Although Labor under Arthur Calwell gained a large 7.68% swing towards them at the 1961 election, in the background of the credit squeeze, it was not enough to topple the incumbent Harrison government, who were returned with a significantly reduced majority of 24, as opposed to their 1958 majority of 62. Labor made gains in all states, most notably in Queensland and New South Wales, in the latter they picked up two seats from the Communists, who were now led by Ron Maxwell, the new MP for West Sydney, former leader Lance Sharkey's old seat, and former councilor. The Democratic Labor Party was wiped out in terms of both vote and seats, leaving their two senators elected in 1958 as the party's sole representatives, and the Country Party managed to retain their high watermark of 20 seats from the 1958 election going into the new decade.
Summary of 1961 election:
House of RepresentativesLiberal – 54 (-19)
Country – 20 (nc)
Labor – 43 (+25)
Communist – 7 (-2)
Democratic Labor – 0 (-4)
Senate1958: 17
Liberal, 2
Country, 8
Labor, 2
Democratic Labor, 1
Communist1961: 14
Liberal, 2
Country, 13
Labor, 1
CommunistTotal: 31
Liberal, 4
Country, 21
Labor, 2
Democratic Labor, 2
CommunistTwo-party preferred vote:
53.57-
46.43Despite Labor's large gains in the House of Representatives, the Coalition's hold on the senate actually increased, as the Senators elected in 1961 were serving amongst those elected in 1958, a landslide year for the Coalition. Arthur Calwell, on the back of the large gains in terms of seats and votes alike for Labor, remained leader of his party. The DLP, after leader Bob Joshua lost his seat of Ballarat, elected Senator Jack Little as their new leader, who was determined to continue the DLP despite the disastrous 1961 result for the party.
The 23rd of July saw the Antarctic Treaty, which the Harrison Government signed two years prior, come into effect. Later in 1961, on the 31st of October, the Parkes Telescope was opened, which had been constructed over most of the year. As mentioned in the previous entry, this would greatly assist the US with their space program over the decade. Sadly, at the very end of 1961, on the 20th of December, veteran MP and former Country leader and Prime Minister Sir Earle Page passed away, after 42 years as member for Cowper in northeastern New South Wales.
Entering 1962, the Cahill Expressway, Australia's first freeway, was completed, and the major cities were planning and/or building their proposed freeways, which radically changed transportation in Australian cities. The Parliamentary Committee on Aboriginal voting rights resulted in the 1962 Commonwealth Electoral Act, which enabled the right for all Aboriginal people to enrol and vote in federal elections. The coaxial cable link linking Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra was completed in 1962, with it expected to connect to Adelaide by 1963, and Perth in 1964.
Goulburn, a town in rural New South Wales, saw an education strike occur on the 16th of July, where the Catholic schools were closed over a debate regarding installation of three additional toilets, which the church struggled to afford. As a result, the government schools in Goulburn were unable to take up the additional students, and as a result, PM Harrison, along with the leader of the New South Wales state government, Premier Bob Heffron of the Labor Party, met in Goulburn with the school community the following day, which led to the NSW Government funding the additional toilets. As a partial result of this, the Liberal Party state branches nationwide incorporated funding for science blocks in both government and private schools into its platform the following year, in response to the strike and subsequent debates. Labor's platform already provided provisions for government schools' science blocks, but not to private schools, many of which were Catholic schools. Credit was also relaxed in the 1962 budget, with the economy beginning to pick up again after the squeeze of 1961.
Entering 1963, the Commonwealth Pacific undersea cable was completed, enabling international direct dial to Australia via the United States. It also saw the approval of a naval communications facility in northwestern Western Australia, which was supported by both the government and opposition, although the Labor Left did not support the facility. The major political event in Australia in 1963 though was the Yirrkala bark petitions, which were tabled on the 14th of August, and again on the 28th of August, from the Yolngu people, native to Yirrkala, in the Arnhem Land, a part of the Northern Territory. The government sold part of the Arnhem Land reserve on the 13th of March, without consulting the Yolngu people, the traditional owners of the land. The petitions themselves were aimed at the House of Representatives, calling for a Parliamentary committee, accompanied by competent interpreters, to listen to the views of the residents of Yirrkala, and to not make any arrangements that allow any company to destroy the Yirrkalans' livelihood and independence.
A House of Representatives Select Committee, called The House of Representatives Select Committee on Grievances of the Yirrkala Aborigines, Arnhem Land Reserve in full, was promptly established by the Harrison Government. The results of the Committee recommended the following methods of compensation for the people of the Yirrkala:
- Land grants
- Payment of at least the first Ł150,000 in mining royalties to the Yirrkala people
- Direct monetary compensation
While the recommendations were disputed by the Northern Territory court and mining companies, the petitions were a precedent to not only the 1962 Commonwealth Electoral Act coming into force, allowing Aboriginals around Australia to enrol and vote in federal elections nationwide, but also to more Aboriginal rights movements, particularly Census recognition.
By the end of 1963, which had seen the United States lose their President, John F. Kennedy, the situation in Vietnam, which had been very unstable and intense since the mid-1950s, was beginning to heat up even more. PM Harrison, who had sent military advisors to South Vietnam back in 1962, along with the United States, was keeping a close eye on the situation in Vietnam, particularly after the assassination of Ngô Đěnh Diệm, the South Vietnamese President on the 2nd of November 1963, by South Vietnamese army rebels, in a coup d'état. This led to an incredibly unstable situation in South Vietnam, which was still backed by the US, although new US President Lyndon B. Johnson did not consider the situation a priority, preferring to work on matters at home. More coups d'état would follow in early 1964.
In Australia, the Communist Party had split largely on the back of the Sino-Soviet Split, which occurred between the USSR and China, over the divergence between Marxism-Leninism and Maoism.
An election has been called for the 16th of May, 1964.
Party platforms at this election:
Liberal Party – Prime Minister Eric Harrison and the Liberal Party are running on their successes over the past nine years, including the once-again fast growing economy, advancements in Aboriginal rights, advancements in various types of infrastructure, with more proposed and under construction, On the situation in Vietnam, PM Harrison has stated "At this point in time, while Vietnam is incredibly unstable, we will not commit ground troops unless events take a major turn for the worse". In a major campaign pledge, Harrison is committed to a referendum on Aboriginal people, which if passed, would officially count them in the Census, and thus officially citizens of Australia.
Country Party – Deputy Prime Minister Charles Adermann and the Country Party are campaigning on expanding communication links to more rural areas, and is also applauding the government's record on infrastructure improvements, and the strong agricultural output of Australia, backed by its moderate tariffs and market agreements.
Labor Party – Opposition Leader Arthur Calwell and Labor, while impressed with the way the economy has gone back on track since the 1961 election, and are pleased with progress on Aboriginal rights, have stated there is much more to be done, and is extremely wary of the situation in Vietnam, both North and South Vietnam alike. The Labor Party's platform is still very similar to the Evatt and Calwell years - democratic socialist, although by no means communist.
Communist Party – Ron Maxwell and the Communist Party are supporting Soviet-backed North Vietnam, and believe Australia should do the same. Aside from this, the Communist Party is very Soviet-aligned in general, especially after the M-LCP split from the Communists earlier in 1964.
Democratic Labor Party – Jack Little and the DLP, unlike the ALP, have a similar view to the Liberal and Country Parties of the situation in Vietnam, although share many of the same economic views as Labor, with the long-standing exception of state aid to private schools, namely Catholic schools, a core DLP value.
Marxist-Leninist Communist Party – Ted Hill's new Marxist-Leninist Communist Party, or M-LCP for short, is running on a communist nationalist platform, and differs from the Communist Party in that despite its name, it is more in tune with Chinese communism than Soviet communism, and believes that Australia must rid itself of United States imperialism before it can be truly socialist.
Voting is open for 3 days as usual.
Me:
Liberal
Poll
