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Conscription By Alex Griffiths
Introduction • In 1916, Prime Minister Hughes suggested raising numbers needed to keep Australian soldiers at full strength on the Front by conscripting those who were unwilling or opposed to joining the army. There was just one problem: despite the fact that the Government already had power under the Defence Act to conscript men, this did not apply to overseas battle. • In order to extend the power of conscription to overseas service, Hughes needed to pass an amendment through the two houses of parliament: the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Attempts to Pass Amendment • On his first attempt, there were still many Labor members in opposition, but Hughes knew that he had enough support from both Labor and Liberal parties to have the majority in the House of Representatives, but he was short a few numbers in the Senate. • In order to prevail in the amendment of the legislation, Hughes decided to have a national vote, called a referendum or a plebiscite, although this was not in order to change the constitution, as Hughes already had the right to introduce conscription; it was a 'public opinion poll'. This 'public opinion poll' was intended to use public vote to win a few of the Senate's votes, because even though they were personally against it, the vote would show that the people who they represented actually wanted conscription.
Controversy & Rivalry • With the release of this pole came public outrage, opposition and many campaigns that were very bitter and presented one side's arguments as the moral and loyal thing to do, while portraying the opposition's approach as disastrous. • Unfortunately for Hughes, his plan had failed, and a close vote saw 49% of people in favour of the policy and 51% not in favour. One reason so many opposed conscription was that it provided a focus for a lot of different views about the war. Some were opposed to the war; others were opposed to the principal of conscription; some were complaining that they were disadvantaged by the economic situation of the war; and there were even people protesting about the British treatment of the rebellion in Ireland.
Rebellion • Hughes denounced anti conscriptionists as traitors, and a climate of bitter Sectarianism developed (e.g. Catholics opposing conscription and Protestants supporting it) • Following the first plebiscite, the government used the War Precautions Act and the Unlawful Associations Act to arrest and prosecute any anti-conscriptionists like Tom Baker (editor of Direct Action) and various other members of the industrial workers world. The government censor in police raids also seized anti-conscriptionist publications.
Anti-conscriptionists • As well as the people and groups mentioned before, there were many others that were against the conscription movement including the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne - Daniel Mannix, the QLD Labor Premier - Thomas Ryan, Vida Goldstein and the Women's Peace Army. • Most trade unions were also opposed to conscription, as it meant that there would be a lack of workers for them to employ and that their members might be replaced by cheaper foreign workers or female labour. Some people argued that the whole war was immoral and that it was unjust to force people to fight.
Tension Arises • The women's vote was seen as being important, with many women's meetings and campaign information from both sides aimed at female votes. There were many large crowds that met and filled the exhibition centre in Melbourne, where 30,000 people gathered on one day, and in the Sydney Town Hall, where Billy Hughes outlined the Government's proposals. • On the other hand, there were people who supported conscription, as it was a sign of loyalty to Britain and it would also support those men already fighting.
Hughes’ Success • In 1917, the following year, Hughes held yet another vote on the issue of conscription, however this time, he had a majority vote in the Senate and House of Representatives and didn't need the vote. He wanted to give people another opportunity to overcome their 'great mistake' as Hughes saw the previous year - almost as if he was offering them a chance to redeem themselves. Despite this, Conscription was yet again defeated, this time by a larger margin. • On November 1st 1929, the mandatory requirements of the Defence Act were suspended and 18 years of conscription had finally come to an end.
