AK's Australian Election Series

The three referendum questions put to the Australian people in 1965 delivered significantly different results - the Aboriginal question was accepted by a extraordinary 84% of Australian voters and all the states, ensuring Aboriginals were finally, after 64 years of no recognition as people, counted as people in Census and thus Australian citizens. The Parliament question passed with a still-large 60-40% margin, although two states, Western Australia and Tasmania, the smallest two states in terms of population, voted against the referendum. The new House of Representatives would be set at ~~121~~ 123, so that a tied parliament could not occur, and also, to bring Tasmania into line with the rest of Australia in terms of quota, by this time, Tasmania lacked sufficient population for five seats, one due to be abolished, namely the seat of Wilmot, which covered most of central Tasmania. The other two seats' to be abolished were yet to be determined The third question, on conscription, was soundly defeated by a massive 24-76 margin.

Prime Minister Eric Harrison was pleased the Aboriginal referendum had passed, as were Deputy PM Charles Adermann and Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam. On the conscription referendum though, which many in the army itself opposed, Harrison was slightly disappointed, although went on to say "The will of the people must always be respected, and any commitment to Vietnam will be by existing members of the armed forces and voluntary enlistments only". Whitlam was satisfied with the conscription referendum's result, stating "Governments in the past have failed to bring in conscription, and once again, the Australian people have rejected this horrendous practice."

Over March and April of 1965, the US and Australian Governments conversed over the Vietnam War, and at the end of the month, PM Harrison agreed to assist the South Vietnamese armed forces, and the US Army, by sending the 1st Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) to South Vietnam, as a communist victory there was be seen as a severe threat to Australia. The 1st Battalion left on the 27th of May, arriving in Vietnam the following month. PM Harrison, making a speech to the Australian Club in London, stated that Australia is in a state of war on the 30th of June. The 1st Battalion would be deployed into Operation Hump in November of 1965, which resulted in the deaths of 48 American and 403 Viet Cong soldiers. Bien Hoa province was the battlefield for most other conflicts the Battalion was involved in during 1965.

Away from the Vietnam War, 1965 saw the opening of the Captain Cook Bridge in southern Sydney, which provided a link between Sydney's inner southern and outer southern suburbs, and was built by private company John Holland. This provided yet another infrastructure link in the age of the motorcar. Entering 1966, PM Harrison, who had been considering it for much of 1965, although didn't want to "abandon ship" as Australian armed forces were entering Vietnam, finally announced his retirement as PM on the 26th of January, or Australia Day 1966. Harrison would remain an MP until the next election, however, which was due no later than mid-1967. PM Harrison felt he had brought all that he could to the Prime Ministership, and by now having become Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister, felt it was time for a fresh face. Some in the Liberal ranks agreed with this - while the Coalition's victories in the Harrison era were all large or very large, some MPs felt it would be better to change leaders to avoid becoming stale. The following day, Harold Holt was elected as the new Liberal leader, and thus the 17th Prime Minister of Australia, taking office on the 1st of February, 1966.

Thirteen days into Holt's premiership saw the official conversion to decimal currency, the new currency called the dollar, one pound becoming two dollars. Proposed names throughout 1965 included the dinkum, digger, kanga, emu, oz and boomer, dollar being chosen late in 1965 after trial notes were printed by the RBA of some designs, with the dollar name and design being the most popular amongst those polled. On a much more grim note, early 1966 saw the eerie disappearance of the Beaumont children, Jane Arrna and Grant, from a western Adelaide beach. They were never found, and this abduction/disappearance radically altered the attitudes of Australian parents, regarding letting their young children wander around alone, forever.

1966 also saw Japan overtake the UK as Australia's largest trading partner, motoring firm Holden install seat belts as standard equipment in all new vehicles, the discovery of nickel ore in Kambalda, Western Australia, and the Victorian and NSW governments relaxing pub closing times, Queensland and South Australia (WA never introduced it to begin with, and Tasmania abolished it back in the 1930s), abolishing it within a year afterwards. The members for the ACT and NT were also granted full voting rights in 1966, which also saw a visit from US Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who assured the Australian Government that the Vietnam War was being directed by Peking and Hanoi, and remained a Chinese offensive. US President Lyndon Johnson toured Australia's eastern cities in late 1966, sparking some demonstrations by anti-war protesters. At this point in time, anti-war sentiment in Australia was not that large.

Perhaps the most landmark piece of legislation passed in 1966, however, was that year's Immigration Act, which essentially dismantled the White Australia Policy by allowing non-Europeans the same rights as Europeans to settle in Australia on an individual basis, based on skill possession and ability to integrate. Non-Europeans, like Europeans could become permanent residents and citizens after five years residency in Australia. The new law also allowed in refugees fleeing from the Vietnam War. Back to Vietnam, the 18th of August 1966 saw the Battle of Long Tan, in South Vietnam, the first major battle in the Vietnam War led by Australia, with New Zealand and the US providing support. It resulted in a major victory for Australia, who lost 108 men as opposed to the 1,500-2,500 men lost by North Vietnam. Australia also saw a major breakthrough in technology in 1966, when its first satellite communications station opened in Carnarvon, Western Australia.

1967 saw the opposition to the Vietnam War become more heated - Cao Ky, Prime Minister of South Vietnam, visited Australia in January, where he was heckled by anti-war protesters, although welcomed by supporters of South Vietnam. PM Holt had to deny that Ky and his supporters were corrupt and responsible for the murder of Ngo Dinh Diem earlier in the decade. The 7th of February saw massive bushfires in Tasmania, which came to be known as Black Tuesday, and devastated much of Hobart. 62 people perished, 900 were injured and over 7,000 were left homeless. In terms of property damage, $40,000,000 (in 1967 dollars) was lost in the fire. Also in early 1967, The Duke of Edinburgh visited Australia on the 1st of March, the same day the Austalian White Ensign replaced the British White Ensign on Naval ships. La Trobe University was opened in Melbourne seven days later, the preceding month had seen Macquarie University in Sydney see its first student intake.

Parliament at dissolution (Wilmot, TAS was abolished):
Liberal – 56 (nc)
Country – 21 (nc)
Labor – 42 (-1)
Communist – 4 (nc)

An election has been called for the 13th of May, 1967.

Party platforms at this election:

Liberal Party – Prime Minister Harold Holt and the Liberal Party are running on achievements in the past term under both Harrison and Holt. Namely, more relaxation to the immigration laws, the introduction of the new currency, the victory in the Battle of Long Tan, the successful referendum that recognised Aboriginals as people in their own land, and the continuing economic success of Australia. Holt, on further action in Vietnam, has stated that while he would like the war to end as soon as possible, he is "all the way with LBJ" regarding current efforts.

Country Party – Deputy Prime Minister Charles Adermann and the Country Party are campaigning on the government's record of expanding communication links to more rural areas, namely phone lines, and is also standing by PM Holt on Vietnam. Adermann has announced this will be his last election as Country leader.

Labor Party – Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam and Labor are running on withdrawing Australian troops from Vietnam by no later than the start of 1970, and a wide range of domestic reforms, including free dental care for students, foundation of a commission overseeing school funding allocation, and an income tax surcharge for universal healthcare.

Communist Party – Ron Maxwell and the Communist Party are continuing to support Soviet-backed North Vietnam, and are campaigning on immediate withdrawal from the region.

Democratic Labor Party – Jack Little and the DLP are continuing to back the Vietnam War, although with more caution than before, following Australian Catholic bishops' declaration of opposition to the war.

Marxist-Leninist Communist Party – Ted Hill's Marxist-Leninist Communist Party, or M-LCP for short, is once running on a communist nationalist platform, and continues to believe that Australia must rid itself of United States imperialism before it can be truly socialist.

Voting is open for 3 days, as per usual.

Me: Liberal.

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