1951 The Light on the Hill
1951
NM 1951 The Light on the Hill
Other topics in Labor and the Cold War
The Grouper threat and the 1954 election
Organised opposition to Communist influence in trade unions had already begun in the late 1930s. Sections of the Catholic Church, especially in Melbourne, used the wider organisation of Catholic Action to set up a specific body known as 'The Movement' to help contest union elections…
The DLP split
After the narrow defeat of Labor at the 1954 Federal elections, Dr. Evatt brought factional issues into the public arena by blaming the disloyalty of Groupers for his defeat. He demanded that the Federal Executive investigate the influence of Groupers in the Victorian Branch. At…
The 1961 election
When Dr Evatt was persuaded to step down as party leader in 1960, his replacement, Arthur Calwell, initially enjoyed considerable popular support. He had been a successful director of Australia's immigration policies in the Chifley government, and was respected as an honest, straight-speaking politician. Although…
Lessons of the Split
The socialist objective of the ALP, which had been modified a number of times in the past, most notably in 1921, was again tweaked to reflect the declining use of the term 'socialist' by members of the party, even those on the Left. In 1957…