Gorton Government
Encyclopedia
The Gorton Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister
John Gorton
. It was made up of members of a Liberal Party of Australia
-Country Party of Australia
coalition
in the Australian Parliament from January 1968 to March 1971.
-Country Party of Australia
coalition
led by Prime Minister Harold Holt
won the November 1966 election
against the Australian Labor Party
opposition led by Arthur Calwell
. The Coalition won a substantial majority – the Liberals winning 61 seats and the Country Party 21 - with the Labor Party winning 41 and 1 Independent in the Australian House of Representatives
(respresenting the largest parliamentary majority in 65 years). The Coalition had governed since 1949, and the Liberal Party had replaced the retiring Robert Menzies
with Holt in January 1966. Following the 1966 election, Gough Whitlam
replaced Arthur Calwell as Leader of the Opposition. On 17 December 1967, Holt disappeared in heavy surf while swimming off Cheviot Beach, near Melbourne, becoming the third Australian Prime Minister to die in office. Country Party leader John McEwen
served as Prime Minister from 19 December 1967 to 10 January 1968, pending the election of a new leader of the Liberal Party of Australia
. McEwen ruled out maintaining the Coalition if deputy liberal leader William McMahon
became Prime Minister. John Gorton
, Minister for Education and Science, nominated for the leadership, as did Paul Hasluck, the Minister for External Affairs, emerged as Gorton’s greatest rival. John McEwen, leader of the Country Party, had been sworn in as caretaker Prime Minister until a new Liberal leader was elected. McEwen had ruled out further participation in the Coalition if William McMahon, the deputy Liberal leader, became Prime Minister. The Minister for External Affairs, Paul Hasluck
, Minister for Labour and National Service Leslie Bury and Minister for Immigration Billy Snedden
, also nominated for election to the leadership. Gorton won the leadership election with a small majority and resigned from the Senate to stand for election to Higgins, the House of Represensatives seat formerly held by Harold Holt, which he achieved on on 24 February 1968.
on 10 January 1968. He was chosen to lead the Liberal Party of Australia
to replace Harold Holt
, who had disappeared, presumed dead, in December while swimming in rough surf off the Victorian coast. Gorton departed the office of Prime Minister on 10 March 1971 after a tied Liberal party room vote of confidence in his leadership. Country Party leader John McEwen
served as Deputy Prime Minister until his retirement in 1971, He was replace as Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Country Party by Doug Anthony
. Defence was a prominent issue during the term of the Gorton Government; funding for the arts was expanded, rates of pay were standardised between the men and women and the mining industry grew during the period. A policy of economic centralisation led to friction with State leaders and difficulties within the coalition
.
Gorton, a former World War II
RAAF pilot, with a battle scarred face, said he was "Australian to the bootheels" and had a personal style which often affronted some conservatives. As Prime Minister he increased funding for the arts, setting up the Australian Council for the Arts, the Australian Film Development Corporation and the National Film and Television Training School. The Gorton government passed legislation establishing equal pay for men and women and increased pensions, allowances and education scholarships, as well as providing free health care to 250,000 of the nation's poor (but not universal health care). Gorton maintained good relations with the United States and Britain, but pursued closer ties with Asia. Gorton's government kept Australia in the Vietnam War
but stopped replacing troops at the end of 1970.
The Gorton government experienced a decline in voter support at the 1969 election
. State Liberal leaders saw his policies as too Centralist, while other Liberals did not like his personal behaviour. Prior to the 1969 election, Gorton had largely retained the Holt-McEwen ministry he inherited. After the 1969 election, Malcolm Fraser replaced Allen Fairhall as Minister for Defence, Don Chipp
, Senator Robert Cotton, Senator Thomas Drake-Brockman (Country Party), Mac Holten (Country Party), Tom Hughes, James Killen
and Andrew Peacock
were promoted into the ministry.
, unsuccessfully challenged Gorton for leadership of the Liberal Party. McMahon was removed from Treasury to External Affairs and Leslie Bury was appointed Treasurer. Defence minister Malcolm Fraser developed an uneasy relationship with Gorton and in early 1971, Fraser accused Gorton of being disloyal to him in a conflict with Army officials over progress in South Vietnam. On 8 March 1971, Fraser resigned and announced in Parliament on 9 March that Gorton was "not fit to hold the great office of Prime Minister".
On 10 March, the Liberal party room moved to debate and vote on a motion of confidence in Gorton as party leader, resulting in a 33–33 tie. In response Gorton said ‘that is not a vote of confidence’ and resigned as leader. Former treasurer, William McMahon
, replaced Gorton as Prime Minister. Gorton was elected deputy leader. His relations with Fraser did not recover. McMahon's premiership ended when Gough Whitlam
led the Australian Labor Party
out of its 23 year period in Opposition at the 1972 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...
John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
. 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 January 1968 to March 1971.
Background
The Liberal Party of AustraliaLiberal 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...
led by Prime Minister Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
won the November 1966 election
Australian federal election, 1966
Federal elections were held in Australia on 26 November 1966. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Harold Holt with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the...
against the 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...
opposition led by Arthur Calwell
Arthur Calwell
Arthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
. The Coalition won a substantial majority – the Liberals winning 61 seats and the Country Party 21 - with the Labor Party winning 41 and 1 Independent in the Australian 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....
(respresenting the largest parliamentary majority in 65 years). The Coalition had governed since 1949, and the Liberal Party had replaced the retiring Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
with Holt in January 1966. Following the 1966 election, Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
replaced Arthur Calwell as Leader of the Opposition. On 17 December 1967, Holt disappeared in heavy surf while swimming off Cheviot Beach, near Melbourne, becoming the third Australian Prime Minister to die in office. Country Party leader John McEwen
John McEwen
Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
served as Prime Minister from 19 December 1967 to 10 January 1968, pending the election of a new leader of the 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...
. McEwen ruled out maintaining the Coalition if deputy liberal leader William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
became Prime Minister. John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
, Minister for Education and Science, nominated for the leadership, as did Paul Hasluck, the Minister for External Affairs, emerged as Gorton’s greatest rival. John McEwen, leader of the Country Party, had been sworn in as caretaker Prime Minister until a new Liberal leader was elected. McEwen had ruled out further participation in the Coalition if William McMahon, the deputy Liberal leader, became Prime Minister. The Minister for External Affairs, Paul Hasluck
Paul Hasluck
Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
, Minister for Labour and National Service Leslie Bury and Minister for Immigration Billy Snedden
Billy 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:...
, also nominated for election to the leadership. Gorton won the leadership election with a small majority and resigned from the Senate to stand for election to Higgins, the House of Represensatives seat formerly held by Harold Holt, which he achieved on on 24 February 1968.
Terms in office
Sir John Gorton became the 19th Prime Minister of AustraliaPrime 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...
on 10 January 1968. He was chosen to lead the 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...
to replace Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
, who had disappeared, presumed dead, in December while swimming in rough surf off the Victorian coast. Gorton departed the office of Prime Minister on 10 March 1971 after a tied Liberal party room vote of confidence in his leadership. Country Party leader John McEwen
John McEwen
Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
served as Deputy Prime Minister until his retirement in 1971, He was replace as Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Country Party by Doug Anthony
Doug Anthony
John Douglas Anthony, AC, CH , is a former Australian politician. He was leader of the National Party from 1971 to 1984, and Deputy Prime Minister from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1983.-Early life:...
. Defence was a prominent issue during the term of the Gorton Government; funding for the arts was expanded, rates of pay were standardised between the men and women and the mining industry grew during the period. A policy of economic centralisation led to friction with State leaders and difficulties within the 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...
.
Gorton, a former World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
RAAF pilot, with a battle scarred face, said he was "Australian to the bootheels" and had a personal style which often affronted some conservatives. As Prime Minister he increased funding for the arts, setting up the Australian Council for the Arts, the Australian Film Development Corporation and the National Film and Television Training School. The Gorton government passed legislation establishing equal pay for men and women and increased pensions, allowances and education scholarships, as well as providing free health care to 250,000 of the nation's poor (but not universal health care). Gorton maintained good relations with the United States and Britain, but pursued closer ties with Asia. Gorton's government kept Australia in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
but stopped replacing troops at the end of 1970.
The Gorton government experienced a decline in voter support at the 1969 election
Australian federal election, 1969
Federal elections were held in Australia on 25 October 1969. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Gorton with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the Australian...
. State Liberal leaders saw his policies as too Centralist, while other Liberals did not like his personal behaviour. Prior to the 1969 election, Gorton had largely retained the Holt-McEwen ministry he inherited. After the 1969 election, Malcolm Fraser replaced Allen Fairhall as Minister for Defence, Don Chipp
Don Chipp
Donald Leslie Chipp, AO was an Australian politician, and the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats.-Early life:...
, Senator Robert Cotton, Senator Thomas Drake-Brockman (Country Party), Mac Holten (Country Party), Tom Hughes, James Killen
James Killen
Sir Denis James "Jim" Killen, AC, KCMG , was an Australian politician.-Education and early career:Killen was born in Dalby, Queensland and educated at Brisbane Grammar School and the University of Queensland, where he graduated in law...
and Andrew Peacock
Andrew Peacock
Andrew Sharp Peacock AC, GCL , is a former Australian Liberal politician. He was a minister in the Gorton, McMahon and Fraser governments, and was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia 1983–1985 and 1989–1990...
were promoted into the ministry.
Gorton resignation
Tensions within the government came to a point when David Fairbairn, the Minister for National Development, announced a refusal to serve in a Gorton Cabinet. Fairbairn and Treausurer William McMahonWilliam McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
, unsuccessfully challenged Gorton for leadership of the Liberal Party. McMahon was removed from Treasury to External Affairs and Leslie Bury was appointed Treasurer. Defence minister Malcolm Fraser developed an uneasy relationship with Gorton and in early 1971, Fraser accused Gorton of being disloyal to him in a conflict with Army officials over progress in South Vietnam. On 8 March 1971, Fraser resigned and announced in Parliament on 9 March that Gorton was "not fit to hold the great office of Prime Minister".
On 10 March, the Liberal party room moved to debate and vote on a motion of confidence in Gorton as party leader, resulting in a 33–33 tie. In response Gorton said ‘that is not a vote of confidence’ and resigned as leader. Former treasurer, William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
, replaced Gorton as Prime Minister. Gorton was elected deputy leader. His relations with Fraser did not recover. McMahon's premiership ended when Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
led the 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...
out of its 23 year period in Opposition at the 1972 Election.
See also
- History of AustraliaHistory of AustraliaThe History of Australia refers to the history of the area and people of Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding Indigenous and colonial societies. Aboriginal Australians are believed to have first arrived on the Australian mainland by boat from the Indonesian archipelago between 40,000 to...
- History of Australia since 1945History of Australia since 1945The history 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 engagement with the United States and...
- First Gorton MinistryFirst Gorton MinistryThe First Gorton Ministry was the forty-fifth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 10 January 1968 to 12 November 1969.Liberal Party of Australia–Australian Country Party Coalition-Cabinet:*Rt Hon John Gorton, MP: Prime Minister...
- Second Gorton MinistrySecond Gorton MinistryThe Second Gorton Ministry was the forty-sixth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 12 November 1969 to 10 March 1971.Liberal Party of Australia–Australian Country Party Coalition-Cabinet:*Rt Hon John Gorton, MP: Prime Minister...