On this day, 19 December 1949, Robert Menzies is sworn in as Prime Minister for the second time, completing a triumphant return to power after the humiliation and frustration of his wartime resignation. The moment is a central turning point in Australian political history and will define the future of post-war and ultimately modern Australia. The ceremony is the culmination of the 1949 election victory, in which Menzies had convinced the Australian people to choose his vision of individual freedom and private enterprise over an increasingly ‘socialistic’ alternative.

Non-Labor politicians had been characterising the fundamental political divide in Australian politics as a battle between liberalism and Labor’s extensive belief in the power of the state since the days of George Reid’s famous anti-socialist campaign of 1905-6. This logic had underpinned the marriage of the Free Trade and Protectionist parties, which was consummated by Joseph Cook’s 1913 election victory. However, with the outbreak of the First World War the child of the coupling was stillborn, and for the next several decades non-Labor defined itself first by an appeal to imperialist nationalism, and then by a covenant of fiscal responsibility.

It was the Second World War, which acted as an impetus for soul-searching over what Australia should become once it had survived its greatest ordeal, which led to the resurrection of a debate over fundamental principles. Menzies had been central to this phenomenon, first through the ponderings of the Forgotten People broadcasts, and then the creation of a new Liberal Party, which despite amalgamating a number of existing organisations managed to avoid the stigma that had been associated with the original ‘fusion’. The remarkably philosophical turn which politics had taken during the War was demonstrated by Menzies’s 1949 policy speech, in which he spoke emotively that:

‘The real freedoms are to worship, to think, to speak, to choose, to be ambitious, to be independent, to be industrious, to acquire skill, to seek reward. These are the real freedoms, for these are of the essence of the nature of man. Socialism will have none of them; for unless people do what they are told, work where they are told to work, learn what they are drafted to learn; in a sentence, fit obediently into their appointed place, the Socialist “planned State” falls to pieces like the false and shoddy thing it is.’

For all of Menzies’s personal agency in directing the course of events, his liberal vision resonated because it could be made into a stark contrast to the plans of the incumbent government (albeit one containing elements of rhetorical exaggeration). Reid had been incredibly eloquent about the cause of freedom, equalling Menzies in this regard, but his campaign had ultimately stalled on the issue of demonstrating what Labor’s socialism meant in real terms. The party’s promise to ‘nationalise monopolies and extend the industrial and economic functions of the state’ was somewhat amorphous, and had little to differentiate it from the left of the Protectionist Party.

The circumstances of the War, during which the Commonwealth Government had greatly increased in size and scope, changed the situation. Labor’s fight to hold on to its new powers and use them for a grand vision of post-war reconstruction made Reid’s ‘socialist tiger’ appear finally to be a living and breathing animal. In particular, ‘socialism’ had been made tangible by several referendums to increase the powers of the Federal Government, the imposition rationing and price controls, and above all Ben Chifley’s bank nationalisation attempt.

In 1947 Menzies said of the latter ‘This Bill goes far beyond banking. It will have an operation and effect far beyond the business of money changing. This bill will be a tremendous step towards the servile State, because it will set aside normal liberty of choice, and that is what competition means, and will forward the idea of special supremacy of government. That is the antithesis of democracy.’

Though it is frequently held up as the central issue of the 1949 election, the nationalisation was more important in galvanising liberal opinion and giving substance to their rhetoric than in determining the outcome. Opinion polls indicate that while the nationalisation was very unpopular, its defeat by the High Court meant that its initial ill-effects had largely worn off by early in the election year.

Instead, two other issues would help to sweep Menzies and the Coalition into power. The first was a large-scale coal strike which dragged on for seven weeks and brought the Australian economy to its knees. Electricity, heating, transport, and lighting were all affected, and such was the devastation that even a Labor Government had to introduce harsh legislation freezing the striker’s funds and bringing in the army to jumpstart coal production. Menzies made much mileage out of the fact that the strike had been led by a number of influential communist members of the union movement, and in an era when Soviet spy rings were being uncovered in several western countries, the Opposition Leader promised to ban the Communist Party in order to prevent a dangerous fifth column that could jeopardise Australia’s defences in the event of a war.

The second issue was petrol, first a severe shortage and then the reintroduction of petrol rationing. Both of these were caused by an acute shortage of US dollars in the sterling currency group, of which Australia was then a part, as American currency was necessary for purchasing the commodity. Menzies’s proposed solution to the petrol issue was to unshackle the Australian economy and encourage production, which would improve the balance of trade, bringing in more dollars. He was particularly critical of Britain’s ‘socialist’ government for failing to foster oil production from within the sterling group.

This call for increased production tied into an attack on the Labor Party’s obsession with ‘security’ which was inhibiting national development and preventing Australia from reaching her full economic potential. While Menzies committed to ‘full employment’ and a social safety net, he argued that only privately driven prosperity could raise living standards, and in order to achieve that prosperity a young country like Australia needed to be willing to take risks.

This hopeful message combined with the Chifley Government’s struggles proved to be a winning formula. The number of seats in the House of Representatives had been greatly increased for the 1949 election, the first time that had happened since Federation, and this helped the Coalition to win an unheard of 27 seat majority, entrenching the new Government for the long term. It was the start of the Menzies era.

Further Reading:

David Kemp, A Liberal State: How Australians chose Liberalism over Socialism, 1926-1966 (Melbourne University Press, 2021).

David Lee, ‘The 1949 federal election: A reinterpretation’, Australian Journal of Political Science, Volume 29, 1994.

Zachary Gorman, ‘George Reid’s Anti-Socialist Campaign in the Evolution of Australian Liberalism, in Gregory Melleuish, Liberalism and Conservatism (Connor Court, 2015).

A.W. Martin, Robert Menzies, A Life Volume 2 1944-1978 (Melbourne University Press, 1999).