At one point in modern history, Australia was a world leader in promoting individual freedom and enterprise.
The accession of Robert Menzies, who would be the country’s longest-serving prime minister, ushered in almost two decades of continued prosperity for the fledgling nation.
It’s this approach that, Georgina Downer—daughter of former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer—says Australia must rediscover to arrest the “negative trajectory” the country has been on in recent decades.
“We had a choice as a nation in 1949. At that election, we could have continued with the [Labor Prime Minister Ben] Chifley agenda of nationalisation and state control over the economy, and basically, all that flows from that type of economic structure,” Ms. Downer told The Epoch Times.
“Menzies [centre-right] Liberals offered a very different outlook, one very much focused on each individual, and the businesses they created, to drive economic productivity and growth.”
After Years of War, Voters Were Desperate
During the post-war period, voters across the world faced a choice: continue with war-time “command and control”-style governments, or choose another path.
Many European countries, as well as the United Kingdom and the United States, ended up embracing interventionist, Keynesian-style policies that saw governments play a more direct role in shaping the economy and society—as a consequence, government budgets would steadily increase over the years, as well as taxes.
For example, in the United States, President Harry S. Truman largely continued the New Deal programs introduced under the Roosevelt administration. At the same time, the UK’s Clement Atlee embarked on an ambitious nationalisation program and famously established the National Health Service (an attempt at universal healthcare).
Meanwhile, Australians faced a similar choice leading into the 1949 election, with the Chifley Labor government proposing nationalising all private banks in the country.
During his time as leader, Ben Chifley had successfully changed the Australian Constitution to give the federal government power to implement welfare services over the states, including pensions for war widows, and maternity and sickness benefits.
Chifley’s policies paved the way for Australia’s universal healthcare system (Medicare), and government funding for individual drug purchases (which would later result in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme).
The Labor government also nationalised airline company Qantas, and the Commonwealth Bank, which would have become—if Labor had been re-elected—the central conduit for the government to run all the banks in the country.
However, the centre-right Liberal Party’s founder, Menzies, emerged victorious in the 1949 vote, a sign that Australians had rejected Chifley’s proposals.
Owning Your Home the Way Forward
“Menzies definitely saw a role for government as a civilising force,” said Ms. Downer. “But he thought, fundamentally that private enterprise should be at the core of the economy.”This would drive Australia in a vastly different direction to the United States and the UK.
“The latter [nation] being a really stark example,” Ms. Downer said. “They had a period of real economic difficulty and poor growth, at a time when Australia in the 1950s was going through the golden age.”
“Wages were going up, disposable income was up, and the unemployment rate was around 3 percent. In one year in the 1950s, the number of unemployed people registered in the state of South Australia was just three people.”
Homeownership also increased during Menzies’s near-20 years in government.
In 1947, 49 percent of Australians were renting compared to 53 percent who owned their homes. By 1966, just 29 percent of people rented, compared to 71 percent who owned a home.
The Lessons Continue Today
The debate around home ownership continues to stalk the halls of Parliament at both state and federal levels.Massive migration numbers have contributed to soaring demand for a slice of earth, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reporting a 550,000 net surge in new migrants last year.
At the same time, growing regulatory requirements on building new homes, as well as worker shortages, have contributed to delays in the construction of new housing.
Some sectors of society have advocated for more radical solutions.
The Greens have honed their message to target younger, renting Australians, and have called for tough rental controls, the government to build more homes for families to rent, and the removal of tax breaks for landlords, including negative gearing.
“I say this to [the Labor government]: if you continue to ignore renters, your political pain has just begun. There are several more significant bills on the immediate horizon where the Greens will use our position in the balance of power to push the government to address soaring rents with a freeze and cap on rents.”
Ms. Downer says that vision is a complete repudiation of the Menzies-era, and would only increase reliance on the government.
“He believed it was important that if we created a nation of property owners, that we would have a nation of independent thinkers who wouldn’t be dependent on the state for their security,” she said.
What of Cancel Culture?
Like many Western nations, Australia has also faced pressure to amend for perceived wrongs committed during the colonial era.A situation Menzies would have taken a grim view of.
“Menzies was an absolute defender of free speech. He recognised that in all societies there are tendencies towards tyranny, and a natural instinct to be intolerant of the opinions of others. But he saw that a society with free speech should be fostered and encouraged, to get the best possible outcome in the long run,” Ms. Downer said.
