| This article is part ofa series on the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History of Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thehistory of Australia since 1945 has seen long periods of economic prosperity and the introduction of an expanded and multi-ethnic immigration program, which has coincided with moves away from Britain in political, social and cultural terms and towards increasing engagement with the United States and Asia.
In 1944, theLiberal Party of Australia was formed, withRobert Menzies as its founding leader. The party would come to dominate the early decades of the post-war period. Outlining his vision for a new political movement in 1944, Menzies said:
"…[W]hat we must look for, and it is a matter of desperate importance to our society, is a true revival of liberal thought which will work for social justice and security, for national power and national progress, and for the full development of the individual citizen, though not through the dull and deadening process ofsocialism.[1]
In April 1945, Prime MinisterJohn Curtin despatched an Australian delegation which included attorney-general and minister for external affairsH. V. Evatt to discuss formation of theUnited Nations. Australia played a significant mediatory role in these early years of the United Nations, successfully lobbying for an increased role for smaller and middle-ranking nations and a stronger commitment to employment rights into theU.N. Charter. Evatt was elected president of the third session of the United Nations General Assembly (September 1948 to May 1949).[2]
When Labor Prime MinisterJohn Curtin died in July 1945.Frank Forde served as prime minister from 6–13 July, before the party electedBen Chifley as Curtin's successor.[3] Chifley, a former railway engine driver, won the 1946 election.His government introduced national projects, including theSnowy Mountains Scheme and an assisted immigration program and pursued centralist economic policies – making the Commonwealth the collector of income tax, and seeking to nationalise the private banks. At the conference of the New South Wales Labor Party in June 1949, Chifely sought to define the labour movement as having:[4]
[A] great objective – the light on the hill – which we aim to reach by working for the betterment of mankind... [Labor would] bring something better to the people, better standards of living, greater happiness to the mass of the people’.
With an increasingly uncertain economic outlook, after his attempt to nationalise the banks and thecoal strike by the Communist-dominatedMiners Federation, Chifley lost office at the 1949 federal election to Menzies' newly established Liberal Party, in coalition with theCountry Party.[5]
AfterWorld War II, Australia launched a massiveimmigration program, believing that having narrowly avoided a Japanese invasion, Australia must "populate or perish." As Prime MinisterBen Chifley would later declare, "a powerful enemy looked hungrily toward Australia. In tomorrow's gun flash that threat could come again. We must populate Australia as rapidly as we can before someone else decides to populate it for us."[6] Hundreds of thousands of displaced Europeans, including for the first time large numbers of Jews, migrated to Australia. More than two million people immigrated to Australia from Europe during the 20 years after the end of the war.
From the outset, it was intended that the bulk of these immigrants should be mainly from the British Isles, and that the post-war immigration scheme would preserve the British character of Australian society. Although Great Britain remained the predominant source of immigrants, the pool of source countries was expanded to includeContinental European countries in order to meet Australia's ambitious immigration targets. From the late 1940s onwards, Australia received significant waves of people from countries such as Greece, Italy,Malta, Germany,Yugoslavia and the Netherlands. Australia actively sought these immigrants, with the government assisting many of them and they found work due to an expanding economy and major infrastructure projects.[7]
The Australian economy stood in sharp contrast to war-ravaged Europe, and newly arrived migrants found employment in a booming manufacturing industry and government assisted programs such as theSnowy Mountains Scheme. Thishydroelectricity andirrigation complex in south-east Australia consisted of sixteen major dams and seven power stations constructed between 1949 and 1974. It remains the largest engineering project undertaken in Australia. Necessitating the employment of 100,000 people from over 30 countries, to many it denotes the birth of multicultural Australia.[7]
In 1949 the 1941–1949 Labor government (led byBen Chifley afterJohn Curtin's death in 1945) wasdefeated by aLiberal–National Party Coalition government headed byMenzies. Politically, theMenzies government and theLiberal Party of Australia dominated much of the immediate post-war era, defeating theChifley government in 1949, in part over a Labor proposal to nationalise banks[8] and following a crippling coal strike influenced by theAustralian Communist Party. Menzies became the country's longest-serving prime minister and the Liberal party, incoalition with the rural basedCountry Party, won every federal election until 1972.
As in the United States in the early 1950s, allegations of communist influence in society saw tensions emerge in politics. Refugees fromSoviet dominated Eastern Europe immigrated to Australia, while to Australia's north,Mao Zedong won theChinese Civil War in 1949 and in June 1950, CommunistNorth Korea invadedSouth Korea. The Menzies government responded to a United States ledUnited Nations Security Council request for military aid for South Korea and diverted forces fromoccupied Japan to begin Australia's involvement in theKorean War. After fighting to a bitter standstill, the UN and North Korea signed a ceasefire agreement in July 1953. Australian forces had participated in such major battles asKapyong andMaryang San. Seventeen thousand Australians had served and casualties amounted to more than 1,500, of whom 339 were killed.[9]
During the course of theKorean War, the Menzies government attempted to ban theCommunist Party of Australia, first by legislation in 1950 and later by referendum, in 1951.[10] While both attempts were unsuccessful, further international events such as thedefection of minor Soviet Embassy officialVladimir Petrov, added to a sense of impending threat that politically favoured Menzies’ Liberal-CP government, as the Labor Party pushed centralist economics and split over concerns about the influence of the Communist Party over theTrade Union movement, resulting ina bitter split in 1955 and the emergence of the breakawayDemocratic Labor Party (DLP). The DLP remained an influential political force, often holding the balance of power in theSenate, until 1974; its preferences supported the Liberal and Country Party.[11] The Labor party was led byH. V. Evatt after Chifley's death in 1951. Evatt retired in 1960, andArthur Calwell succeeded him as leader, with a youngGough Whitlam as his deputy.[12]
Menzies presided over a period of sustained economic boom and the beginnings of sweeping social change – with the arrivals ofrock and roll music and television in the 1950s. In 1956,television in Australia began broadcasting, Melbourne hosted the Olympics and, for the first time, performing artistBarry Humphries performed the character of Edna Everage as a parody of a house-proud housewife of staid 1950s Melbourne suburbia (the character only later morphed into a critique of self-obsessed celebrity culture). It was the first of many of his satirical stage and screen creations based around quirky Australian characters.
In 1958,Australian country music singerSlim Dusty, who would become the musical embodiment of rural Australia, had Australia's first international music chart hit with hisbush ballad "A Pub with No Beer",[13] whilerock and rollerJohnny O'Keefe'sWild One became the first local recording to reach the national charts,[14] peaking at #20.[15][16] Before sleeping through the 1960sAustralian cinema produced little of its own content in the 1950s, but British and Hollywood studios produced a string of successful epics fromAustralian literature, featuring home grown starsChips Rafferty andPeter Finch.
Menzies remained a staunch supporter of links to themonarchy andBritish Commonwealth and formalised analliance with the United States, but also launched post-war trade with Japan, beginning a growth of Australian exports of coal, iron ore and mineral resources that would steadily climb until Japan became Australia's largest trading partner.[17]
In the early 1950s, the Menzies government saw Australia as part of a "triple alliance", in concert with both the US and traditional ally Britain.[18] At first, "the Australian leadership opted for a consistently pro-British line in diplomacy", while at the same time looking for opportunities to involve the US in South East Asia.[19] Thus, other than the Korean War, the government also committed military forces to theMalayan Emergency and hosted Britishnuclear tests after 1952.[20] Australia was also the only Commonwealth country to offer support to the British during theSuez Crisis.[21]
Menzies oversaw an effusive welcome to QueenElizabeth II on the first visit to Australia by areigning monarch, in 1954. However, as British influence declined in South East Asia, the US alliance came to have greater significance for Australian leaders and the Australian economy. British investment in Australia remained significant until the late 1970s, but trade with Britain declined through the 1950s and 1960s. In the late 1950s the Australian Army began to re-equip using US military equipment. In 1962, the US established a naval communications station atNorth West Cape, the first of several built over the next decade.[22][23] Most significantly, in 1962,Australian Army advisors were sent to help train South Vietnamese forces, in a developing conflict the British had no part in.
TheANZUS security treaty, which had been signed in 1951, had its origins in Australia's and New Zealand's fears of a rearmed Japan, but found new impetus through anti-communism. Its obligations on the US, Australia and New Zealand are vague, but its influence on Australian foreign policy thinking, at times significant.[24] TheSEATO treaty, signed only three years later, clearly demonstrated Australia's position as a US ally in the emerging cold war. On 26 November 1967, Australia became the seventh nation to put a satellite into Earth orbit, launchingWRESAT from Woomera.
When Menzies retired in January 1966, he was replaced as Liberal leader and prime minister byHarold Holt. TheHolt government increased Australian commitment to the growingWar in Vietnam; oversaw conversion todecimal currency and faced Britain's withdrawal from Asia by visiting and hosting many Asian leaders and by expanding ties to the United States, hosting the first visit to Australia by an American president, his friendLyndon B. Johnson. Significantly, Holt's government introduced theMigration Act 1966, which effectively dismantled the vestigial mechanisms of theWhite Australia policy and increased access to non-European migrants, including refugees fleeing theVietnam War. Holt also called the 1967 Referendum which removed the discriminatory clause in theConstitution of Australia which excludedAboriginal Australians from being counted in the census – the referendum was one of the few to be overwhelmingly endorsed by the Australian electorate (over 90% voted 'yes').[25]
Holt won the 1967 election with the largest parliamentary majority in 65 years, but Holt drowned while swimming at a surf beach in December 1967 and was replaced byJohn Gorton (1968–1971). TheGorton government began winding down Australia's commitment to Vietnam, increased funding for the arts, standardised rates of pay between the men and women and continued moving Australian trade closer to Asia. The Liberals suffered a decline in voter support at the1969 election and internal party division saw Gorton replaced byWilliam McMahon (1971–1972) and, facing a reinvigoratedAustralian Labor Party led byGough Whitlam, the Liberals entered their final stretch in office of a record 23 straight years period.[26]
.jpg)
From the mid-1960s, evidence of a new and more independent sense of national pride and identity began to emerge in Australia. In the early 1960s, theNational Trust of Australia began to be active in preserving Australia's natural, cultural and historic heritage.Australian TV, while always dependent on US and British imports, saw locally made dramas and comedies appear, and programs such asHomicide developed strong local loyalty whileSkippy the Bush Kangaroo became a global phenomenon. Liberal prime ministerJohn Gorton, a battle scarred former fighter pilot, described himself as "Australian to the bootheels" and theGorton government established theAustralian Council for the Arts, theAustralian Film Development Corporation and theNational Film and Television Training School.[26]
The late 1960s and early 1970s are often associated with a flowering ofAustralian culture.Indigenous Australians achieved greater rights, immigration restrictions and censorship laws were swept aside, theatre and opera companies were established across the country, andAustralian rock music blossomed. The1971 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia was influential in raising awareness of Aboriginal injustice in Australia and also led Australia to become the first Western nation tocut sporting ties with South Africa.[citation needed] In a significant move against South Africa'sapartheid regime, many Australians (includingWallabies) demonstrated against tours by the racially selected South African team.[27] The Australian media tycoonKerry Packer altered the traditionalist ethos of the game ofcricket in the 1970s, inventingWorld Series Cricket from which have evolved many aspects of the various modern international forms of the game.
The iconicSydney Opera House finally opened in 1973 after numerous delays. In the same year,Patrick White became the first Australian to win aNobel Prize for Literature.[28] Australian History had begun to appear on school curriculums by the 1970s[29] and from the early 1970s, theAustralian cinema began to produce theAustralian New Wave of feature films based on uniquely Australian themes. Film funding began under the Gorton government, but it was theSouth Australian Film Corporation that took the lead in supporting filmmaking and among their great successes were quintessential Australian filmsSunday Too Far Away (1974)Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975),Breaker Morant (1980) andGallipoli (1981). The national funding body, theAustralian Film Commission, was established in 1975.
Significant changes also occurred to Australia's censorship laws after the new Liberal Minister for Customs and Excise,Don Chipp, was appointed in 1969. In 1968,Barry Humphries andNicholas Garland's cartoon book featuring the larrikin characterBarry McKenzie was banned. Yet only a few years later, the book had been made as a film, partly with the support of government funding.[30] Anne Pender suggests that the Barry McKenzie character both celebrated and parodiedAustralian nationalism. Historian Richard White also argues that "while many of the plays, novels and films produced in the 1970s were intensely critical of aspects of Australian life, they were absorbed by the ‘new nationalism’ and applauded for their Australianness."[31]
.jpg)
The Menzies government despatched the first small contingent of Australian military training personnel to aidSouth Vietnam in 1962, so beginning Australia's decade long involvement in theVietnam War.Ngo Dinh Diem, the leader of the government in South Vietnam, had requested security assistance from the US and its allies. The Australian government supported the commitment as part of global effort to stem the spread of communism in Europe and Asia.
Initially popular, Australia's participation in Vietnam, and particularly the use ofconscription, later became politically contentious and saw massive protests, though they were for the most part peaceful. The United States launched a major escalation of the war in 1965 and theHolt government which succeeded Menzies, increased Australia's military commitment to the conflict. Holt won a massive majority in the 1967 Election.[25] By 1969 however, anti-war protests were gathering momentum and opposition to conscription was growing, with more people believing the war could not be won. TheGorton government (returned with a reduced majority at the 1969 Election) ceased to replace Australian personnel from 1970.[32] There were large Moratorium marches in 1970 and 1971 and Australia's troop commitment continued to wind down through 1971 with the last battalion leaving Nui Dat in November. The election of theWhitlam government in 1972 brought Australia's small remaining involvement in the war to an official close in June 1973 with the withdrawal of the last platoon guarding the Australian Embassy in Saigon. Australian forces were largely based atNui Dat,Phước Tuy province, and participated in such notable battles as theBattle of Long Tan against theViet Cong in 1966 and defending against the 1968Tet Offensive. Almost 60,000 Australians had served in Vietnam and 521 had died as a result of the war. As the war became unpopular, protestors and conscienscious objectors became prominent and soldiers often met a hostile reception on their return home in the later stages of the conflict.[33]
In early 1975 the communists launched a major offensive resulting in thefall of Saigon on 30 April. TheRoyal Australian Air Force assisted in final humanitarian evacuations.[33] In the aftermath of the communist victory, Australia assisted in re-settlement of Vietnamese refugees, with thousands making their way to Australia through the 1970s and 1980s.[34]
Australia had administered Papua New Guinea and Nauru for much of the 20th century.British New Guinea (Papua) had passed to Australia in 1906.German New Guinea was captured by Australia during the First World War, becoming aLeague of Nations mandate after the war. Following the bitterNew Guinea campaign of World War II which saw occupation of half the island by theEmpire of Japan, theTerritory of Papua and New Guinea was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administeredTerritory of Papua andTerritory of New Guinea in 1949. Under Liberal Minister for External TerritoriesAndrew Peacock, Papua and New Guinea adopted self-government in 1972 and on 15 September 1975, during the term of theWhitlam government in Australia, the Territory became the independent nation ofPapua New Guinea.[35][36]
Australia had captured the island ofNauru from the German Empire in 1914. After Japanese occupation during World War II, it became aUN Trust Territory under Australia and remained so until achieving independence in 1968. In 1989 Nauru sued Australia in theInternational Court of Justice in The Hague for damages caused by mining. Australia settled the case out of court agreeing to a lump sum settlement of A$107 million and an annual stipend of the equivalent of A$2.5 million toward environmental rehabilitation.[37]
Elected in December 1972 after 23 years in opposition,Labor won office underGough Whitlam and introduced a significant program of social change and reform. Whitlam said before the election: "our program has three great aims. They are – to promote equality; to involve the people of Australia in … decision making…; and to liberate the talents and uplift the horizons of the Australian people."[38]
Whitlam's actions were immediate and dramatic. Within a few weeks the last military advisors in Vietnam were recalled, and national service ended. ThePeople's Republic of China was recognised (Whitlam had visited China while Opposition Leader in 1971) and the embassy inTaiwan closed.[39][40] Over the next few years, university fees were abolished and a national health care scheme established. Significant changes were made to school funding, something Whitlam regarded as "the most enduring single achievement" of his government.[41] Divorce and family law was liberalised.
Whitlam's radical and imperious style eventually alienated many voters, and some of the state governments were openly hostile to his government. As it did not control the senate, much of its legislation was rejected or amended. The QueenslandCountry Party government ofJoh Bjelke-Petersen had particularly bad relations with the Federal government. Even after it was re-elected atelections in May 1974, the Senate remained an obstacle to its political agenda. At the onlyjoint sitting of parliament, in August 1974, six keys pieces of legislation wering passed.
In 1974, Whitlam selectedJohn Kerr, a former member of the Labor Party and presidingChief Justice of New South Wales to serve asGovernor-General. The Whitlam government was re-elected with a decreased majority in the lower house in the1974 Election. In 1974–75 the government thought about borrowing US$4 billion in foreign loans. MinisterRex Connor conducted secret discussions with a loan broker from Pakistan, and the Treasurer,Jim Cairns, misled parliament over the issue.[42] Arguing the government was incompetent following theLoans affair, the oppositionLiberal-Country Party Coalition delayed passage of the government's money bills in the Senate, until the government would promise a new election. Whitlam refused,Malcolm Fraser, leader of the Opposition insisted. The deadlock came to an end when the Whitlam government wasdismissed by the Governor-General,John Kerr on 11 November 1975 and Fraser was installed as caretaker prime minister, pending an election. The "reserve powers" granted to theGovernor General by theConstitution of Australia, had allowed an elected government to be dismissed without warning by a representative of the Monarch.[43]
At elections held in late 1975, Malcolm Fraser and the Coalition were elected in alandslide victory.[citation needed]
TheFraser government won two subsequent elections. Fraser maintained some of the social reforms of the Whitlam era, while seeking increased fiscal restraint. His government included the first Aboriginal federal parliamentarian,Neville Bonner, and in 1976, Parliament passed theAboriginal Land Rights Act 1976, which, while limited to the Northern Territory, affirmed "inalienable" freehold title to some traditional lands. Fraser established the multicultural broadcasterSBS, welcomedVietnamese boat people refugees, opposed minority white rule inApartheid South Africa andRhodesia and opposedSoviet expansionism. A significant program of economic reform however was not pursued and, by 1983, theAustralian economy was in recession, amidst the effects of a severe drought. Fraser had promoted "states’ rights" and his government refused to use Commonwealth powers to stop the construction of theFranklin Dam in Tasmania in 1982.[44] A Liberal minister,Don Chipp had split off from the party to form a newsocial liberal party, theAustralian Democrats in 1977 and the Franklin Dam proposal contributed to the emergence of an influentialEnvironmental movement in Australia, with branches including theAustralian Greens, a political party which later emerged fromTasmania to pursueenvironmentalism as well as left-wing social and economic policies.[45]
Bob Hawke, a less polarising Labor leader thanWhitlam, defeated Fraser at the1983 Election. The new government stopped the Franklin Dam project via theHigh Court of Australia. The 1980s saw severe concerns about Australia's future economic health take hold, with severe current account deficits and high unemployment at times. Hawke, together with treasurerPaul Keating undertook micro-economic and industrial relations reform designed to increase efficiency and competitiveness. After the initial failure of the Whitlam model and partial dismantling under Fraser, Hawke re-established a new, universal system of health insurance calledMedicare. Hawke and Keating abandoned traditional Labor support for tariffs to protect industry and jobs. They moved to deregulate Australia's financial system and ‘floated’ theAustralian dollar.[46] An agreement was reached with trade unions to moderate wage demands and accept more flexible working condition arrangements by accepting tax cuts in return. Ultimately, many of the reforms, continued by successive governments, appear to have been successful in pushing the economy along.
TheAustralian Bicentenary was celebrated in 1988 along with the opening of a newParliament House in Canberra. The following year the Australian Capital Territory achieved self-government and Jervis Bay became a separate territory administered by the Minister for Territories.
A supporter of theUS alliance, Hawke committed Australian naval forces to theGulf War, following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. After four successful elections, but amid a deterioratingAustralian economy and rising unemployment, the intense rivalry between Hawke and Keating led the Labor Party to replace Hawke as leader andPaul Keating became prime minister in 1991.[46]
Unemployment reached 11.4% in 1992 – the highest since theGreat Depression. TheLiberal-National Opposition had proposed anambitious plan of economic reform to take to the1993 Election, including the introduction of agoods and services tax. Keating shuffled treasurers and campaigned strongly against the tax and won the1993 Election. During his time in office, Keating emphasised links to the Asia Pacific region, co-operating closely with thepresident of Indonesia,Suharto, and campaigned to increase the role ofAPEC as a major forum for economic co-operation. Keating was active in indigenous affairs and theHigh Court of Australia's historicMabo decision in 1992 required a legislative response to recognition of Indigenous title to land, culminating in theNative Title Act 1993 and the Land Fund Act 1994. In 1993, Keating established a Republic Advisory Committee, to examine options for Australia becoming a republic. With foreign debt, interest rates and unemployment still high, and after a series of ministerial resignations, Keating lost the1996 Election to the Liberals'John Howard.[47]
TheAustralia Act 1986 led to the severing of nearly all constitutional ties between Australia and the UK. This was achieved by the passing of the which removed the right of the British Parliament to make laws for Australia and ended any British role in the government of the Australian States.[48] It also removed the right of appeal from Australian courts to the BritishPrivy Council in London. Most important, the Act transferred into Australian hands full control of all Australia's constitutional documents.[49]
Campaigns for indigenous rights in Australia have a long history. In the modern era, 1938 was an important year. With the participation of leading indigenous activists likeDouglas Nicholls, theAustralian Aborigines Advancement League organised a protest "Day of Mourning" to mark the 150th anniversary of the arrival of theFirst Fleet of British in Australia and launched its campaign for full citizenship rights for all Aborigines. In the 1940s, the conditions of life for Aborigines could be very poor. A permit system restricted movement and work opportunities for many Aboriginal people.
During the 1950s and 60s, the government pursued a policy of "assimilation" which sought to achieve full citizenship rights for Aborigines but also wanted them to adopt the mode of life of other Australians (which very often was assumed to require suppression of cultural identity).[50] " From the 1950s onwards, Australians began to rethink their attitudes towards racial issues, mirroring developments in other western nations. Momentum grew within the Aboriginal rights movement, building on the legacy of earlier generations of activism, and the historical White Australia Policy fell out of public favour.
With uneven voting rights for Aboriginals based on states laws, the newly electedMenzies Government legislated in 1949 to ensure that all Indigenous Australians who'd served in the military received the right to vote. The Menzies Government's historic1962 Commonwealth Electorate Act then removed the power of states to deny Aboriginals a vote in Federal Elections, and Queensland and Western Australia removed their prohibitions on state voting rights soon after.
Menzies' successorHarold Holt called the landmark1967 referendum, which received more than 90% approval from the electorate, and ended the discriminatory practice of not automatically counting Indigenous Australians in the electoral roll census, and of allowing the states, rather than the Federal Parliament, to legislate specifically for Indigenous Australians.[51] Contrary to frequently repeated mythology, this referendum did not cover citizenship on Aboriginal people, nor did it give them the vote: they already had both. However, transferring this power away from theState parliaments did bring an end to the system ofAboriginal reserve which existed in each state, which allowed Indigenous people to move more freely, and exercise many of their citizenship rights for the first time. From the late 1960s a movement forIndigenous land rights also developed.
After the death of Holt, his successorJohn Gorton established the role ofMinister for Aboriginal Affairs, and outlined a program for "advancement" of Aboriginal people by means of "the assimilation of Aboriginal Australians as fully effective members of a single Australian society":[52]
"In other words, without destroying Aboriginal culture, we want to help our Aboriginals to become an integral part of the rest of the Australian people, and we want the Aboriginals themselves to have a voice in the pace at which this process occurs."
— Prime Minister John Gorton, 12 July 1968
_dancing.jpg)
Gorton considered that the "primary aim" of government policy should be to "make Aboriginals self supporting", and to end dependence on welfare and charity.[53] The Government introduced the Aboriginal Study Grants Scheme (ABSTUDY) in 1969, in response to low participation of Indigenous Australians in higher education, and the Aboriginal Secondary Grants Scheme (ABSEG) in 1970 to boost participation in secondary schooling.[54]
Menzies had established theAustralian Institute of Aboriginal Studies in 1964 to help study and preserve traditional Aboriginal language, art and culture.[55] The period also saw a flowering of recognition for Aboriginal artists, sportspeople and performers, including the breakthrough fame of the landscape painterAlbert Namatjira in the 1950s, singerJimmy Little and world champion boxerLionel Rose in the 1960s, and tennis playerEvonne Goolagong Cawley and acting greatDavid Gulpilil from the 1970s.
Various groups and individuals were also active on the political front in the pursuit of equality and social justice from the 1960s. In the mid-1960s, one of the earliest Aboriginal graduates from theUniversity of Sydney,Charles Perkins, helped organisefreedom rides into parts of Australia to expose discrimination and inequality. In 1966, theGurindji people of Wave Hill station (owned by theVestey Group) commenced strike action led byVincent Lingiari in a quest for equal pay and recognition of land rights.[56]
Indigenous Australians began to take up representation in Australian parliaments during the 1970s. In 1971Neville Bonner of theLiberal Party was appointed by the Queensland Parliament to replace a retiring senator, becoming the first Federal parliamentarian to identify as Aboriginal. Bonner was returned as a Senator at the 1972 election and remained until 1983.Hyacinth Tungutalum of theCountry Liberal Party in theNorthern Territory andEric Deeral of theNational Party of Queensland, became the first Indigenous people elected to territory and state legislatures in 1974. In 1976, SirDouglas Nicholls was appointedGovernor of South Australia, becoming the first Aborigine to hold vice-regal office in Australia.Aden Ridgeway of theAustralian Democrats served as a senator during the 1990s, but No indigenous person was elected to the House of Representatives, until West AustralianLiberalKen Wyatt, in August 2010.[57]
In 1984,a group ofPintupi people who were living a traditionalhunter-gatherer desert-dwelling life were tracked down in theGibson Desert in Western Australia and brought in to a settlement. They are believed to be the lastuncontacted tribe in Australia.[58] In 1985, theHawke government returned ownership ofUluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock) to the localPitjantjatjara Aboriginal people.
In 1992, theHigh Court of Australia handed down its decision in theMabo Case, declaring the previous legal concept ofterra nullius to be invalid. That same year, Prime MinisterPaul Keating said in hisRedfern Park Speech that European settlers were responsible for the difficulties Australian Aboriginal communities continued to face: ‘We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practiced discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice’. In 1999 Parliament passed aMotion of Reconciliation drafted by Prime MinisterJohn Howard and Aboriginal SenatorAden Ridgeway naming mistreatment of Indigenous Australians as the most "blemished chapter in our national history".[59]
A great many indigenous Australians have been prominent in sport and the arts. Several styles of Aboriginal art have developed in modern times, including the watercolour paintings ofAlbert Namatjira'sHermannsburg School, and the acrylicPapunya Tula "dot art" movement. TheWestern Desert Art Movement became a globally renowned 20th-century art movement.Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1920–1995) was a famous Aboriginal poet, writer and rights activist credited with publishing the first Aboriginal book of verse:We Are Going (1964).[60]Sally Morgan's novelMy Place was considered a breakthrough memoir in terms of bringing indigenous stories to wider notice. Leading Aboriginal intellectualsMarcia Langton (First Australians, 2008) andNoel Pearson ("Up From the Mission", 2009) are active contemporary contributors toAustralian literature. 1955'sJedda, was the first Australian feature film to star Aboriginal actors in lead roles and the first to be entered at theCannes Film Festival.[61] 1976'sThe Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith directed byFred Schepisi was an award-winning historical drama from a book byThomas Keneally about the tragic story of an AboriginalBushranger. The canon of films related to Indigenous Australians also increased over the period of the 1990s and early 21st century. In 2006, Rolf de Heer'sTen Canoes became the first major feature film to be shot in an indigenous language and the film was recognised atCannes and elsewhere. In sportEvonne Goolagong Cawley became the world number-one ranked tennis player in 1971 and won 14 Grand Slam titles during her career. In 1973Arthur Beetson became the first Indigenous Australian to captain his country in any sport when he first led the Australian National rugby league team,the Kangaroos.[62] In 1982,Mark Ella became captain of theAustralia national rugby union team.[63] Olympic gold medalistCathy Freeman lit the Olympic flame at the2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Sydney.[64]
In the early 21st century, much of indigenous Australia continued to suffer lower standards of health and education than non-indigenous Australia. In 2007, theClose the Gap campaign was launched by Olympic championsCathy Freeman andIan Thorpe with the aim of achieving Indigenous health equality within 25 years.[65] In 2007, Prime MinisterJohn Howard and Indigenous Affairs MinisterMal Brough launched theNorthern Territory National Emergency Response. In response to theLittle Children are Sacred Report into allegations of child abuse among indigenous communities in the Territory, the government banned alcohol in prescribed communities in the Northern Territory; quarantined a percentage of welfare payments for essential goods purchasing; despatched additional police and medical personnel to the region; and suspended the permit system for access to indigenous communities.[66]
During much of the twentieth century, Australian governments had removed many "mixed race" aboriginal children from their families. This practice did great damage to the Aboriginal people, culturally and emotionally, giving rise to the termstolen generations to describe these families. Since the publication in 1997 of a federal government report,Bringing Them Home all state governments have followed the recommendation of the report in issuing formal apologies for their past practices to the Aboriginal people, as have many local governments. The Howard government refused to make such an apology on behalf of the federal government, despite pleas from the Aboriginal people and from many sections of the wider community, saying that it implied intergenerational guilt on modern non-indigenous Australia. However, the new government underKevin Rudd led a formal bi-partisan apology on 13 February 2008.
In the early 21st century, Australia remains aconstitutional monarchy under theConstitution of Australia adopted in 1901, with the duties of the monarch performed by aGovernor-General selected by the Australian Government.Australian republicanism which had been a feature of the 1890s faded away during the First World War.[67] Support for theMonarchy of Australia peaked during the Menzies years with the wildly successful 1954 tour by QueenElizabeth II.Prince Charles attended school in Australia during the 1960s. The issue of a republic did not arise again until the 1970s. In the 1990s it was brought to the forefront of national debate by Prime MinisterPaul Keating, who promised in 1993 to introduce an "Australian federal republic" by the centenary of Federation in 2001.
TheHoward government called aConstitutional Convention to examine the issue in 1998. Delegates included appointees and elected representatives representing republicans, monarchists and neutral parties. The Convention proposed a republican model and a referendum was called for the approval of the Australian electorate.The referendum held on 6 November 1999 failed to achieve the support of either a majority of voters or a majority of states. The national vote of the electors in favour of Australia becoming a republic was 45.13%, with 54.87% against.[68]
TheAustralian Labor Party advocated for the republic, while theLiberals permitted members to campaign for either side. Notable campaigners for the republic included all the living former Labor prime ministers and former Liberal prime ministerMalcolm Fraser and incumbent treasurerPeter Costello. Notable Monarchists included Prime MinisterJohn Howard,Justice Michael Kirby of theHigh Court of Australia, former Labor opposition leaderBill Hayden and LiberalAboriginal elderNeville Bonner.[69] Future leaders of the Liberal PartyMalcolm Turnbull who led theAustralian Republic Movement andTony Abbott who supportedAustralians for Constitutional Monarchy took opposing views.[70]
Justice Michael Kirby (a monarchist and leading figure in progressive Australianjurisprudence) ascribed the failure of the republic referendum to ten factors: lack of bi-partisanship; undue haste; a perception that the republic was supported by big city elites; a "denigration" of monarchists as "unpatriotic" by republicans; the adoption of an inflexible republican model by the convention; concerns about the specific model proposed (chiefly the ease with which a prime minister could dismiss a president); a republican strategy of using big "names" attached to theWhitlam era to promote their cause; strong opposition to the proposal in the smaller states; a counter-productive pro-republican bias in the media; and an instinctive caution among the Australian electorate regardingConstitutional change.[68]
Some republicans blamed the conservative and monarchist Prime MinisterJohn Howard (elected in 1996), whose leadership certainly did not aid the republican cause.[citation needed] But there were other significant factors, including a split between "minimalist" republicans who wanted an Australian president to be chosen by the federal Parliament (as happens in, for example, Germany), and more "radical" republicans who wanted a directly elected president, as in the Irish Republic. Public opinion suggested that a republic would only be acceptable if a president was directly elected.[citation needed] Since the referendum proposal was for an indirectly elected president, many radicals opposed it.
TheGillard government which took power in ahung parliament following the 2010 Australian Election has indicated an intention not to revisit the issue of a vote for an Australian republic during the reign of QueenElizabeth II, while the Opposition Liberal-National Coalition is led byTony Abbott, a supporter of the constitutional monarchy.[71] Cultural interest in the Royal Family endures, with 7 million Australians (one third of the population) tuning in to watch theWedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in April 2011.[72]
In 2011, Australian public support for a republic fell to its lowest level since March 1994.[73] Support for a republic outright was 41%,[73] with support rising to 48% of respondents in a scenario with Charles on the throne and his wife, Camilla, as princess consort.[73]
Following the Vietnam War, Australian military forces were largely kept at home through the rest of the 1970s and 1980s, other than service inUnited Nations peacekeeping missions. RAAF helicopters operated in the Sinai; and Australian forces assisted in a British Commonwealth operation when Zimbabwe won its independence; as well as a similar operation in Namibia.[74]
Bob Hawke was prime minister at the time of theFall of the Berlin Wall and end of theCold War which ushered in a new era of international relations.Royal Australian Navy warships were deployed to theGulf War by theHawke government in 1991 and remained in the region to enforce UN-imposed sanctions against Iraq.[74]
Australian forces were very active in UN peacekeeping through the 1990s. In 1993, Foreign MinisterGareth Evans was active in the search for a settlement to ongoing troubles inCambodia in the aftermath of the genocidal 1970sPol Pot regime. Australia contributed the force commander and the operation's communications component to the UN operation. In the ultimately unsuccessful Somalia intervention, a battalion-level Australian contingent was employed to aid in the delivery of humanitarian aid in the Baidoa area. In 1994, Australia deployed medical staff to the UN force in Rwanda sent to deal with the aftermath of theRwandan genocide. A UN Peacekeeping engagement in Bougainville began in 1997, to aid in resolving the long-running conflict between the Papua New Guinea government Bougainville separatists.[74]
There have been a number of other peacekeeping and stabilisation operations: notably inBougainville, includingOperation Bel Isi (1998–2003); as well asOperation Helpem Fren and the Australian ledRegional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) in the early 2000s; and the2006 East Timorese crisis[75]
Australia led an important international military mission toEast Timor in 1999.Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed the former Portuguese colony.[76] Successive Australian governments, concerned to maintain good relations with Indonesia, had accepted Indonesia control of the territory, however thefall of Indonesian President Suharto and a shift in Australian policy by theHoward government in 1998 precipitated a proposal for a referendum on the question of independence.[77] New Indonesian presidentB. J. Habibie was prepared to consider a change of status for East Timor. In late 1998, Australian prime ministerJohn Howard with Foreign MinisterAlexander Downer drafted a letter Indonesia setting out a major change in Australian policy, suggesting that the East Timor be given a chance to vote on independence within a decade. The letter upset President Habibie, who saw it as implying Indonesia was a "colonial power" and he decided in response to announce a snap referendum.[77] AUN sponsored referendum held in August 1999 showed overwhelming approval for independence. After the result was announced, violent clashes, instigated by a suspected anti-independence militia, sparked a humanitarian and security crisis in the region.
John Howard consultedUN Secretary GeneralKofi Annan and lobbied U.S. presidentBill Clinton to support an Australian-led peacekeeper force to end the violence. Australia, who contributed 5,500 personnel and the force commander, Major GeneralPeter Cosgrove, to the UN-backedInternational Force East Timor and began deploying on 20 September 1999 and successfully restored order. The operation had been politically and militarily tense. Australia re-deployed frontline combat aircraft northward and detected an Indonesian submarine within the vicinity of Dili Harbour as INTERFET forces approached. While the intervention was ultimately successful, Australian-Indonesian relations would take several years to recover.[74][77]
In 1998, a wealthy dissident SaudiIslamist,Osama bin Laden, declared afatwa calling for the killing of "Americans and their allies -- civilians and military... in any country in which it is possible to do it" in order to bring to an end the ongoing enforcement of thesanctions against Iraq and presence of US troops in the Arabian Peninsula, thus bringing Australians into the line of fire in what would latterly grow to be defined as thewar on terror.[78] Following the11 September terrorist attacks byAl-Qaeda in 2001, On 14 September 2001, the Australian Government cited the terrorist attacks against the US as sufficient basis for invoking the mutual-defence clauses of the ANZUS Treaty. This was the first time the Treaty's clauses on acting to meet a common danger had been invoked since it was enacted in 1952.[79]
TheHoward government committed troops to theAfghanistan War (with bi-partisan support) and theIraq War (meeting with the disapproval of other political parties). SAS troops formed the most high-profile part ofOperation Slipper, Australia's contribution to the invading force in the 2001United States war in Afghanistan. A small number of Australians, includingDavid Hicks, were captured in and around the Afghan Theatre having spent time training or fighting with Al-Qaeda aligned Islamist paramilitaries.[80] Islamists following the Al-Qaedamodus operandibombed a nightclub in Bali in 2002 and killed 88 Australian civilians.[81] The following year, theIraq War was launched by a U.S.-British led coalition to overthrow theSaddam Hussein government of Iraq for its non-compliance with the1991 Gulf War Peace Treaty.Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq lasted until 2009 and was highly controversial. Following the death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at the hands of US forces in May 2011, Prime MinisterJulia Gillard announced that Australian forces would remain in Afghanistan and said that Bin Laden's death offered a "small measure of justice" to the families of the 105 Australians who been killed in Al-Qaeda attacks in New York, Bali, London and Mumbai since the commencement of the conflict.[82] As of May 2011, a further 24 Australian military personnel had been killed while serving in the Afghanistan conflict (including one with the British Armed Forces).[83]
John Howard served asPrime Minister from 1996 until 2007, the second-longest prime ministerial term afterRobert Menzies. One of the first programs instigated by theHoward government was a nationwide gun control scheme, following amass shooting at Port Arthur. The government sought to reduce Australia's government deficit and introduced industrial relations reforms, particularly as regards efficiency on the waterfront. After the 1996 election, Howard and treasurerPeter Costello proposed agoods and services tax (GST) which they successfully took to the electorate in 1998. In 1999, Australia led aUnited Nations force into East Timor to help establish democracy and independence for that nation, following political violence.[84]
The government also accelerated the pace ofprivatisation, beginning with the government-owned telecommunications corporation,Telstra. Howard's government continued some elements of the foreign policy of its predecessors, based on relations with four key countries: the United States, Japan, China, and Indonesia. The Howard administration strongly supported US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.
Australia hosted the2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney to great international acclaim. TheOpening Ceremony featured a host of iconic Australian imagery and history and the flame ceremony honoured women athletes, including swimmerDawn Fraser, with Aboriginal runnerCathy Freeman lit theOlympic flame. At the Closing Ceremony,President of the International Olympic Committee,Juan Antonio Samaranch, declared:[85]
"I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever."
Few international tourists came to Melbourne in 1956 for the Olympics that year, but Sydney gained global attention for a well-attended, efficiently organised world-class event. Prince Philip, representing Queen Elizabeth II opened the 1956 games but neither was invited in 2000, as the spirit of republicanism was too strong.[86] In the long run, as Toohey (2008) reports, many of the hoped-for benefits failed to materialize. Nationwide levels of participation in physical activity and sport did not rise, although passive spectatorship (such as TV watching) did increase. Many of the costly facilities built for the games remained underutilized in their wake.[87]
Sydney played host to other important world events over the decade including the2003 Rugby World Cup, theAPEC Leaders conference of 2007 and CatholicWorld Youth Day 2008. Melbourne hosted the2006 Commonwealth Games.
In 2001, Australia celebrated itsCentenary of Federation, with a program of events, including the creation of theCentenary Medal to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government.
The Howard government expanded immigration overall but instituted often controversial tough immigration laws to discourage unauthorised arrivals of boat people. While Howard was a strong supporter of traditional links to theCommonwealth and to theUnited States alliance, trade with Asia, particularly China, continued to increase dramatically, and Australia endured an extended period of prosperity.[88] Howard's term in office coincided with the 200111 September attacks. In the aftermath of this event, the government committed troops to theAfghanistan War (with bi-partisan support) and theIraq War (meeting with the disapproval of other political parties).[84]
Southern Australia was affected by a very severe drought, through much of the first decade of the 21st century. By late 2006 water storage throughout southern Australia were at record low levels. Severe restrictions on urban water usage were put in place in every state capital city (except Hobart and Darwin) in 2005–06, and irrigation in theMurray–Darling basin was heavily curtailed.[citation needed] Consequently, issues relating to fresh water supply became an important topic for political discussion, though the economic impact of the drought was felt most keenly only in Australia's sparsely populated agricultural areas.[citation needed]
Howard lost his substantial majority at the1998 Federal election, improved on it at the2001 Federal election and at the2004 election against Labor'sMark Latham. The government however resoundingly lost the2007 Federal election to theLabor Party led byKevin Rudd with a wave of support for change and a slogan for "new leadership" for the country.[89]
Kevin Rudd held the office until June 2010, when he was replaced following internal Labor Party coup by his colleague and deputyJulia Gillard. Rudd used his term in office to symbolically ratify theKyoto Protocol and lead an historic parliamentary apology to theStolen Generation (thoseIndigenous Australians who had been removed from their parents by the state during the early 20th century to the 1960s). Themandarin Chinese speaking former diplomat also pursued energetic foreign policy and initially sought to instigate aprice on carbon in theAustralian economy to combatglobal warming. His prime ministership coincided with the initial phases of the2008 financial crisis, to which his government responded through a large package of economic stimulus – the management of which later proved to be controversial.[90]
TheBlack Saturday bushfires struckVictoria on and around Saturday 7 February 2009. The fires occurred during extreme bushfire-weather conditions, and resulted in Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire;[91] 173 people died[92][93] and 414 were injured as a result of the fires.
Amidst increasing controversy on management of stimulus spending over policy directions on taxation, immigration and climate change, the Labor Party replaced Rudd withJulia Gillard, who became the first woman Prime Minister of Australia and narrowly retained office against the Liberal-National Coalition led byTony Abbott, at the2010 Federal election by securing the support of independent members of the firsthung parliament in Australia since the1940 election.[94]
The drought was broken definitively by severe flooding associated with theLa Niña weather effect in the summer of 2010–2011. Queensland in particular suffereddramatic flooding which swept through parts of the capital city of Brisbane and caused some deaths and serious financial loss. Soon after tropicalcyclone Yasi struck the already beleaguered coast.
Following two and half decades of economic reform and amidst booming trade with Asia, Australia—in stark contrast to most other Western nations—avoidedrecession following the2008 financial crisis.[95] Following the 2010 election, theGillard government entered an alliance with theAustralian Greens and was destabilized by breaking an election promise not to introduce acarbon tax, by leadership rivalry and by lacking the numbers to push some controversial legislation through the Parliament. Nevertheless, the cross-bench alliance continued to operate and though facing declining poll support and firm opposition from the Liberal-National Coalition, in October the government successfully passed itsClean Energy Bill 2011 aimed to restructure the Australian economy in order to reducegreenhouse gas emissions associated withglobal warming by increasing costs to industry for carbon emissions.[96] Acarbon tax was introduced in Australia on 1 July 2012. Kevin Rudd was reinstated as prime minister in a Labor leadership spill on 27 June 2013. After the 2013 Australian General Election, Rudd lost the role of prime minister toTony Abbott, the Liberal Leader. On 15 December 2013, 95% of the Australian military had withdrawn fromAfghanistan with the remaining 5% presently training locals inKabul.[97] TheClean Energy Bill 2011 was repealed by theAbbott government on 17 July 2014, backdated to 1 July 2014.Malcolm Turnbull of theLiberal Party of Australia was elected as Tony Abbott's successor and served as prime minister from 2015 until 2018 where he resigned and was replaced byScott Morrison.
The last months of 2019 and into early 2020 were marked byintense bushfires on the east coast that became known as the "Black Summer".[98] The fires directly killed 34 people.[99] Approximately 9,352 buildings were destroyed. The fires are very likely Australia's costliest natural disaster at about A$100 billion.[100] They were also notable for the smoke that enveloped areas within Australia well away from the fires for months, and even places 12,000 km (7,500 mi) overseas, reaching as far as South America.[101] Air quality dropped to hazardous levels in all southern and eastern states.[102][103][104] Health researcher's modelling indicated that 80 per cent of Australians were affected by bushfire smoke at some point over the fire season. 445 people may have died indirectly from smoke inhalation.[105]
Late January 2020 was also notable for the first local infections of a new virus,severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This led into the world-wideCOVID-19 pandemic, and theCOVID-19 pandemic in Australia that by the end of 2020 had killed 909 in Australia, but as of 5 February 2021,coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had caused more than 2.29 million deaths world-wide.
In the early morning hours of 9 September 2022 Australia Eastern Standard Time,Queen Elizabeth II died. The Queen was succeeded by her eldest son,King Charles III, who now reigns as theKing of Australia.
On 6 October 2025, Australia and Papua New Guinea signed a landmark security and defence cooperation treaty — Australia's first new defence treaty in more than 70 years — aimed at strengthening regional stability, joint military training, and maritime security operations.[106][107]
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help){{cite web}}:|author= has generic name (help)the Australian States remained 'self-governing colonial dependencies of the British Crown' until the Australia Acts 1986 came into force.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Associate Professor Fay Johnston, from the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania, said her team estimated around 445 people died as a result of the smoke, over 3,000 people were admitted to hospital for respiratory problems and 1,700 people presented for asthma.