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Introductory This Commonwealth election will be the first since the war. It will therefore present to the people of Australia their first chance, as voters, of deciding the character and shape of our own portion of the post-war world. The contest will not be one about mere details, nor can it be usefully decided by appeals to personal self-interest. It will be one of those elections at which fundamental principles must be examined and re-examined. We all desire to build a new national structure...

On December 9, though you will be voting for individual candidates, the end result will be that you choose a Government for the nation. I do not propose to put before you a long list of promises. After 12 years the A.L.P. can easily make a series of brand new offers without saying where the new hundreds of millions are to come from; though they will, of course, come from you. For governments have no money to spend except that which has been earned and paid over, by tax or loan, by the men and...

This is no ordinary election. It comes at a time when the Government has precariously and unexpectedly survived by one vote for two years. It comes at a time when turbulence and international tension exist nearer to our frontiers than ever before except during the last war; when strength is needed in the voice of Australia; when our country cannot afford to compel its Government to spend a lot of time, week by week, on the problem of domestic political survival. Why did I seek a dissolution? I...

Prosperity ahead Australia is about to enter upon the greatest era in her history, this country of ours has come through two world wars and weathered the miseries and hardships of a depression, all in the space of a little over 30 years. Today Australia has become the great bastion of the British-speaking race south of the Equator. Strategically arid economically, our country has assumed a position in the Pacific on behalf of the British Commonwealth of Nations of such importance that...

Good evening listeners, The Commonwealth Labor Government brings to you, the electors of Australia, an account of its administration during the three years since you returned it to office; a review of how it has sustained the trust you gave to it when the call for national leadership went out in 1941; and its plans for the future, greater Australia. You will recall that in 1941 – after two years of war – the Liberal Party and Country Party coalition Government led by Mr. Menzies came to an...

Tonight, I place before you Labor’s Programme for the next three years. It is a positive Programme. It is practical. It can and will be given full effect to by a Labor Government. Specific mandate asked for We ask you for a mandate to carry out this Programme. We shall carry out the mandate. Unlike the Menzies/Fadden Government we shall carry out all the promises we make to you. Security is the basis of Labor’s programme The primary aim of Labor will be to provide a government that will give the...

The failure of the Government This is a vital election. The Menzies Government knows that, if it waits until next year, it will be defeated. The result of its mismanagement of the economy cannot be avoided for much longer. So, this Government had decided that the people will be pit to the expense of an early election– the fifth Federal election in six years. The Menzies-Fadden Government was re-elected only last year. It had more than eighteen months of office to serve. Yet it abdicated. Why...

Since its recent and calamitous Budget, the Menzies Government has finally forfeited the respect and lost the confidence of the Australian people. It has broken every major pledge with which it won office in 1949. I name only a few to put value back in the £; to abolish all restrictive controls; that taxation could and would be reduced. Its complete inefficiency and reckless expenditure in the vital matter of the nation’s defences have brought protests even from some of its own supporters in the...

I speak to you tonight as the Leader of the Labor Party in the Commonwealth of Australia. I present the Labor Party’s Policy at this election of the 24th Parliament of the Commonwealth with the firm conviction that it contains practical, down-to-earth, well-considered and feasible proposals which will restore the nation to prosperity and promote its safety. It is important that the issues on which the election will be decided should be clearly stated and clearly understood. The sad thing about...

The dissolution of the 24th Parliament of the Commonwealth was brought about one year ahead of time for reasons other than the false and spurious ones stated by the Prime Minister. There was no pressing national need for the Prime Minister and the Treasurer to precipitate this election and throw the House of Representatives and the Senate out of electoral alignment; and there can be no justification for the waste o£ £500,000 in having two elections where one alone next year would suffice. But...

My fellow Australians, there are many issues in this election which you must consider carefully and well before election day. I shall state the policy of the Labor Party in regard to most of them tonight, and I will deal with the remainder during the course of the very short campaign of less than three weeks which the Government has allowed. The most important issue in this campaign is Conscription, the conscription of a section of our twenty year old youths, against their wishes and their wills...

This Policy Speech – my first as your Prime Minister – outlines the course my Government will follow if you re-elect us on November 26. Between now and polling day, our Australian democracy will be involved in a great debate about many aspects of policy. You will be taking part in a national stock-taking. The policies you support with your vote will bear directly on your well-being and the welfare of the nation. These will be critical years for Australia, but they hold great promise for our...