On 22 September 1951, a referendum was held in Australia which sought approval to alter the Australian Constitution to give Parliament the power to make laws regarding communism and communists, so that the Parliament would be empowered to instate a law similar to the Communist Party Dissolution Act of 1950. It was not carried. Communists became prominent in trade unions as well as cultural and literary circles. Following the attempted nationalisation of the Australian Banks in 1948, Opposition Leader Robert Menzies became concerned that communist ideas were infiltrating the Labor Party. A Queensland rail strike in that same year cemented that idea. Menzies vowed that if elected he would outlaw communism.
On 27 June 1949, coal miners went out on strike, supported by the Communist Party and various unions. Bargaining quickly broke down between the unions and government and on 1 August, Prime Minister Chifley sent in troops from the Australian Armed Forces to run the mines until the dispute was resolved. By its fourth day, the Sydney docks were congested with coal ships unable to leave the port, the loading of ships being severely delayed by restricted transport. By 1 July the government was examining the possibility of importing coal from Britain. He accused the Labor Party of having communist leanings, citing as proof its banking legislation and regulation in other areas of the economy. "A vote for Labor," he suggested, "is a vote for the socialist objective". Socialism was, according to Menzies, detrimental to the freedom and prosperity of the nation, and to be considered a real and prominent threat to the Australian way of life.
The Communist Party Dissolution Act
On 23 June 1950, the Communist Party Dissolution Bill 1950 (Cth) was introduced. In his speech introducing the Bill, PM Menzies read out the names of 53 members of the Communist Party of Australia, referring to them as a "traitorous minority" which threatened the security of the nation. The Bill passed the House of Representatives, but struggled to pass the Senate, which had a Labor party majority. Labor senators agreed that the Communist Party should be dissolved, but held reservations about allowing the Governor-General in Council (the executive government) to 'declare' people communists. These reservations were especially strong after Menzies admitted that the names of Communist Party members which had been read out on the House floor contained errors. Such persons were not allowed to be employed by the Commonwealth in public service, or in industries considered vital to the defence of Australia. The Commonwealth claimed that the Act was valid under this power because communists presented a real threat to Australian security, as revolution was a central theme of marxism.
On 19 March 1951, the Court ruled 6:1 (Latham CJ dissenting) that the Act was invalid. In his opinion, Fullagar J summarised the position of the majority writing, The Labor party had decided to campaign for a No vote despite supporting the Bill through the senate the previous year. The reason behind the Gallup support plummeting for Yes has been estimated to have been especially middle class Liberal voters slipping away from the Coalition position, whereas Labor kept their ranks better. Bi-partisan support was usually required for constitutional amendments to pass in Australia.
Proposed Changes to the Constitution
The 'Constitutional Alteration (Power to deal with Communists and Communism) 1951' proposed to insert into the constitution after section 51 the following text.