution, blatant racial discrimination was not - measures implemented by the Whitlam Government back in the mid-1970s meant that the Bjelke-Petersen government had even more fuel added to its fire, and the Liberals broke the coalition in Queensland.

Going into early 1982, inflation was down to a low 2%, and unemployment was back up to 6%, amidst the early 1980s recession, which had affected allies the United Kingdom and United States to greater extents, particularly the former. With no defections in this term, PM Fraser called an election for May of 1982, roughly three years after the 1979 election.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

While the right-wing parties in Australia got 58.13% of the two-party preferred vote between them, the Liberal Party, party of not only PM Malcolm Fraser, but also notable former PM Eric Harrison, who had passed away back in 1974, declined to an all-time low vote of a tiny 6.45% - the same as their arch-rivals the Communist Party, who also lost votes. The new Natural Law Party managed to take votes from Labor and the Communists alike, polling 9.67% of the vote, the same as the National Country Party. The Australia Party, under new leader Don Chipp, held fairly steady in terms of vote, while the Progress Party was clearly the major right-wing party in Australia now. Indeed, the Progress Party got a swing to them of nearly 15% - although this was by and large from former Liberal and, to a lesser extent, NCP voters.

In terms of seats, here's a summary of each state's results from the 1982 election in the House of Representatives:
New South Wales (45 seats) – 14 Labor, 13 Progress, 6 National Country, 5 Liberal, 4 Australia Party, 3 Communist
Victoria (34 seats) –10 Labor,  9 Progress, 6 Liberal, 6 Australia Party, 3 National Country,
Queensland (18 seats) – 9 National Country, 5 Labor, 4 Progress
South Australia (12 seats) – 7 Australia Party, 3 Labor, 1 Liberal, 1 Progress
Western Australia (10 seats) – 8 Progress, 1 Labor, 1 National Country
Tasmania (4 seats) – 2 Labor, 2 Progress
Australian Capital Territory (2 seats) – 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Northern Territory (1 seat) – 1 Progress
Total – 43 Labor, 24 Liberal, 22 National Country, 20 Progress, 12 Australia Party, 5 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1979:
New South Wales: 1 Labor, 1 Liberal, 1 Communist, 1 National Country, 1 Australia Party
Victoria: 2 Liberal, 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party, 1 National Country
Queensland: 2 National Country, 2 Labor, 1 Progress
South Australia: 2 Australia Party, 2 Labor, 1 Liberal
Western Australia: 2 Progress, 1 Liberal, 1 National Country, 1 Labor
Tasmania: 3 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 Liberal
Total: 10 Labor, 5 National Country, 5 Australia Party, 5 Liberal, 4 Progress, 1 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1982:
New South Wales: 1 Labor, 1 Liberal, 1 Communist, 1 Progress, 1 Australia Party
Victoria: 2 Progress, 1 Liberal, 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Queensland: 2 National Country, 2 Progress, 1 Labor
South Australia: 2 Australia Party, 2 Labor, 1 Progress
Western Australia: 2 Progress, 2 National Country, 1 Labor
Tasmania: 2 Progress, 2 Natural Law,  1 Labor
Australian Capital Territory: 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Northern Territory: 1 Labor, 1 Progress
Total: 11 Progress, 9 Labor, 2 Liberal, 5 Australia Party,  4 National Country,  2 Natural Law, 1 Communist

Summary of 1982 election:

House of Representatives
Progress – 38 (+18)
Labor – 36 (-7)
National Country – 19 (-3)
Australia Party – 18 (+6)
Liberal – 12 (-12)
Communist – 3 (-2)

Senate
1979: 10 Labor, 5 National Country, 5 Australia Party, 5 Liberal, 4 Progress, 1 Communist
1982: 11 Progress, 9 Labor, 2 Liberal, 5 Australia Party,  4 National Country,  2 Natural Law, 1 Communist
Total: 19 Labor, 15 Progress, 10 Australia Party, 9 National Country, 7 Liberal, 2 Natural Law, 2 Communist

Two-party preferred vote: 58.13-41.87

Three days after the election, PM Fraser announced his resignation as Prime Minister and from Parliament, but another shock announcement was to come from the outgoing PM. After a party meeting on the 31st of May, it was decided to disband the Liberal Party, given the poor result in the 1982 election, and the party's declining fortunes over the past few years at both the federal and state levels. Fraser stated that "Sadly, the party of Robert Menzies and Eric Harrison has come to an end, we've achieved many great things over the years, but it is time to call it a day". Liberal MPs and Senators by and large joined either the Progress or National Country Parties, although one MP joined the Australia Party. Indeed, highlighting the Liberals' weakened position, particularly in their old heartland Victoria, here is what the state/territory governments (except for the ACT, which had no territorial government) looked like in Australia at the start of June, 1982:

State/Territory	Government	Largest Opposition Party
New South Wales	Labor	Progress
Victoria	Liberal/National Country	Labor
Queensland	National Country	Labor
South Australia	Australia Party	Labor
Western Australia	Progress/National Country	Labor
Tasmania	Progress/Liberal	Labor
Northern Territory	Progress	Labor

Labor, while holding the second largest number of seats in both houses, after the former Liberal members joined their new parties (see Parliament at dissolution at the bottom of the entry), weren't in too good of a position themselves - the rightward move under Hayden hadn't won back many Australia Party votes, and on the left, the new Natural Law Party had taken away a significant part of the Labor vote. Bill Hayden was dumped at the leadership spill held on the 3rd of June, 1982. He was replaced as leader by Bob Hawke, former Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) leader. Hawke, who was first elected to the House in 1979 after passing up running in 1976, was chosen as leader over other contenders, such as Lionel Bowen and Ralph Willis, as he would largely continue the party's centre-left policies under Hayden, with some differences, and his union background was seen as valuable for winning more voters back from the left.

With the government, the first Progress-led government, holding 31 seats in the new Senate, Australia Party co-operation was once again required for passing new legislation. A bill introduced by the Progress Party early in the Parliament was one to privatise the Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s largest public bank. Labor, the new Natural Law Senators, and the Communists outright opposed this move, and the Australia Party treaded the move with caution. By the end of 1982, it was agreed to privatise the bank, and the bank would be fully privatised by the start of financial year 1984/85. The Australia Party Senators were split over the issue – 4 of them supported privatisation, 6 opposed it. Don Chipp, party leader, opposed the measure, although believed his MPs should have a free vote, and the bill passed 35-29 in the Senate.

With the Commonwealth Bank privatisation bill passed, PM Singleton revived a proposal to restrict free university education to those from households earning less than $30,000 a year, those between $30,000-$50,000 would be eligible for the government loan scheme. This was slightly different to the proposal raised back in 1980, with a higher threshold for free education eligibility. After an Australia Party amendment in the Senate regarding the interest rate, and GST status of the loans (the loans would be 100% GST exempt), it was passed before the end of 1982.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Further reforms were put on hold in early 1983, when on Ash Wednesday, or the 16th of February, the deadliest bushfires in Australian history to that point blazed southeastern Australia. The fires affected the southeastern part of South Australia and much of western Victoria. 75 people were killed, another 2,676 were injured, and an estimated $400,000,000 of property was destroyed. The fires also succeeded a large drought in 1982, started by a combination of power line failure and arson, and were spread by a severe change in the direction of the wind. As a result of the Ash Wednesday fires, it was announced, in an emergency measure, that income taxes would be hiked by 1 or 2%, depending on the tax bracket, and be effective as of the 1st of April, 1983. These measures would last for one year, to raise additional revenue for disaster relief, the revenue raised from these hikes would be strictly used for disaster relief only. These measures passed both Houses easily, and were the result of negotiations between the government, opposition and crossbenchers. This aid supplemented the revenue raising measures taken by the Victorian and South Australian state governments, and another 10% pay cut for MPs.

On the 22nd of April, Valery Ivanov, an official from the Soviet Union’s embassy, was permanently expelled from Australia, upon a failed attempt to recruit a member of the Labor Party to the Soviet side. PM Singleton called the move “yet another defense of liberty in Australia”. The remainder of 1983 witnessed the Premier of NSW, Neville Wran, in hot water over allegations of attempting to influence the state Magistracy, although his government would be returned to office in early 1984, with a reduced majority. Also, on the 26th of September, Australia II won boating race the America’s Cup, ending a 132-year long streak by the New York Yacht Club.

1984 began with the government introducing legislation to deregulate the banking industry, and allow for the construction of nuclear power plants in Australia. While the banking industry legislation passed relatively easily, the nuclear energy bill did not – The Natural Law and Communists outright opposed the measures, and it would be a tough sell to the Australia Party and Labor. Much of 1984 was spent negotiating the nuclear legislation in the Senate, it eventually passed after one Labor Senator and four Australia Party Senators crossed the floor, once regulations stating that uranium, which had already been mined for a few years, was not to be used to produce nuclear weapons, and that the nuclear power plants were to adhere to security standards similar to those in the US and Western Europe were agreed upon.

1984 would also see the Federal Budget, under treasurer John Hyde, televised on TV for the first time, a nasty shootout in the southwestern Sydney suburb of Milperra, between bikie gangs Comancheros and Bandidos, resulting in 6 deaths, and green and gold officially made Australia’s national colours, representing the golden wattle, Australia’s national floral emblem, in time for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. By this time, inflation was steady at 2%, and unemployment had dropped to 4.9% - the best level since the mid-1970s. It would appear that Australia was prospering greatly in the 1980s.

Legislation banning unauthorised phone tapping, namely tapping with no warrant, was passed before Parliament adjourned for the Christmas break at the end of 1984, it passed both houses easily. 1985 saw AM stereo radio commence broadcasting in Australia, with some government run stations converting quickly to the new medium. Having been Progress Party leader since its inception ten years ago, and in government in some form since 1976, rumours began to spread of PM Singleton’s retirement, which were crushed in an interview on TV, the Prime Minister stating “I have no plans to retire any time soon, ultimately, the people of Australia will decide that fate”, referring to the impeding election, due in the first half of 1985.

Parliament at time of dissolution:

House of Representatives
Progress – 45 (+7)
Labor – 36 (nc)
National Country – 23 (+4)
Australia Party – 19 (+1)
Communist – 3 (nc)

Senate
Progress – 20 (+5)
Labor – 19 (nc)
National Country – 11 (+2)
Australia Party – 10 (nc)
Natural Law –  2 (nc)
Communist –  2 (nc)

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

The 1985 election, the first following the demise of the Liberal Party in 1982, provided a closer result between the left and the right. While the Progress and National Country Parties won a combined 48.1% of the vote between them, partly courtesy of a National Country surge, Labor, the Natural Law Party and the Communists won 40.7% of the vote between them, a significant improvement from 1982. Factoring in Australia Party preferences, this resulted in a 53.74% two-party preferred vote for the incumbent government, similar to their 1979 figure.

In terms of seats, here's a summary of each state's results from the 1985 election in the House of Representatives:
New South Wales (45 seats) – 20 Labor, 14 Progress, 8 National Country, 2 Australia Party, 1 Communist
Victoria (34 seats) –14 Labor, 12 Progress, 5 National Country, 3 Australia Party
Queensland (18 seats) – 12 National Country, 4 Labor, 2 Progress
South Australia (12 seats) – 6 Australia Party, 5 Labor, 1 Progress
Western Australia (10 seats) – 7 Progress, 1 Labor, 2 National Country
Tasmania (4 seats) – 2 Natural Law, 1 Labor, 1 Progress
Australian Capital Territory (2 seats) – 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Northern Territory (1 seat) – 1 Progress
Total – 46 Labor, 27 National Country, 38 Progress, 12 Australia Party, 1 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1982:
New South Wales: 1 Labor, 1 National Country, 1 Communist, 1 Progress, 1 Australia Party
Victoria: 3 Progress, 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Queensland: 2 National Country, 2 Progress, 1 Labor
South Australia: 2 Australia Party, 2 Labor, 1 Progress
Western Australia: 2 Progress, 2 National Country, 1 Labor
Tasmania: 2 Progress, 2 Natural Law,  1 Labor
Total: 11 Progress, 7 Labor, 5 National Country, 4 Australia Party, 2 Natural Law, 1 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1985:
New South Wales: 1 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 National Country, 1 Communist, 1 Natural Law
Victoria: 1 Progress, 1 Labor, 1 National Country, 1 Australia Party, 1 Natural Law
Queensland: 2 National Country, 2 Progress, 1 Labor
South Australia: 2 Australia Party, 1 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 Natural Law
Western Australia: 2 Progress, 2 National Country, 1 Labor
Tasmania: 2 Progress, 2 Natural Law, 1 Labor
Australian Capital Territory: 1 Natural Law, 1 Australia Party
Northern Territory: 1 Labor, 1 Progress
Total: 10 Progress, 7 Labor, 6 National Country, 6 Natural Law, 4 Australia Party, 1 Communist

Summary of 1985 election:

House of Representatives*
Labor – 46 (+10)
Progress – 38 (nc)
National Country – 27 (+8)
Australia Party – 12 (-6)
Natural Law – 2 (+2)
Communist – 1 (-2)
Liberal – 0 (-12)

* Changes are from 1982 election

Senate
1982: 11 Progress, 7 Labor, 5 National Country, 4 Australia Party, 2 Natural Law, 1 Communist
1985: 10 Progress, 7 Labor, 6 National Country, 6 Natural Law, 4 Australia Party, 1 Communist
Total: 21 Progress, 14 Labor, 11 National Country, 8 Australia Party, 8 Natural Law, 2 Communist

Two-party preferred vote: 53.74-46.26

While Labor managed to gain 10 seats in the House, and the Natural Law Party did well in the Senate, along with winning two seats in the House, these gains seemed to be from the Australia Party, although the Government's majority was reduced from 12 to 4. The Progress-NCP Government now held 65 seats out of a possible 126,  and in the Senate, the government was now one seat away from a majority, keyword being away - the Australia Party were now even more serious about not rubberstamping government bills. On one issue, namely the composition of Parliament Don Chipp stated to PM Singleton that the current amount of seats, set back in the 1940s, was no longer sufficient for Australia's population, and an expansion, which had been recommended by the AEC (Australian Electoral Commission) back in the late 1970s, was well overdue.

The first session of Parliament would be dominated by this issue, and that of granting the Australian Capital Territory self-government. A solution of expanding the Senate to 76 seats, by granting each state two extra Senators, and thus expanding the size of the House to 151 members, was eventually agreed to in October of 1985, effective for the next election. As for ACT self-government, no agreement could be made - The Progress Party opposed ACT self-government altogether, the NCP were weary of the idea, Labor, the Australia Party and the Natural Law supported it, and the Communists were against any government aside from the Commonwealth Government. Given the deadlock over the issue, it was decided to be put to a referendum. The model of self-government would be determined by the residents of the territory, should the referendum be successful, and would replace the local government system of the territory.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Prime Ministers of Australia:
1. George Reid (Free Trade/Anti-Socialist) – 1901-07
2. Andrew Fisher (Labour) – 1907-15
3. Billy Hughes (Labor/National Labor) – 1915-16
4. Joseph Cook (Commonwealth Liberal) – 1916-17
3. Billy Hughes (Nationalist) – 1917-19
5. Frank Tudor (Labor) – 1919-22
6. Matthew Charlton (Labor) – 1922-23
7. Stanley Bruce (Nationalist) – 1923-28
8. James Scullin (Labor) – 1928-31
9. Joseph Lyons (United Australia) – 1931-39
10. Sir Earle Page (Country) – 1939-39
11. Robert Menzies (United Australia) – 1939-40
12. John Curtin (Labor, Wartime Unity Government) – 1940-45
13. Frank Forde (Labor, Wartime Unity Government) – 1945-45
14. Ben Chifley (Labor, Wartime Unity Government) – 1945-45
11. Robert Menzies (United Australia) – 1945-48
14. Ben Chifley (Labor) – 1948-51
15. H. V. Evatt (Labor) – 1951-55
16. Eric Harrison (Liberal) – 1955-66
17. Harold Holt (Liberal) – 1966-67
18. Gough Whitlam (Labor) – 1967-76
19. Malcolm Fraser (Liberal) – 1976-82
20. John Singleton (Progress) – 1982-

Free Trade Party Leaders:
1. George Reid (1901-06, party became Anti-Socialist Party)

Anti-Socialist Party Leaders:
1. George Reid (1906-07)
2. Joseph Cook (1907-08, party merged with Protectionists to become Commonwealth Liberal Party)

Protectionist Party Leaders:
1. Edmund Barton (1901)
2. Alfred Deakin (1901-08, party merged with Anti-Socialists to become Commonwealth Liberal Party)

Labor Party Leaders:
1. Chris Watson (1901-06)
2. Andrew Fisher (1906-15)
3. Billy Hughes (1915-16, expelled from Labor Party)
4. Frank Tudor (1916-22, died in office)
5. Matthew Charlton (1922-27)
6. James Scullin (1927-35)
7. John Curtin (1935-45, died in office)
8. Frank Forde (1945, caretaker leader)
9. Ben Chifley (1945-51, died in office)
10. H. V. Evatt (1951-55, lost seat and resigned)
11. Arthur Calwell (1955-64)
12. Gough Whitlam (1964-76, stepped down after conceding defeat)
13. Bill Hayden (1976-82, defeated in leadership ballot)
14. Bob Hawke (1982-)

Revenue Tariff Party Leaders:
1. Alfred Deakin (1908-13)
2. George Wise (1913-14, party folded)

Commonwealth Liberal Party Leaders:
1. Joseph Cook (1908-17, party merged with National Labor to become Nationalist Party)

National Labor Party leaders:
1. Billy Hughes (1916-17, party merged with Commonwealth Liberals to become Nationalist Party)

Nationalist Party Leaders:
1. Billy Hughes (1917-22)
2. Stanley Bruce (1922-28)
3. John Latham (1928-31, party merged with Australian Alliance to become United Australia Party)
   
Country Party Leaders:
1. William McWilliams (1920-22)
2. Sir Earle Page (1922-39)
3. Archie Cameron (1939-40)
4. Arthur Fadden (1940-55, resigned)
5. Charles Adermann (1955-67, resigned)
6. John McEwen (1967-70, resigned)
7. Doug Anthony (1970-71, party absorbed DLP to become the National Country Party)

Liberal Union Leaders:
1. William Watt (1922-23, party folded, members re-joined Nationalists)

Lang Labor Leaders:
1. Jack Beasley (1931-36)
2. Jack Lang (1936-39, party became Non-Communist Labor Party)

Australian Alliance Leaders:
1. Joseph Lyons (1931, party merged with Nationalists to become United Australia Party)

United Australia Party Leaders:
1. Joseph Lyons (1931-39, died in office)
2. Robert Menzies (1939-50, party became Liberal Party)

Communist Party Leaders:
1. J.B. Miles (1932-40, party banned)
2. Paddy Troy (1949-51, stepped down)
3. Lance Sharkey (1951-61, stepped down)
4. Ron Maxwell (1961-70, stepped down)
5. Ted Hill (1970-79, stepped down)
6. Eric Aarons (1979-)

Social Credit Party Leaders:
1. Geoffrey Nichols (1933-43, party folded)

Non-Communist Labor Party Leaders:
1. Jack Lang (1939-49, party folded)

State Labor Party Leaders:
1. Jack Hughes (1940-49, party resumed its old name of the Communist Party, and Hughes stepped down from leadership)

Liberal Country Party Leaders:
1. Thomas Collins (1940-45, party re-merged with Country Party)

Liberal Party Leaders:
1. Robert Menzies (1950-55, resigned)
2. Eric Harrison (1955-66, resigned)
3. Harold Holt (1966-67, disappeared, presumed dead)
4. Paul Hasluck (1968-70, lost leadership ballot)
5. John Gorton (1970-73, lost leadership ballot)
6. Malcolm Fraser (1973-82, resigned, and party wrapped up)

Democratic Labor Party Leaders:
1. Bob Joshua (1955-61, lost seat)
2. Jack Little (1961-71, party merged with Country Party)

Marxist-Leninist Communist Party Leaders:
1. Ted Hill (1964-70, party re-merged with Communists)

Australia Party Leaders:
1. Gordon Barton (1968-74, resigned)
2. Steele Hall (1974-81, lost leadership challenge)
3. Don Chipp (1981-)

National Country Party Leaders:
1. Doug Anthony (1971-)

Progress Party Leaders:
1. John Singleton (1975-)

Natural Law Party Leaders:
1. Bob Brown (1981-)

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

With more than 7 out of 10 Australian voters backing self-government for the ACT, including a large portion of Progress and NCP voters, PM Singleton was somewhat embarrassed by the result, although addressed the nation with “The people of Australia have spoken, and residents of our nation’s capital territory will now be granted additional self-governing powers". The first ACT Assembly elections were due within one year, and the method of election was a modified d'Hondt method of proportional representation. Eventually, an election was held in August of 1986, and Labor's Rosemary Follett became the first Chief Minister of the ACT.

With this blunder, PM Singleton called a party meeting on the 4th of December 1985 – he stated he would resign as PM on Australia Day 1986, although not his seat, to "avoid the expense and inconvenience of an unnecessary by-election", in his own words. Soon enough, the quest for a new leader, and thus PM, began. Contenders included Treasurer John Hyde from Western Australia, Foreign Minister Andrew Peacock, from Victoria and Employment Minister, Victoria's Peter  Reith. The vote proved to be divisive - Peacock missed out on finishing in the top two, and Reith prevailed in the runoff against Hyde. A day later, NCP leader Doug Anthony announced he was resigning as leader, effective Australia Day 1986, citing "a need for generational change, and it's time for a new bearer of rural Australian values". The NCP leadership election was much smoother, despite a threat from Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen to run. Defence Minister Ian Sinclair won the leadership contest against Ralph Hunt.

After the "changing of the guard", as the media referred to it, new PM Peter Reith and Deputy PM Ian Sinclair were ready to enter 1986 with more reforms - the sale of both QANTAS and Telecom, more tax reductions, and a proposal for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, to be put to the people at the next election in a referendum. The last of these policies was inspired by UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a strong ideological colleague of both PM Reith and his predecessor, John Singleton.

Although new Deputy PM Sinclair was very much an outspoken social conservative, this was not enough to satisfy the likes of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, and many in the Queensland branch of the NCP. On the 6th of June, 1986, the anniversary of the founding of Queensland as a colony, Bjelke-Petersen announced the creation of a new far-right party, called the Patriotic Front, or Joh's Patriotic Front for campaign purposes. Bjelke-Petersen, at the party's launch stated that "anyone who truly cares about Australia's future should join this new force".

The QANTAS privatisation bill passed the House of Representatives easily, and ended up passing the Senate following the approval of three Australia Party Senators. Telecom's privatisation proposal called for splitting it amongst different shareholders, to turn it into multiple companies, and thus serve the people better, as PM Reith put it. This was one of the most divisive privatisation proposals yet in any government since 1976, many in the NCP opposed it, citing it would "ruin telecommunications in rural Australia". As a compromise, it was decided to deregulate the telecommunications market, so private companies could better compete alongside Telecom for customers and cable alike.

By the end of 1986, inflation was a low 1%, and unemployment was still around 4%. Australia was seemingly reaping the benefits of the 1980s global economic boom, and early 1987 saw a major international sporting setback for Australia, when the US took back the America's Cup, which Australia won back in 1983. Most of the remainder of 1987, aside from a well overdue Welcome Home parade for Australians who served in Vietnam during the 1964-70 period, was rather ordinary politically. Also, a nasty massacre, which saw a 19-year-old former Army cadet, Julian Wright, kill seven and injure 19, occurred in August of 1987.

October the 21st, 1987 would forever be known as Black Monday to all shareholders in Australia. Australian stocks declined by a massive 40% by the end of the month. Treasurer John Hyde, along with economists and treasures from many nations, convened in Washington DC in December of 1987 to discuss what to do. Ultimately, interest rates were raised in Australia and other nations, in a squeeze to get the economy back on track. While unemployment went up slightly, employment and inflation were not terribly affected, although purchasing power of the dollar was down significantly, one Australian dollar only bough 57 US cents, as opposed to 79 cents back in September of 1987.

1988 witnessed Australia's bicentennial celebrations kick off right from Day One - TV special Australia Live saw the nation into its third century, Australia Day witnessed a reenactment of the First Fleet arriving into Sydney Harbour, and Brisbane held World Expo 88 in April, helping to display Australia to the world in a big way. Although there were some indigenous protests against the First Fleet reenactment, and a land rights march, where 40,000 people, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal alike took to the streets of Sydney, the Bicentenary celebrations were warmly received by the majority of Australians, and the new Sydney Football Stadium and Darling Harbour were also completed in 1988, and major upgrades to the nation's highways began to take place.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Prime Ministers of Australia:
1. George Reid (Free Trade/Anti-Socialist) – 1901-07
2. Andrew Fisher (Labour) – 1907-15
3. Billy Hughes (Labor/National Labor) – 1915-16
4. Joseph Cook (Commonwealth Liberal) – 1916-17
3. Billy Hughes (Nationalist) – 1917-19
5. Frank Tudor (Labor) – 1919-22
6. Matthew Charlton (Labor) – 1922-23
7. Stanley Bruce (Nationalist) – 1923-28
8. James Scullin (Labor) – 1928-31
9. Joseph Lyons (United Australia) – 1931-39
10. Sir Earle Page (Country) – 1939-39
11. Robert Menzies (United Australia) – 1939-40
12. John Curtin (Labor, Wartime Unity Government) – 1940-45
13. Frank Forde (Labor, Wartime Unity Government) – 1945-45
14. Ben Chifley (Labor, Wartime Unity Government) – 1945-45
11. Robert Menzies (United Australia) – 1945-48
14. Ben Chifley (Labor) – 1948-51
15. H. V. Evatt (Labor) – 1951-55
16. Eric Harrison (Liberal) – 1955-66
17. Harold Holt (Liberal) – 1966-67
18. Gough Whitlam (Labor) – 1967-76
19. Malcolm Fraser (Liberal) – 1976-82
20. John Singleton (Progress) – 1982-86
21. Peter Reith (Progress) – 1986-

Free Trade Party Leaders:
1. George Reid (1901-06, party became Anti-Socialist Party)

Anti-Socialist Party Leaders:
1. George Reid (1906-07)
2. Joseph Cook (1907-08, party merged with Protectionists to become Commonwealth Liberal Party)

Protectionist Party Leaders:
1. Edmund Barton (1901)
2. Alfred Deakin (1901-08, party merged with Anti-Socialists to become Commonwealth Liberal Party)

Labor Party Leaders:
1. Chris Watson (1901-06)
2. Andrew Fisher (1906-15)
3. Billy Hughes (1915-16, expelled from Labor Party)
4. Frank Tudor (1916-22, died in office)
5. Matthew Charlton (1922-27)
6. James Scullin (1927-35)
7. John Curtin (1935-45, died in office)
8. Frank Forde (1945, caretaker leader)
9. Ben Chifley (1945-51, died in office)
10. H. V. Evatt (1951-55, lost seat and resigned)
11. Arthur Calwell (1955-64)
12. Gough Whitlam (1964-76, stepped down after conceding defeat)
13. Bill Hayden (1976-82, defeated in leadership ballot)
14. Bob Hawke (1982-)

Revenue Tariff Party Leaders:
1. Alfred Deakin (1908-13)
2. George Wise (1913-14, party folded)

Commonwealth Liberal Party Leaders:
1. Joseph Cook (1908-17, party merged with National Labor to become Nationalist Party)

National Labor Party leaders:
1. Billy Hughes (1916-17, party merged with Commonwealth Liberals to become Nationalist Party)

Nationalist Party Leaders:
1. Billy Hughes (1917-22)
2. Stanley Bruce (1922-28)
3. John Latham (1928-31, party merged with Australian Alliance to become United Australia Party)
   
Country Party Leaders:
1. William McWilliams (1920-22)
2. Sir Earle Page (1922-39)
3. Archie Cameron (1939-40)
4. Arthur Fadden (1940-55, resigned)
5. Charles Adermann (1955-67, resigned)
6. John McEwen (1967-70, resigned)
7. Doug Anthony (1970-71, party absorbed DLP to become the National Country Party)

Liberal Union Leaders:
1. William Watt (1922-23, party folded, members re-joined Nationalists)

Lang Labor Leaders:
1. Jack Beasley (1931-36)
2. Jack Lang (1936-39, party became Non-Communist Labor Party)

Australian Alliance Leaders:
1. Joseph Lyons (1931, party merged with Nationalists to become United Australia Party)

United Australia Party Leaders:
1. Joseph Lyons (1931-39, died in office)
2. Robert Menzies (1939-50, party became Liberal Party)

Communist Party Leaders:
1. J.B. Miles (1932-40, party banned)
2. Paddy Troy (1949-51, stepped down)
3. Lance Sharkey (1951-61, stepped down)
4. Ron Maxwell (1961-70, stepped down)
5. Ted Hill (1970-79, stepped down)
6. Eric Aarons (1979-)

Social Credit Party Leaders:
1. Geoffrey Nichols (1933-43, party folded)

Non-Communist Labor Party Leaders:
1. Jack Lang (1939-49, party folded)

State Labor Party Leaders:
1. Jack Hughes (1940-49, party resumed its old name of the Communist Party, and Hughes stepped down from leadership)

Liberal Country Party Leaders:
1. Thomas Collins (1940-45, party re-merged with Country Party)

Liberal Party Leaders:
1. Robert Menzies (1950-55, resigned)
2. Eric Harrison (1955-66, resigned)
3. Harold Holt (1966-67, disappeared, presumed dead)
4. Paul Hasluck (1968-70, lost leadership ballot)
5. John Gorton (1970-73, lost leadership ballot)
6. Malcolm Fraser (1973-82, resigned, and party wrapped up)

Democratic Labor Party Leaders:
1. Bob Joshua (1955-61, lost seat)
2. Jack Little (1961-71, party merged with Country Party)

Marxist-Leninist Communist Party Leaders:
1. Ted Hill (1964-70, party re-merged with Communists)

Australia Party Leaders:
1. Gordon Barton (1968-74, resigned)
2. Steele Hall (1974-81, lost leadership challenge)
3. Don Chipp (1981-)

National Country Party Leaders:
1. Doug Anthony (1971-86, stepped down)
2. Ian Sinclair (1986-)

Progress Party Leaders:
1. John Singleton (1975-86, stepped down)
2. Peter Reith (1986-)

Natural Law Party Leaders:
1. Bob Brown (1981-)

Patriotic Front Leaders:
1. Joh Bjelke-Petersen (1986-)

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

1988, from a purely analytical view was one of the most interesting elections yet - Natural Law outpolled Labor by 6%, although given the nature of the Australian voting system, received less seats in the House of Representatives. The NCP also took a hit to Joh's Patriotic Front, losing over 8% of the vote, while the Patriotic Front picked up 6%, notably hurting both the Progress and NCP. The Australia Party made modest gains votewise, the Progress Party remained stagnant, and the Communists managed to only pick up 2.3% of the vote - perhaps a sign that communism really was sinking in popularity, despite the Gorbachev-inspired slogan used at the election. The balanced budget referendum also failed by a margin of 48.27-51.73. The House result, as will be discussed in more detail, was almost a mirror image in a sense:

In terms of seats, here's a summary of each state's results from the 1988 election in the House of Representatives:
New South Wales (52 seats) – 20 Labor, 13 Progress, 9 National Country, 5 Natural Law, 3 Communist, 2 Australia Party
Victoria (40 seats) – 16 Labor, 10 Progress, 6 National Country, 4 Australia Party, 4 Natural Law
Queensland (26 seats) – 11 National Country, 6 Labor, 5 Patriotic Front, 4 Progress
South Australia (13 seats) – 7 Australia Party, 4 Labor, 2 Progress
Western Australia (13 seats) – 9 Progress, 3 Labor, 1 Patriotic Front
Tasmania (4 seats) – 3 Natural Law, 1 Progress
Australian Capital Territory (2 seats) – 1 Natural Law, 1 Australia Party
Northern Territory (1 seat) – 1 Labor
Total – 50 Labor, 39 Progress, 26 National Country, 14 Australia Party, 13 Natural Law, 6 Patriotic Front, 3 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1985:
New South Wales: 1 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 National Country, 1 Communist, 1 Natural Law
Victoria: 1 Progress, 1 Labor, 1 National Country, 1 Australia Party, 1 Natural Law
Queensland: 2 National Country, 2 Progress, 1 Labor
South Australia: 2 Australia Party, 1 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 Natural Law
Western Australia: 2 Progress, 2 National Country, 1 Labor
Tasmania: 2 Progress, 2 Natural Law, 1 Labor
Total: 10 Progress, 7 Labor, 6 National Country, 6 Natural Law, 4 Australia Party, 1 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1988:
New South Wales: 1 Labor, 1 National Country, 1 Communist, 1 Progress, 1 Australia Party, 1 Natural Law
Victoria: 2 Progress, 2 Natural Law, 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Queensland: 2 National Country, 1 Progress, 1 Labor, 1 Natural Law, 1 Patriotic Front
South Australia: 2 Australia Party, 1 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 Natural Law, 1 National Country
Western Australia: 2 Progress, 1 National Country, 1 Labor, 1 Natural Law, 1 Patriotic Front
Tasmania: 2 Progress, 2 Natural Law, 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Australian Capital Territory: 1 Natural Law, 1 Australia Party
Northern Territory: 1 Natural Law, 1 Progress
Total: 10 Progress, 10 Natural Law, 6 Labor, 6 Australia Party, 5 National Country, 2 Patriotic Front, 1 Communist

Summary of 1988 election:

House of Representatives
Labor – 50 (+4)
Progress – 39 (+1)
National Country – 26 (-1)
Australia Party – 14 (+2)
Natural Law – 13 (+11)
Patriotic Front – 6 (+6)
Communist – 3 (+2)

Senate
1985: 9 Progress, 7 Labor, 6 National Country, 6 Natural Law, 4 Australia Party, 1 Communist
1988: 10 Progress, 10 Natural Law, 6 Labor, 6 Australia Party, 5 National Country, 2 Patriotic Front, 1 Communist
Total: 19 Progress, 14 Natural Law,12 Labor, 11 National Country, 10 Australia Party, 2 Communist, 2 Patriotic Front

Two-party preferred vote: 50.85-49.15

In the new 151-member House, the incument Progress and NCP government won 65 seats between them. In the old house, this would have made for a majority of 4. Now, the government was 11 seats short of a majority, on the opposition side, Labor and Natural Law were 13 seats short of a majority themselves, winning 63 seats. With a party on the extreme fringes of each side of politics, the Communists and the Patriotic Front respectively, and the Australia Party holding the balance of power between the two "blocs" with 14 seats in the House, negotiations began to form the next government of Australia.

Don Chipp, leader of the Australia Party since 1981, stated that compromises will have to be made, particularly with both blocs requiring Australia Party support to pass legislation in the Senate, as well as the House. After two weeks of negotiations, Don Chipp announced that his Australia Party would back a Bob Hawke-led Labor government, along with Natural Law support. Chipp cited the failure of the balanced budget referendum as "a sign that Australians have tired of the extreme hands-off economic policies of the Progress Party", as one of the reasons for backing Labor. While neither party would enter into a formal coalition with Labor, a government accord was devised for the next parliamentary term.

The accord for government, released on the 23rd of May, 1988, went as follows:

• Creation of a Natural Disaster Fund.
• Income taxes to rise on the middle and upper classes, with a new top rate of 50%.
• Abolition of the Privy Council.
• A new federal tax on petrol of three cents on every litre, all revenue raised will go to infrastructure development.
• New taxes on capital gains and fringe benefits.
• No further expansion of nuclear power plants.
• Significant stimulus packages to aid in the wake of the previous year's stock market crash.
• No developments to occur on the Great Barrier Reef.
• Foundation of a committee on electoral reform.

While there would be outrage from conservatives around Australia, particularly as the right won the national two-party preferred vote, with 50.85% of the vote, the first Labor-led government since 1976 took office as expected. In the aftermath of the election, former PM Peter Reith stated he will stay on as Progress leader, subject to a leadership spill. Reith ended up losing to John Hewson, against the likes of John Howard, Michael Wooldridge, Philip Ruddock and John Hyde. Reith stated he will remain in Parliament, and hopefully chosen in Hewson's shadow cabinet. In the NCP, Sinclair was returned as leader easily.

While the Olympic Dam still opened for operation as scheduled, in June of 1988, new PM Hawke stated that "there will be no further expansion of uranium mining in this term of government". Despite this stance, Natural Law leader Bob Brown as not pleased - this did not go far enough for him, although given the alternative, the Australia Party propping up the former Progress/NCP government, Brown stayed quiet for the time being. The Natural Disaster Fund was promptly passed in both houses in July of 1988, due to come into effect next financial year, along with the proposed national petrol tax. Both of these also received additional Communist support, with staunch opposition from the Progress Party, NCP, and the Patriotic Front.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

With the World Expo 88 wrapping up in October of 1988, around the same time, legislation to abolish the Privy Council, the final legal ties to the United Kingdom, and thus making the High Court of Australia the highest legal body in Australia. The UK government, led by Margaret Thatcher, passed similar legislation, and the Australia Acts of 1988 passed easily, with even a few Progress and NCP MPs voting in favour. Unfortunately, late 1988 also witnessed two Victorian police officers gunned down in Walsh Street, South Yarra, a suburb of Melbourne.

The final year of the 1980s witnessed Labor returning to office in Queensland after a 32-year absence, taking advantage of the split in the vote between the NCP and the Patriotic Front. It also saw homosexuality subsequently decriminalised in Queensland  the following year, Tasmania following suit in 1991. Natural Law leader Bob Brown, himself openly gay, stated that "this is a massive breakthrough for Australia's gay community, after all these years of oppression under Bjelke-Petersen and his lynch mob". Bjelke-Petersen, who had resigned as Premier of Queensland to contest federal Parliament in 1988, was in for a whole lot of hot water - the findings of the Fitzgerald Inquiry, taken over a two-year period, were released on the 5th of July, 1989. Bjelke-Petersen, along with ministers from his government and members of the Queensland Police, were found guilty of corruption, false accounts, perjury, bribery, amongst other offences. Bjelke-Petersen found himself in a perilous position - he resigned from Parliament immediately, his electorate of Maranoa reverted back to its safe NCP status at the subsequent by-election. Graeme Campbell, the sole Patriotic Front MP not from Queensland, took over as leader.

Earlier in 1989 saw Australia's first private university, Bond University on the Gold Coast, open its doors in March. Despite being private, it remained not-for-profit, to the satisfaction of most MPs, although the Communists and Natural Law disapproved of Bond Corporation's involvement. On the 18th of August, the AFAP, or Australian Federation of Air Pilots, went on strike. Pilots affiliated with the AFAP told the airlines, notably Australian Airlines and Ansett, stated that they will only work 9am-5pm, until they get a significant payrise. As a result, Australia's commerce and tourism industries were significantly impacted. This caused significant turmoil amongst the Government - Natural Law wanted the Government to give the pilots the payrises, while Labor and the Australia Party believed that negotiations with the AFAP were required before action. A 15% payrise was eventually awarded in October 1989, a mere half of the 30% the union asked for, and many pilots resigned over the issue. This caused further tension in the Government, between Labor and Natural Law.

Amidst the global background of the beginning of the end of communism, notably the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the 1980s saw inflation was back to around 2.5% , not much of an increase from the election of the government, comparative with 1970s-era inflation. Unemployment had shrunk to 3% by December of 1989, it would seem like Australia was weathering the aftermath of the 1987 Black Monday crash well. 1989 also closed off with the Bond Corporation, led by businessman Alan Bond, going into receivership. Not long after these events, in January of 1990, the NCP rebranded itself as the National Party, leader Ian Sinclair stated that "The National Party is not just for rural Australians anymore, but for those who share National values."

February the 12th, 1990 saw Australia's first female Premier take office, WA Labor's Carmen Lawrence. 1990, unfortunately, also witnessed the start of a recession in the economy, unemployment was back up to 5% by July of 1990, although inflation continued to remain low. This caused a spat in the government ranks over industries such as logging - Labor stated that adding more regulations to these industries would be incredibly harmful with an emerging recession, while the Natural Law Party believed that this was a perfect opportunity to move Australia to more environmentally friendly industries. Tensions in the Tasmanian state government, in the form of a Labor-Green Accord, began to rise in this year as a result of the recession, which saw the Accord torn up on the 1st of October, 1990, after the state government decided it wanted to continue with its logging strategy, with Progress support. This caused considerable anger from Brown and the Natural Law Party, who now announced the following week that they will merely support the federal government on confidence and supply matters, purely because "we cannot stomach the horrors of a Progress-led government".

April of 1990 also saw the foundation of the Parliamentary Committee for Electoral Reform, as promised by the government. While it stated that no government attempt to change the voting system until after the next election, when a government would have a mandate for reform of the voting system. In the interim, the political parties began to develop policies on electoral reform, which had been sought after by the Australia Party, the Communists, the Patriotic Front, and Natural Law in particular. Meanwhile, a proposal to deregulate the domestic aviation market in November was voted down by Natural Law and the Communists, but passed with Progress support. Capital gains tax and fringe benefits tax were also passed in the 1990 Budget, against staunch opposition from the right.

By the end of 1990, Australia was in recession, as announced by Treasurer Paul Keating live on TV. Unemployment was back to 7%, and didn't seem like it was going to go down any time soon, and despite the tax increases, a projected surplus had turned into a significant deficit. 1991 came with no visible end to the recession - the South Australian Government was forced to bail out the State Bank on the 10th of January, to the tune of almost $1,000,000,000. Unemployment continued to rise in the first half of 1991, reaching 8% by April.

As an emergency measure, the Government passed stimulus measures, in the form of increased unemployment benefits, and additional payments to the handicapped, elderly, and students, to assist them during the recession. These were passed in March of 1991, ahead of the next federal budget, due in May, just before an election was due. The campaign would be centred around the economy and electoral reform.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Prime Ministers of Australia:
1. George Reid (Free Trade/Anti-Socialist) – 1901-07
2. Andrew Fisher (Labour) – 1907-15
3. Billy Hughes (Labor/National Labor) – 1915-16
4. Joseph Cook (Commonwealth Liberal) – 1916-17
3. Billy Hughes (Nationalist) – 1917-19
5. Frank Tudor (Labor) – 1919-22
6. Matthew Charlton (Labor) – 1922-23
7. Stanley Bruce (Nationalist) – 1923-28
8. James Scullin (Labor) – 1928-31
9. Joseph Lyons (United Australia) – 1931-39
10. Sir Earle Page (Country) – 1939-39
11. Robert Menzies (United Australia) – 1939-40
12. John Curtin (Labor, Wartime Unity Government) – 1940-45
13. Frank Forde (Labor, Wartime Unity Government) – 1945-45
14. Ben Chifley (Labor, Wartime Unity Government) – 1945-45
11. Robert Menzies (United Australia) – 1945-48
14. Ben Chifley (Labor) – 1948-51
15. H. V. Evatt (Labor) – 1951-55
16. Eric Harrison (Liberal) – 1955-66
17. Harold Holt (Liberal) – 1966-67
18. Gough Whitlam (Labor) – 1967-76
19. Malcolm Fraser (Liberal) – 1976-82
20. John Singleton (Progress) – 1982-86
21. Peter Reith (Progress) – 1986-88
22. Bob Hawke (Labor) – 1988-

Free Trade Party Leaders:
1. George Reid (1901-06, party became Anti-Socialist Party)

Anti-Socialist Party Leaders:
1. George Reid (1906-07)
2. Joseph Cook (1907-08, party merged with Protectionists to become Commonwealth Liberal Party)

Protectionist Party Leaders:
1. Edmund Barton (1901)
2. Alfred Deakin (1901-08, party merged with Anti-Socialists to become Commonwealth Liberal Party)

Labor Party Leaders:
1. Chris Watson (1901-06)
2. Andrew Fisher (1906-15)
3. Billy Hughes (1915-16, expelled from Labor Party)
4. Frank Tudor (1916-22, died in office)
5. Matthew Charlton (1922-27)
6. James Scullin (1927-35)
7. John Curtin (1935-45, died in office)
8. Frank Forde (1945, caretaker leader)
9. Ben Chifley (1945-51, died in office)
10. H. V. Evatt (1951-55, lost seat and resigned)
11. Arthur Calwell (1955-64)
12. Gough Whitlam (1964-76, stepped down after conceding defeat)
13. Bill Hayden (1976-82, defeated in leadership ballot)
14. Bob Hawke (1982-)

Revenue Tariff Party Leaders:
1. Alfred Deakin (1908-13)
2. George Wise (1913-14, party folded)

Commonwealth Liberal Party Leaders:
1. Joseph Cook (1908-17, party merged with National Labor to become Nationalist Party)

National Labor Party leaders:
1. Billy Hughes (1916-17, party merged with Commonwealth Liberals to become Nationalist Party)

Nationalist Party Leaders:
1. Billy Hughes (1917-22)
2. Stanley Bruce (1922-28)
3. John Latham (1928-31, party merged with Australian Alliance to become United Australia Party)
   
Country Party Leaders:
1. William McWilliams (1920-22)
2. Sir Earle Page (1922-39)
3. Archie Cameron (1939-40)
4. Arthur Fadden (1940-55, resigned)
5. Charles Adermann (1955-67, resigned)
6. John McEwen (1967-70, resigned)
7. Doug Anthony (1970-71, party absorbed DLP to become the National Country Party)

Liberal Union Leaders:
1. William Watt (1922-23, party folded, members re-joined Nationalists)

Lang Labor Leaders:
1. Jack Beasley (1931-36)
2. Jack Lang (1936-39, party became Non-Communist Labor Party)

Australian Alliance Leaders:
1. Joseph Lyons (1931, party merged with Nationalists to become United Australia Party)

United Australia Party Leaders:
1. Joseph Lyons (1931-39, died in office)
2. Robert Menzies (1939-50, party became Liberal Party)

Communist Party Leaders:
1. J.B. Miles (1932-40, party banned)
2. Paddy Troy (1949-51, stepped down)
3. Lance Sharkey (1951-61, stepped down)
4. Ron Maxwell (1961-70, stepped down)
5. Ted Hill (1970-79, stepped down)
6. Eric Aarons (1979-)

Social Credit Party Leaders:
1. Geoffrey Nichols (1933-43, party folded)

Non-Communist Labor Party Leaders:
1. Jack Lang (1939-49, party folded)

State Labor Party Leaders:
1. Jack Hughes (1940-49, party resumed its old name of the Communist Party, and Hughes stepped down from leadership)

Liberal Country Party Leaders:
1. Thomas Collins (1940-45, party re-merged with Country Party)

Liberal Party Leaders:
1. Robert Menzies (1950-55, resigned)
2. Eric Harrison (1955-66, resigned)
3. Harold Holt (1966-67, disappeared, presumed dead)
4. Paul Hasluck (1968-70, lost leadership ballot)
5. John Gorton (1970-73, lost leadership ballot)
6. Malcolm Fraser (1973-82, resigned, and party wrapped up)

Democratic Labor Party Leaders:
1. Bob Joshua (1955-61, lost seat)
2. Jack Little (1961-71, party merged with Country Party)

Marxist-Leninist Communist Party Leaders:
1. Ted Hill (1964-70, party re-merged with Communists)

Australia Party Leaders:
1. Gordon Barton (1968-74, resigned)
2. Steele Hall (1974-81, lost leadership challenge)
3. Don Chipp (1981-)

National Country Party Leaders:
1. Doug Anthony (1971-86, stepped down)
2. Ian Sinclair (1986-90, party renamed National Party)

Progress Party Leaders:
1. John Singleton (1975-86, stepped down)
2. Peter Reith (1986-88, lost leadership ballot)
3. John Hewson (1988-)

Natural Law Party Leaders:
1. Bob Brown (1981-)

Patriotic Front Leaders:
1. Joh Bjelke-Petersen (1986-89, forced out after Fitzgerald Enquiry)
2. Graeme Campbell (1989-)

National Party Leaders:
1. Ian Sinclair (1990-)

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

For the first time since 1973, the left won the two-party preferred vote in Australia - although Progress remained the largest party, it bled votes to both Labor and the Patriotic Front, and even the re-branded National Party, although the National Party only made modest gains votewise, and lost seats. This resulted in Progress falling below 30% for the first time, their worst result since they became Australia's major right-wing party in 1982. The Australia Party also took a hit to their vote, mainly to Labor and Natural Law. The Australia Party would only win 8 seats in the new Parliament, their worst total in the House of Representatives since first winning seats back in 1976, and the Patriotic Front were up to seven seats, following another gain in Queensland.

In terms of seats, here's a summary of each state's results from the 1991 election in the House of Representatives:
New South Wales (52 seats) – 22 Labor, 12 Progress, 7 National, 7 Natural Law, 4 Communist
Victoria (40 seats) – 18 Labor, 11 Progress, 5 Natural Law, 4 National, 2 Australia Party,
Queensland (26 seats) – 11 National, 7 Labor, 6 Patriotic Front, 2 Progress
South Australia (13 seats) – 5 Australia Party, 5 Labor, 2 Progress, 1 Natural Law
Western Australia (13 seats) – 8 Progress, 4 Labor, 1 Patriotic Front
Tasmania (4 seats) – 3 Natural Law, 1 Labor
Australian Capital Territory (2 seats) – 1 Natural Law, 1 Australia Party
Northern Territory (1 seat) – 1 Labor
Total – 58 Labor, 35 Progress, 22 National Country, 17 Natural Law, 8 Australia Party, 7 Patriotic Front, 4 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1988:
New South Wales: 1 Labor, 1 National Country, 1 Communist, 1 Progress, 1 Australia Party, 1 Natural Law
Victoria: 2 Progress, 2 Natural Law, 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Queensland: 2 National Country, 1 Progress, 1 Labor, 1 Natural Law, 1 Patriotic Front
South Australia: 2 Australia Party, 1 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 Natural Law, 1 National Country
Western Australia: 2 Progress, 1 National Country, 1 Labor, 1 Natural Law, 1 Patriotic Front
Tasmania: 2 Progress, 2 Natural Law, 1 Labor, 1 Australia Party
Total: 9 Progress, 8 Natural Law, 6 Labor, 5 Australia Party, 5 National Country, 2 Patriotic Front, 1 Communist

Here's the Senate summary from 1991:
New South Wales: 1 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 National, 1 Communist, 1 Natural Law, 1 Australia Party
Victoria: 2 Progress, 1 Labor, 1 National, 1 Australia Party, 1 Natural Law
Queensland: 2 National, 2 Labor , 1 Progress, 1 Patriotic Front
South Australia: 2 Australia Party, 1 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 Natural Law, 1 National
Western Australia: 2 Progress, 2 Labor, 1 National, 1 Patriotic Front
Tasmania: 2 Natural Law, 2 Progress, 2 Labor
Australian Capital Territory: 1 Natural Law, 1 Australia Party
Northern Territory: 1 Natural Law, 1 Progress
Total: 10 Progress, 7 Labor, 6 National Country, 6 Natural Law, 4 Australia Party, 1 Communist


Summary of 1991 election:

House of Representatives
Labor – 58 (+8)
Progress – 35 (-4)
National Country – 22 (-4)
Natural Law – 17 (+4)
Australia Party – 8 (-6)
Patriotic Front – 7 (+1)
Communist – 4 (+1)

Senate
1988: 9 Progress, 8 Natural Law, 6 Labor, 5 Australia Party, 5 National, 2 Patriotic Front, 1 Communist
1991: 10 Progress, 9 Labor, 7 Natural Law, 6 National, 5 Australia Party, 2 Patriotic Front,  1 Communist
Total: 19 Progress, 15 Natural Law, 15 Labor, 11 National, 10 Australia Party, 4 Patriotic Front, 2 Communist

Two-party preferred vote: 53.53-46.47

After their worst result since 1976, Don Chipp announced he was stepping down as the Australia Party's leader, to be replaced by Deputy Leader Janine Haines, who as a result would become the first female leader of a political party at the Commonwealth level. Labor and Natural Law now held 75 seats between them, or one short of a majority. As a result, the incumbent Labor-Natural Law-Australia Party government was reconstituted, with a total strength of 83 seats in the House of Representatives, and 40 seats (15/ 15/ 10) in the Senate, for majorities of 15 and 4 respectively.

Once Parliament reconvened in July of 1991, electoral reform was the hot topic in the Parliament. It was agreed that a referendum would be set for sometime in 1992, but what it would contain was a whole other can of worms - the three parties forming the government had radically different ideas on reforming the voting system. Natural Law wanted to abolish the Senate alogether, and reform the House to a proportionally-elected 200-member chamber, Labor favoured the status quo, while the Australia Party favoured keeping the House at its current size, but introducing a "top-up" system, and reducing the number of electorates to 100. The negotiations for what to include in the referendum would dominate Parliamentary discussion, and it seemed at first that no easy agreement would be made.

Finally, in late August, a proposal was agreed to for the electoral reform referendum, it would consist of four questions, and aimed to cover each party's views, one way or another, on electoral reform:

• Question 1 - Do you support changing the voting system for the House of Representatives to optional preferential voting? (Backed by Progress, although some Labor MPs are open to this)
• Question 2 - Do you support abolishing the Senate? (Backed by Natural Law, the Patriotic Front and the Communists)
• Question 3 - Do you support allocating one-third of the seats in the House of Representatives, for election by proportional representation? (Backed by the Australia Party)
• Question 4 - Do you support expanding the size of the House of Representatives to 200 members? (Backed by Natural Law)

Although outrage would be inevitable, some MPs, journalists and critics calling the referendum a "dog's breakfast", PM Hawke, despite three of the questions not being favoured by his party, and a fourth only partially, stated that "this should answer the question of electoral reform more than sufficiently". It was announced the referenda would be set for February of 1992, to allow enough time for campaigning, and for voters to go into the booth with informed decisions.

With unemployment still climbing, and around 8.5% by October of 1991, the main focus would remain on how to get Australia through the recession, with the least amount of harm. Inflation remained low though, and seemed to get even lower throughout 1991. Bills to repeal the GST began to be debated, although a question of how the shortfall in revenue would be made up, at a time of recession, was asked. The government came back with new taxes on precious metals, an increase in the top tax rate to 55%, and a slight increase in tariffs. The debates would carry on throughout the remainder of 1991.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

The end of 1991, on Christmas Day itself, witnessed the final dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the end of communism in Eastern Europe and much of Asia, to an overwhelmingly positive response. This caused a major crisis in the Communist Party, while some members wanted to keep the Communist Party name and ideals, including current leader Eric Aarons, a majority of members supported a name change, and slight ideological change, to Socialist Alternative. Eric Aarons stepped aside when the new name came into force on the 7th of January, 1992, amd the inaugural leader of Socialist Alternative would be first term MP Colin Hesse of New South Wales, who stated "I will keep the anti-capitalist torch alive, in this post-Soviet era".

January of 1992 would witness US President George H.W. Bush    addressing the Australian Parliament, the first US President to do so, NSW Premier Nick Greiner, of the Progress Party, desiring to ban a controversial educational book on reproduction, funded by the Commonwealth Government, and on the final day of January, a withdrawal of 1 and 2 cent coins, whose value had deteriorated over the years.

Referendum questions:

Question A - Do you support changing the voting system for the House of Representatives to optional preferential voting?
Question B - Do you support abolishing the Senate?
Question C - Do you support allocating one-third of the seats in the House of Representatives, for election by proportional representation?
Question D - Do you support expanding the size of the House of Representatives to 200 members?

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Abolishing the Senate was clearly unpopular with the Australian public, 87% of voters voting against it.  Large majorities of Australians did support House of Representatives enlargement to 200, meaning the new Senate would also be expanded to 100, barring another referendum, and optional preferential voting, meaning that every single ballot square no longer needed to be marked for a valid vote. A fourth question, on partial proportional representation, failed narrowly, as it got 50% of votes, not greater than 50%, after three recounts.

Following the results of the referendum, new redistributions were ordered for all states and territories -  here was the new number of seats for each state/territory:

State/Territory	Old Allocation	New Allocation
New South Wales	52	68
Victoria	40	52
Queensland	26	35
Western Australia	13	18
South Australia	13	17
Tasmania	4	5
Australian Capital Territory	2	3
Northern Territory	1	2
Total	151	200

Treasurer Paul Keating stated on live television that "Australia needs to increase its ties to Asia, if it is to succeed economically", on the 20th of February, 1992. While many in the Labor Party endorsed this, some in Labor believed Keating was trying to upstage PM Hawke, who had been Labor leader for almost a decade. Patriotic Front leader Graeme Campbell stated that "We will oppose all efforts to sell Australia down the river, what Hawke, Keating and company are doing is economic genocide”.

Fast forwarding to June, and Nick Greiner being replaced as NSW Premier by John Fahey, in wake of corruption, the High Court ruled in favour of Far Northern Queensland’s Meriam people, in what would be known as Mabo, after Eddie Mabo, an Aboriginal land rights activist who passed away in early 1992. Mabo, along with fellow activists David Passi and James Rice, led the case against the discriminatory legislation in Queensland which had been enacted in the 1970s and 1980s, under the Bjelke-Petersen government. Native title was officially recognized by the common law of Australia, as opposed to the previous terra nullius (or land belonging to nothing and no-one).

In the aftermath of the Mabo case, the Government promptly drafted legislation to provide a nationwide framework for native title, which resulted in the following:

• A National Native Title Tribunal, or NNTT, to register, hear and determine future claims of native title.
• Nationwide recognition of native title throughout Australia and all its territories.
• Native title to be recognised under three conditions, namely connection to land and/or waters, continuation of recognised indigenous traditions, and the aforementioned common law recognition.

The legislation easily cleared the House of Representatives in August, and passed the Senate not long afterwards in September, coming into effect in July 1993. Despite their triumph in passing native title legislation, various Labor governments around Australia remained unpopular – not even a change of Premier from John Bannon to Lynn Arnold could uplift the party’s stakes in South Australia, in the wake of the State Bank collapse, and a Progress/National coalition in Victoria were swept into power in October 1992, under Jeff Kennett. Wayne Goss and Queensland Labor fared much better, holding on very comfortably post-Bjelkemander. Federally, the still high unemployment rate, which had reached 10% in  August of 1992, along with little indication of recovery, and a desire by some in the Labor caucus for change, proved to be a catalyst by Treasurer Paul Keating to challenge PM Hawke, Labor leader since 1982, for the leadership. Keating proved to be successful by only two votes, and became Prime Minister on the 16th of September, 1992. Bob Hawke, as a result, became the first Prime Minister to lose a leadership ballot while serving as Prime Minister.

Over on the other side of the aisle, Progress were having their own leadership battles – some in Progress, particularly outside of both New South Wales and the moderate faction of the party alike, wanted a change from John Hewson, who led the party to a loss of four seats back in 1991. One month after Hawke was deposed in favour of Keating, Alexander Downer, one of two Progress MPs from South Australia, became the new leader of the Progress Party, by a margin of four votes, against Hewson and veteran MP John Howard, the latter of which endorsed Downer in the runoff. Five days before, the Australia Party renamed themselves the Australian Democrats, commonly referred to as the Democrats in a major re-branding under Janine Haines. It would seem that Australian politics was going through major changes.

Keating marked a significant departure from his predecessor, namely in his desire to make Australia a republic, which commenced with removing references to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, in citizenship ceremonies, one of his first actions as Prime Minister. Despite applause from government supporters Natural Law, and a fair number of Labor and Democrat MPs, virtually all on the right were outraged, along with a number of Labor MPs, voters from both sides of the spectrum, and the RSL (Returned and Services League), the last of which showed the most anger towards PM Keating and his move. Before 1992 was out, PM Keating made a landmark speech in Redfern, Sydney, on the atrocities committed against Aboriginals by early settlers, the first PM to directly address this issue in this manner.

Entering 1993, and another state Labor government bit the dust, namely the WA-led government of Carmen Lawrence, replaced by a Richard Court-led Progress government. PM Keating, addressing the nation on the 20th of February, made an announcement of what would come to be known as his “big picture” – reconciliation with Aboriginals, as noted in the previous year’s native title legislation, support for a republic, strengthening ties with Asian neighbours, particularly Indonesia, and a national superannuation scheme. Natural Law, at this time, reminded the government of their commitment to repeal the GST, something which Keating supported in private at its introduction back in 1979.  At this point in time, legislation banning tobacco advertising from sport was passed, to the phased out by no later than 1998, when the final sponsorship contract expired.

Also on Keating’s agenda was the introduction of mandatory detention of asylum seekers, which while opposed by Natural Law, was supported by Progress and the National Party, and passed Parliament easily. This new move put a 180-day detention period, following a Democrats amendment (initially 270 days), of asylum seekers entering Australia, who had been increasing in numbers over the past few years from China, Cambodia and Vietnam in particular. It was also introduced to maintain the integrity of Australia's immigration program, and to conduct security checks on unauthorised arrivals. Patriotic Front MPs boycotted the vote, calling it "a proxy against border closure" and "ineffective". PM Keating hit back at the Front, "It is clear these outback rednecks have no idea of what comprises an Australian".
Unemployment had reached a staggering 10.5% by July of 1993, just before Coles Myer, owner of one of Australia's largest supermarkets and department stores respectively, announced a major expansion plan, that would create 100,000 new jobs. PM Keating stated that "this is evidence that you can be pro-business and for fairness at the same time, unlike some people in this chamber". Unemployment would recede below 10% by the end of the year. In October, the International Olympic Committee would select Australia to host the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, in a major boost for Australia, PM Keating, and NSW Premier John Fahey alike. In December of 1993, the Labor Government in South Australia was thrown out in a massive landslide, to be replaced by a Progress Government. Labor actually fell below the Democrats in the SA 1993 election in terms of vote, although still won more seats.

With six of the eight state and territorial governments now non-Labor, it did not look good for PM Keating and Labor, and major bushfires on the coast of NSW killed four people, and caused 300 homes to be lost. In South Australia, controversy arose over the proposed Hindmarsh Island bridge, when claims of  a sacred site were examined, and Aboriginal Affairs minister Robert Ticker placed an interim quarter of a century ban on development while the claims were being examined. This would continue for the forseeable future, and the newly elected SA Government campaigned against the bridge.[/list]

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Prime Ministers of Australia:
1. George Reid (Free Trade/Anti-Socialist) – 1901-07
2. Andrew Fisher (Labour) – 1907-15
3. Billy Hughes (Labor/National Labor) – 1915-16
4. Joseph Cook (Commonwealth Liberal) – 1916-17
3. Billy Hughes (Nationalist) – 1917-19
5. Frank Tudor (Labor) – 1919-22
6. Matthew Charlton (Labor) – 1922-23
7. Stanley Bruce (Nationalist) – 1923-28
8. James Scullin (Labor) – 1928-31
9. Joseph Lyons (United Australia) – 1931-39
10. Sir Earle Page (Country) – 1939-39
11. Robert Menzies (United Australia) – 1939-40
12. John Curtin (Labor, Wartime Unity Government) – 1940-45
13. Frank Forde (Labor, Wartime Unity Government) – 1945-45
14. Ben Chifley (Labor, Wartime Unity Government) – 1945-45
11. Robert Menzies (United Australia) – 1945-48
14. Ben Chifley (Labor) – 1948-51
15. H. V. Evatt (Labor) – 1951-55
16. Eric Harrison (Liberal) – 1955-66
17. Harold Holt (Liberal) – 1966-67
18. Gough Whitlam (Labor) – 1967-76
19. Malcolm Fraser (Liberal) – 1976-82
20. John Singleton (Progress) – 1982-86
21. Peter Reith (Progress) – 1986-88
22. Bob Hawke (Labor) – 1988-92
23. Paul Keating (Labor) – 1992-

Free Trade Party Leaders:
1. George Reid (1901-06, party became Anti-Socialist Party)

Anti-Socialist Party Leaders:
1. George Reid (1906-07)
2. Joseph Cook (1907-08, party merged with Protectionists to become Commonwealth Liberal Party)

Protectionist Party Leaders:
1. Edmund Barton (1901)
2. Alfred Deakin (1901-08, party merged with Anti-Socialists to become Commonwealth Liberal Party)

Labor Party Leaders:
1. Chris Watson (1901-06)
2. Andrew Fisher (1906-15)
3. Billy Hughes (1915-16, expelled from Labor Party)
4. Frank Tudor (1916-22, died in office)
5. Matthew Charlton (1922-27)
6. James Scullin (1927-35)
7. John Curtin (1935-45, died in office)
8. Frank Forde (1945, caretaker leader)
9. Ben Chifley (1945-51, died in office)
10. H. V. Evatt (1951-55, lost seat and resigned)
11. Arthur Calwell (1955-64)
12. Gough Whitlam (1964-76, stepped down after conceding defeat)
13. Bill Hayden (1976-82, defeated in leadership ballot)
14. Bob Hawke (1982-92, lost leadership ballot)
15. Paul Keating (1992-)

Revenue Tariff Party Leaders:
1. Alfred Deakin (1908-13)
2. George Wise (1913-14, party folded)

Commonwealth Liberal Party Leaders:
1. Joseph Cook (1908-17, party merged with National Labor to become Nationalist Party)

National Labor Party leaders:
1. Billy Hughes (1916-17, party merged with Commonwealth Liberals to become Nationalist Party)

Nationalist Party Leaders:
1. Billy Hughes (1917-22)
2. Stanley Bruce (1922-28)
3. John Latham (1928-31, party merged with Australian Alliance to become United Australia Party)
   
Country Party Leaders:
1. William McWilliams (1920-22)
2. Sir Earle Page (1922-39)
3. Archie Cameron (1939-40)
4. Arthur Fadden (1940-55, resigned)
5. Charles Adermann (1955-67, resigned)
6. John McEwen (1967-70, resigned)
7. Doug Anthony (1970-71, party absorbed DLP to become the National Country Party)

Liberal Union Leaders:
1. William Watt (1922-23, party folded, members re-joined Nationalists)

Lang Labor Leaders:
1. Jack Beasley (1931-36)
2. Jack Lang (1936-39, party became Non-Communist Labor Party)

Australian Alliance Leaders:
1. Joseph Lyons (1931, party merged with Nationalists to become United Australia Party)

United Australia Party Leaders:
1. Joseph Lyons (1931-39, died in office)
2. Robert Menzies (1939-50, party became Liberal Party)

Communist Party Leaders:
1. J.B. Miles (1932-40, party banned)
2. Paddy Troy (1949-51, stepped down)
3. Lance Sharkey (1951-61, stepped down)
4. Ron Maxwell (1961-70, stepped down)
5. Ted Hill (1970-79, stepped down)
6. Eric Aarons (1979-92, party became Socialist Alternative)

Social Credit Party Leaders:
1. Geoffrey Nichols (1933-43, party folded)

Non-Communist Labor Party Leaders:
1. Jack Lang (1939-49, party folded)

State Labor Party Leaders:
1. Jack Hughes (1940-49, party resumed its old name of the Communist Party, and Hughes stepped down from leadership)

Liberal Country Party Leaders:
1. Thomas Collins (1940-45, party re-merged with Country Party)

Liberal Party Leaders:
1. Robert Menzies (1950-55, resigned)
2. Eric Harrison (1955-66, resigned)
3. Harold Holt (1966-67, disappeared, presumed dead)
4. Paul Hasluck (1968-70, lost leadership ballot)
5. John Gorton (1970-73, lost leadership ballot)
6. Malcolm Fraser (1973-82, resigned, and party wrapped up)

Democratic Labor Party Leaders:
1. Bob Joshua (1955-61, lost seat)
2. Jack Little (1961-71, party merged with Country Party)

Marxist-Leninist Communist Party Leaders:
1. Ted Hill (1964-70, party re-merged with Communists)

Australia Party/Democrats Leaders:
1. Gordon Barton (1968-74, resigned)
2. Steele Hall (1974-81, lost leadership challenge)
3. Don Chipp (1981-91, resigned)
4. Janine Haines (1991-, renamed the party Australian Democrats in 1992)

National Country/National Party Leaders:
1. Doug Anthony (1971-86, stepped down)
2. Ian Sinclair (1986-, party renamed National Party in 1990)

Progress Party Leaders:
1. John Singleton (1975-86, stepped down)
2. Peter Reith (1986-88, lost leadership ballot)
3. John Hewson (1988-92, lost leadership ballot)
4. Alexander Downer (1992-)

Natural Law Party Leaders:
1. Bob Brown (1981-)

Patriotic Front Leaders:
1. Joh Bjelke-Petersen (1986-89, forced out after Fitzgerald Enquiry)
2. Graeme Campbell (1989-)

Socialist Alternative Leaders:
1. Colin Hesse (1992-)

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

The first election in Australia since the fall of the Soviet Union was not good for the new Socialist Alternative - their vote plummeted to 3.7%, from the 9.37% the Communists polled in 1991. No party added more than 2% to its primary vote total, the closest to 2% being the Patriotic Front, who crossed 10% for the first time, and who outpolled the National Party twice in a row. Progress remained the largest party in terms of votes, and Natural Law remained ahead of Labor, but the new optional preferential voting system, and expanded Parliament, would provide some very interesting results.

In terms of seats, here's a summary of each state's results from the 1994 election in the House of Representatives:
New South Wales (68 seats) – 23 Labor, 22 Progress, 9 Natural Law, 5 National, 4 Socialist Alternative, 3 Patriotic Front, 2 Democrats
Victoria (52 seats) – 20 Progress, 15 Labor, 9 Natural Law, 5 National, 3 Democrats
Queensland (35 seats) – 10 National, 10 Patriotic Front, 8 Labor, 6 Progress, 1 Natural Law
Western Australia (18 seats) – 10 Progress, 5 Labor, 3 Patriotic Front
South Australia (17 seats) – 7 Democrats, 6 Labor, 3 Progress, 1 Natural Law
Tasmania (5 seats) – 2 Natural Law, 1 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 Democrats
Australian Capital Territory (3 seats) – 2 Natural Law, 1 Democrats
Northern Territory (2 seats) – 1 Labor, 1 Progress
Total – 58 Labor, 35 Progress, 22 National Country, 17 Natural Law, 8 Democrats, 7 Patriotic Front, 4 Socialist Alternative

Here's the Senate summary from 1991:
New South Wales: 1 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 National, 1 Socialist Alternative, 1 Natural Law, 1 Democrats
Victoria: 2 Progress, 1 Labor, 1 National, 1 Democrats, 1 Natural Law
Queensland: 2 National, 2 Labor , 1 Progress, 1 Patriotic Front
South Australia: 2 Democrats, 1 Labor, 1 Progress, 1 Natural Law, 1 National
Western Australia: 2 Progress, 2 Labor, 1 National, 1 Patriotic Front
Tasmania: 2 Natural Law, 2 Progress, 2 Labor
Total: 9 Progress, 9 Labor, 6 National, 5 Natural Law, 4 Democrats, 2 Patriotic Front, 1 Socialist Alternative

Here's the Senate summary from 1994:
New South Wales: 2 Labor, 2 Progress, 1 Patriotic Front, 1 Socialist Alternative, 1 Democrats, 1 Natural Law
Victoria: 2 Progress, 2 Natural Law, 2 Labor, 1 Democrats, 1 National
Queensland: 2 National, 2 Progress, 2 Patriotic Front, 1 Labor, 1 Natural Law
South Australia: 2 Democrats, 2 Labor, 2 Progress, 1 Natural Law, 1 National
Western Australia: 3 Progress, 2 Patriotic Front, 2 Labor, 1 Natural Law
Tasmania: 2 Progress, 2 Natural Law, 2 Labor, 2 Democrats
Australian Capital Territory: 1 Natural Law , 1 Democrats
Northern Territory: 1 Progress, 1 Natural Law
Total: 14 Progress, 11 Labor,  10 Natural Law, 7 Democrats, 3 National, 5 Patriotic Front, 1 Socialist Alternative

Summary of 1994 election:

House of Representatives
Progress – 63 (+28)
Labor – 59 (+1)
Natural Law – 24 (+7)
National – 20 (-2)
Patriotic Front – 16 (+9)
Democrats –14 (+6)
Socialist Alternative – 4 (nc)*
* Socialist Alternative change is from 1991 Communist totals.

Senate
1991: 9 Progress, 9 Labor, 6 National, 5 Natural Law, 4 Democrats, 2 Patriotic Front, 1 Socialist Alternative
1994: 14 Progress, 11 Labor,  10 Natural Law, 7 Democrats, 5 Patriotic Front, 4 National, 1 Socialist Alternative
Total: 23 Progress, 20 Labor, 15 Natural Law, 11 Democrats, 10 National, 7 Patriotic Front, 2 Socialist Alternative

Two-party preferred vote: 51.07-48.93

For the first time since the 1950s, Parliament was truly deadlocked - Neither the incumbent Labor/Natural Law/Democrat government, who held 97 seats between them, nor the Progress/National opposition, who now held 83 seats, held a majority in the new Parliament. On the hard left, Socialist Alternative held all four of their seats, partly due to the redistribution compacting the areas friendly to the party. On the hard right, the Patriotic Front gained nine seats to up its seat total to 16, making both Progress and National nervous.

Incumbent PM Keating outright refused to work with either the Patriotic Front or the Socialist Alternative, referring to them as “outback xenophobes” and “Stalinist relics” respectively. Opposition Leader Alexander Downer stated that while no party held a majority, a majority of Australians voted for a right-wing government, and Progress won more seats than Labor. Talks between Keating and Downer began about a possible unity government, aimed to satisfy both monarchist and republican Australians. National leader Ian Sinclair absolutely dismissed the idea of Labor and Progress working together, stating that “Charles Adermann would be rolling in his grave,”, and promptly resigned as National leader, to be replaced by Tim Fischer. Keating and Downer, despite their significant differences, decided that forming a unity government would be better than another election, where the Patriotic Front and Socialist Alternative could be poised to make gains.

Bob Brown and Natural Law would have no part in this government either – Brown stated that “Labor  have truly forgotten their roots as the progressive party of Australia”. This left government between Labor, Progress, the National Party and the Democrats, who held 156 seats between them in the House of Representatives, and 64 seats in the Senate. While Keating, Downer and Haines were negotiating, new National leader Fischer stated he would like the National Party to be in the new government, to ensure rural Australians had a say, to "ensure we have a united, anti-extremist government", and from traditional allegiances with the Progress Party, and prior to 1982, the Liberal Party. Naturally, this caused friction within the National Party, and three National MPs, most notably Queensland’s Bob Burgess, a hardliner on immigration, defected to the Patriotic Front, while former leader Sinclair resigned from Parliament altogether.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

As with previous unity and minority governments, such as the Curtin Government and (initially) the Fraser Government, an accord for governance was devised, released to the public on the 1st of July, 1994:

• A constitutional convention will be held during the course of the Parliament, and a referendum on an Australian republic will be set for the next election, due in 1997.
• No cuts to public broadcasting or Medicare.
• A 20% paycut for all federal politicians.
• A commitment to stronger relations with Asian nations.
• A 10% cut to company tax, and income tax cuts for working and middle class Australians, while leaving upper class tax rates alone.
• A Royal Commission into what had become known as the Hindmarsh Bridge controversy. (Progress at the federal level favours the bridge, Labor opposes it)
• An introduction of means testing for welfare benefits, including rent assistance, which will experience a 15% increase.
• As Progress won more seats than Labor, along with the right winning the two-party preferred vote, Alexander Downer would serve as Prime Minister. Paul Keating would serve as Deputy Prime Minister, and the ministries would be divided up between the government parties. For example, Labor would receive the Health and Education ministries, the Nationals Trade, the Democrats and Progress Finance, for example.
• Other issues would be discussed as the Parliament progressed.

The Gold-Red-Green-Orange Government, as it would become known, took office on the 4th of July, 1994, one month after the election. One of the government’s first actions was to commence the Royal Commission into the Hindmarsh Island Bridge, opposed by most residents of the island, beginning on the 10th of July. Later in the same month, former Labor premier of WA, Brian Burke, was imprisoned, and Australian phone numbers began to be upgraded to eight digits, as opposed to seven, the following month, due for completion in 1998.

August and September of 1994 proved to be crime-ridden for Australia - August seeing police raiding an underground gay nightclub in Melbourne, Tasty, allegedly to crack down on reported drug use. The media then reported on the Victorian Police's violent response, the Victorian Police having been noted as the most violent in the country, which caused an embarrassment to the police, and the Victorian government. September saw the first political assassination since 1977, of New South Wales MLA John Newman, who was shot outside his home in a targeted attack, by one of his opponents at the last state election.

In late 1994, a desire to once again privatise Telecom came up, although Deputy PM Keating, along with National leader Fischer immediately rebuked the idea, stating that "the people have paid into Telecom, and you want to take it away?", and "Our farmers and miners work so hard, they deserve decent communication links!" respectively. PM Downer immediately shelved the idea, much to the detriment of Deputy Progress leader, Peter Costello, and veteran MP John Howard. October saw a mass reparation payment made to Aboriginal peoples, and their families, who were displaced back in the 1950s-60s nuclear testing, undertaken by the Commonwealth Government. Sydney Airport also gained a third runway in late 1994, amidst protests regarding aircraft noise, and building pressure to build a second airport.

Republic was the major word that kicked off 1995 - the Constitutional Convention on an Australian Republic was set to kick off on the 1st of June, 1995, and would be comprised of 250 delegates, 65 of which would represent the three tiers of government in Australia, including all serving Premiers and Chief Ministers. The remaining 185 delegates would be selected by either a voluntary postal vote (130 of the delegates), or appointed by the federal government (55 of the delegates). Both the ARM (Australian Republican Movement) and ACM (Australians for Constitutional Monarchy) would be present at the convention.

1995 saw more notable state/territory elections, including the election of a Progress minority government in the ACT, Labor's Bob Carr taking back the Premiership in New South Wales, and the incumbent Queensland Labor government reduced to a one-seat majority. The Australian Grand Prix also moved to Melbourne, effective 1996, after a significant monetary offer from the Victorian state government. Cable television also finally arrived in Australia in mid-1995, introducing Australians to programming outside of the major TV networks for the first time.

The Constitutional Convention kicked off as planned on the 1st of June, 1995, and would last for three weeks. Gareth Evans, Foreign Minister in the Government, chaired the convention, while John Howard, the Finance Minister, served as vice chair. Aside from the aforementioned politicians mentioned earlier, the ARM and ACM, delegates to the convention included clergies from the major churches, six Indigenous delegates, including former Senator Neville Bonner, RSL spokesman Bruce Ruxton, historian Geoffrey Blainey, and Sydney University chancellor Leonie Kramer.

Once the convention went underway, there were three questions to be answered:

• Should Australia become a republic?
• Which model should be used, if answering Yes to Question 1?
• What time frame and circumstances should the changes be implemented?

While some monarchists abstained from the vote on a republic on principle, most voted against the first question, which won a 58% majority. Then came the debate on what model the republic would use - would the Australian President be directly elected, elected by a supermajority of both houses of Parliament, elected by the federal and state Parliaments, or appointed by a Parliamentary council, on the nomination of the Prime Minister? There was also debate about whether or not Australia should leave the Commonwealth, change the official name of the country to Republic of Australia, and whether or not the Constitution should have a preamble.

After two weeks of debate, a model of republic was finally chosen. It would be based on removing all references to the monarch, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and the Governor-General, in the Constitution. The references would be replaced by President of Australia. The President would not be directly elected, rather recommended by the Prime Minister, and then subsequently approved by Parliament. The President would need a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Parliament in order to be elected, and would be up for election at the start of each Parliament, or if the Prime Minister changes mid-term. This won narrowly over the direct election method, and the council appointment method. It was also decided that Australia will remain in the Commonwealth of Nations, regardless of the referendum's outcome.

The final week of the convention was dedicated to finalising the wording of the referendum, and discussion of the addition of a preamble to the Constitution. The proposed preamble would acknowledge the Australian nation's Christian heritage, the first settlers of Australia, the Aborigines, along with affirmations of law and order, the diversity of backgrounds of Australians, and Australia's political system. Both republic and preamble would be put to the people as referenda at the next federal election, due in 1997, or in around two years.

The remainder of 1995 witnessed a national debate about illegal drugs, when a 15-year old Sydney schoolgirl died from taking ecstasy at a rave in October. As a result, legislation was passed toughening drug penalties for both users and dealers, although Natural Law stated their preference for injecting rooms for addicts, rather than tougher penalties. 1996 started with a change of government in Queensland, after a by-election in a northern Queensland electorate saw the National candidate elected, and a minority National/Progress government elected.  The Hindmarsh Bridge Commission had reviewed the evidence known as "secret women's business", on the back of the area being culturally and religiously significant to the Ngarrindjeri women, for being a fertility site, and for reasons that could not be revealed to the public. The family who had built the marina on the island, and wanted the bridge built, the Chapman family, were facing significant financial woes at this time, for a number of reasons, including lack of attendances at their marina.

The evidence of the "secret women's business", some of which appeared to be legitimate, and some of which appeared to be fabricated, and a Dreamtime story used as evidence, namely that of the Seven Sisters Dreaming coming from another Aboriginal tribe, resulted in the Commission stating that this is up to the governments, the Ngarrindjeri people, and the Chapman family, to resolve It was decided by both parties not to make any more decisions about the Hindmarsh Island Bridge, until after the next election, effectively leaving the decision to approve or deny the bridge to the next Government of Australia.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

1996's most notable political event would be a severe tragedy, namely the Port Arthur Massacre, a former convict settlement and heritage area, located about 95km south-east of Hobart, Tasmania. Martin Bryant, a mentally retarded 29-year old originally from Hobart, used an SKK automatic assault rifle to shoot 35 people, allegedly fueled by a desire for attention, as a result of social isolation from his aggressive behaviour, which stemmed back to when he was a child. Police caught Bryant around 18 hours later, and he was charged for 35 life sentences, and 1,035 years with no parole.

After the Port Arthur massacre, the government quickly moved to tighten gun laws, including banning of automatic and semi-automatic weapons, although not without some dissent - while Labor supported the laws wholly, along with the Democrats, some Progress and National MPs, most notably Bob Katter (NAT-QLD), did not agree with the proposed legislation, Katter describing the move as "a massive assault on the freedoms of regular, law-abiding Australians". PM Downer and National leader Fischer did support the move though, and it easily passed both chambers of Parliament, with Natural Law and Socialist Alternative also supporting the legislation. In the end, it passed the House by a margin of 155-43, and the Senate by a margin of 66-21. Banned guns were to be exchanged for cash by no later than the 31st of July, 1996.   

The Northern Territory legalised voluntary euthanasia on the 1st of July, 1996, although this was subject to review by the federal government - in the end, the law would stay, at least for the remainder of the parliamentary term. Also in July 1996, first term MP Pauline Hanson replaced Graeme Campbell as Patriotic Front leader, in a bid to modernise the party. Hanson, over the course of the Parliament made comments about "special privileges" available to Aboriginals, a return to high tariffs, and the notion of being "swamped" by Asians. On another note, unemployment was now down to 7%, still higher than desired, although a lot better than a mere four years ago.

Late 1996 saw the High Court recognising the Wik people's rights in Far North Queensland, and that these rights could co-exist with both mining and pastoral leases. Norfolk Island, a territory of Australia, gained a Chief Minister in February 1997, but no direct representation in Parliament. By this point in time, relations between Downer and Keating had deteriorated so badly, and both men agreed that "if it wasn't for the Patriotic Front and Socialist Alternative, we never would have been in this predicament in the first place". With an election only months away, PM Downer and Deputy PM Keating gritted their respective sets of teeth, and waited out until the election and republic referendum.

House of Representatives at end of Parliament:
Progress – 63 (nc)
Labor – 59 (nc)
Natural Law – 24 (nc)
Patriotic Front – 19 (+3)
National – 17 (-3)
Democrats –14 (nc)
Socialist Alternative – 4 (nc)

Referendum Question A (Republic):
"Do you support the proposed Constitutional amendment that would replace the Queen and Governor-General with a President, who would be elected by a two-thirds majority in Parliament?"

Referendum Question B (Preamble)
"Do you support the proposed Constitutional amendment to insert a preamble into the Constitution?"

"With hope in God, the Commonwealth of Australia is constituted as a democracy, with a federalist system of government to serve the common good of all Australians.
We, the Australian people, commit ourselves to this Constitution:

• proud that our national unity has been enriched by Australians from a vast array of ancestries;
• never forgetting the sacrifices of all who defended our country, our freedom and our liberty in times of war and desperation;
• upholding freedom, tolerance, individual rights, and the rule of law;
• honouring Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, the nation's first peoples, for their deep kinship with their lands, and for their ancient and continuing cultures which enrich the life of our country;
• recognising the nation-building contribution of generations of immigrants;
• supportive of the individual and collective achievements of all Australians;
• and valuing independence as dearly as the national spirit which binds us together in both adversity and success."