Fraser Government
Encyclopedia
The Fraser Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister
Malcolm Fraser
. It was made up of members of a Liberal Party of Australia
-Country Party of Australia
coalition
in the Australian Parliament from November 1975 to March 1983. Initially appointed as a "caretaker" government following the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government, Fraser won in a landslide at the resulting 1975 Australian Federal Election
, and won sustantial majorities at the subsequent 1977
and 1980
elections, before losing to the Bob Hawke
led Australian Labor Party
in the 1983 election
.
led the Liberal-National Coalition in the 1974 Australian Federal Election
which saw Whitlam Labor Government
re-elected with a decreased majority in the House of Representatives
. Malcolm Fraser
unsuccessfully challenged for the leadership of the Liberal Party in November 1974, then on 21 March 1975, defeated Snedden, with Phillip Lynch remaining Deputy Leader.
Following the 1974–75 Loans Affair
in which Whitlam Government Minister Rex Connor
had conducted secret discussions with a loan broker from Pakistan, and the Treasurer, Jim Cairns
, had misled parliament over the issue, Fraser told Parliament that the government was incompetent and the opposition Liberal-Country Party Coalition
delayed passage of the government’s money bills in the Senate, with the intenton of forcing the government to an election. Prime Minister Whitlam refused to call an election. The deadlock came to an end when Whitlam was dismissed by the Governor General, John Kerr on 11 November 1975 and Fraser was installed as caretaker Prime Minister, pending an election. At elections
held in December 1975, Malcolm Fraser and the Coalition were elected in a landslide victory.
election which followed the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government
saw the Liberal Party win 68 seats to Labor’s 36, with the newly renamed National Country Party winning 23 seats in the House of Representatives
. In the Senate, 64 seats were contested and 27 Liberal, 27 Labor and 7 National Party Senators were elected, together with 1 Independent and 1 each from the Liberal Movement and the Country Liberal Party. After winning the 1975 election, Fraser won two subsequent elections: with further substantial majorities in 1977
(67 seats to the Labor Party’s 38, with 19 seats going to the National Country Party
) and 1980
(Liberals 54 and National Country Party 20 to Labor's 51).
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 in 1976, Parliament passed the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976
, which, while limited to the Northern Territory, affirmed "inalienable" freehold title to some traditional lands. Fraser established the multicultural broadcaster SBS
, welcomed Vietnamese
boat people refugees, opposed minority white rule in Apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia
and opposed Soviet expansionism.
John Howard
served as Fraser's Treasurer from November 1977 and presented five federal budgets. During the 1970s Howard shifted from a protectionist to a free trade
position – in the new ‘economic rationalist
’ mould. He argued unsuccessfully for the introduction of a broad indirect tax, and in 1982 with an election looming, Howard disagreed with his leader's push for an expansionary budget, while the economy was worsening. The Fraser Government sought to reduce expenditure and streamline the public service, but a significant program of economic reform was not pursued. By 1983, the Australian 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 the Franklin Dam
in Tasmania in 1982. A Liberal minister, Don Chipp
had split off from the party to form a new social liberal
party, the Australian Democrats
in 1977 and the Franklin Dam proposal contributed to the emergence of an influential Environmental movement in Australia
.
Fraser sought a double dissolution of parliament and called the federal election for 5 March 1983, expecting to face Labor leader Bill Hayden
. The Labor party moved to replace Hayden with Bob Hawke
however, who went on to lead Labor to victory at the 1983 election
.
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
. It was made up of members of a Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
-Country Party of Australia
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
in the Australian Parliament from November 1975 to March 1983. Initially appointed as a "caretaker" government following the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government, Fraser won in a landslide at the resulting 1975 Australian Federal Election
Australian federal election, 1975
Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election following a double dissolution of both Houses....
, and won sustantial majorities at the subsequent 1977
Australian federal election, 1977
Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1977. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election....
and 1980
Australian federal election, 1980
Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 October 1980. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Malcolm Fraser with coalition partner the National Country Party led by Doug...
elections, before losing to the Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
led Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
in the 1983 election
Australian federal election, 1983
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election, following a double dissolution...
.
Background
Billy SneddenBilly Snedden
Sir Billy Mackie Snedden, KCMG, QC was an Australian politician representing the Liberal Party. He was Leader of the Opposition at the 1974 federal election, failing to defeat the Labor incumbent Gough Whitlam.-Early life:...
led the Liberal-National Coalition in the 1974 Australian Federal Election
Australian federal election, 1974
Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution...
which saw Whitlam Labor Government
Whitlam Government
The Whitlam Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1972 to 1975.-Background:...
re-elected with a decreased majority in the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
. Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
unsuccessfully challenged for the leadership of the Liberal Party in November 1974, then on 21 March 1975, defeated Snedden, with Phillip Lynch remaining Deputy Leader.
Following the 1974–75 Loans Affair
Loans Affair
The Loans Affair, also called the Khemlani Affair, is the name given to the political scandal involving the Whitlam Government of Australia in 1975, in which it was accused of attempting to borrow money illegally from Middle Eastern countries by bypassing standard procedure as dictated by the...
in which Whitlam Government Minister Rex Connor
Rex Connor
Reginald Francis Xavier "Rex" Connor , Australian politician, was a minister in the Whitlam government and promoted government investment to support national development...
had conducted secret discussions with a loan broker from Pakistan, and the Treasurer, Jim Cairns
Jim Cairns
James Ford "J. F." Cairns , Australian politician, was prominent in the Labor movement through the 1960s and 1970s, and was briefly Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam government...
, had misled parliament over the issue, Fraser told Parliament that the government was incompetent and the opposition Liberal-Country Party Coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
delayed passage of the government’s money bills in the Senate, with the intenton of forcing the government to an election. Prime Minister Whitlam refused to call an election. The deadlock came to an end when Whitlam was dismissed by the Governor General, John Kerr on 11 November 1975 and Fraser was installed as caretaker Prime Minister, pending an election. At elections
Australian federal election, 1975
Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election following a double dissolution of both Houses....
held in December 1975, Malcolm Fraser and the Coalition were elected in a landslide victory.
Terms in office
The 1975 double dissolutionDouble dissolution
A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks between the House of Representatives and the Senate....
election which followed the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government
Whitlam Government
The Whitlam Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1972 to 1975.-Background:...
saw the Liberal Party win 68 seats to Labor’s 36, with the newly renamed National Country Party winning 23 seats in the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
. In the Senate, 64 seats were contested and 27 Liberal, 27 Labor and 7 National Party Senators were elected, together with 1 Independent and 1 each from the Liberal Movement and the Country Liberal Party. After winning the 1975 election, Fraser won two subsequent elections: with further substantial majorities in 1977
Australian federal election, 1977
Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1977. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election....
(67 seats to the Labor Party’s 38, with 19 seats going to the National Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
) and 1980
Australian federal election, 1980
Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 October 1980. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Malcolm Fraser with coalition partner the National Country Party led by Doug...
(Liberals 54 and National Country Party 20 to Labor's 51).
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
Neville Bonner
Neville Thomas Bonner AO was an Australian politician, and the first indigenous Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia...
, and in in 1976, Parliament passed the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976
Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976
In Australian history, the Aboriginal Land Rights Act established the basis upon which Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory could claim rights to land based on traditional occupation. The Act was strongly based on the recommendations of Justice Woodward, who chaired the Aboriginal Land...
, which, while limited to the Northern Territory, affirmed "inalienable" freehold title to some traditional lands. Fraser established the multicultural broadcaster SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
, welcomed Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
boat people refugees, opposed minority white rule in Apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
and opposed Soviet expansionism.
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
served as Fraser's Treasurer from November 1977 and presented five federal budgets. During the 1970s Howard shifted from a protectionist to a free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
position – in the new ‘economic rationalist
Economic rationalism
Economic rationalism is an Australian term in discussion of microeconomic policy, applicable to the economic policy of many governments around the world, in particular during the 1980s and 1990s....
’ mould. He argued unsuccessfully for the introduction of a broad indirect tax, and in 1982 with an election looming, Howard disagreed with his leader's push for an expansionary budget, while the economy was worsening. The Fraser Government sought to reduce expenditure and streamline the public service, but a significant program of economic reform was not pursued. By 1983, the Australian 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 the Franklin Dam
Franklin Dam
The Franklin Dam or Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of most significant environmental campaigns in Australian history.The dam was...
in Tasmania in 1982. A Liberal minister, Don Chipp
Don Chipp
Donald Leslie Chipp, AO was an Australian politician, and the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats.-Early life:...
had split off from the party to form a new social liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
party, the Australian Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
in 1977 and the Franklin Dam proposal contributed to the emergence of an influential Environmental movement in Australia
Environmental Movement in Australia
Beginning as a conservation movement, the environmental movement in Australia was the first in the world to become a political movement and Australia was home to the world's first Green Party....
.
Fraser sought a double dissolution of parliament and called the federal election for 5 March 1983, expecting to face Labor leader Bill Hayden
Bill Hayden
William George "Bill" Hayden AC was the 21st Governor-General of Australia. Prior to this, he represented the Australian Labor Party in parliament; he was a minister in the government of Gough Whitlam, and later became Leader of the Opposition, narrowly losing the 1980 federal election to the...
. The Labor party moved to replace Hayden with Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
however, who went on to lead Labor to victory at the 1983 election
Australian federal election, 1983
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election, following a double dissolution...
.
See also
- First Fraser MinistryFirst Fraser MinistryThe First Fraser Ministry was the fifty-first Australian Commonwealth ministry, and held office from 11 November 1975 to 22 December 1975.Liberal Party of Australia–National Country Party Coalition...
- Second Fraser MinistrySecond Fraser MinistryThe Second Fraser Ministry was the fifty-second Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 22 December 1975 to 20 December 1977.Liberal Party of Australia–National Country Party Coalition-Cabinet:*Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser, MP: Prime Minister...
- Third Fraser MinistryThird Fraser MinistryThe Third Fraser Ministry was the fifty-third Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 20 December 1977 to 3 November 1980.Liberal Party of Australia–National Country Party Coalition-Cabinet:*Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser, MP: Prime Minister...
- Fourth Fraser MinistryFourth Fraser MinistryThe Fourth Fraser Ministry was the fifty-fourth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 3 November 1980 to 11 March 1983.Liberal Party of Australia–National Country Party Coalition-Cabinet:*Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser, MP: Prime Minister...