Communist Party, 1939-1954
- Component identifier:
- Series 20
- Content Summary:
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In a speech to Parliament in 1950, Menzies introduced the Communist Party Dissolution Bill as a means to "outlaw and dissolve" the Communist Party for the "Safety and defence of Australia", to defeat "the King's Enemies in this country" (File 7).
Following the defeat of the "Yes- No Referendum" in September 1950 to grant the government the power to change the Constitution, the Melbourne Age summed up the long debate in an editorial on 24 September 1951, part of which is as following:
The result is the culmination of a procedure which involved two general elections, prolonged Parliamentary and public debates, submissions to the High Court and this appeal to the electorate. Now that the ultimate tribunal has given judgement, the special legislation and the law-making powers that were proposed have been declared unacceptable to the country.
The two boxes in this series contain the drafts of speeches, Hansard extracts of debates and reports from ASIO sources, including a list of 53 people named by Menzies to Parliament (4 names were subsequently withdrawn).
There were submissions to the High Court testing the legality of the Bill and the Judgements delivered by Judges Kitto, Latham, McTiernan, Dixon, Williams, Webb and Fullager (Files 10-13). All but Latham agreed that the Bill was invalid.
There are two copies of the printed Report of Royal Commission inquiring into the origins, aims, objects and funds of the Communist Party in Victoria ...1949-1950 (Files 5 and 6).
- Subjects:
- Politics and government
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- Location of this collection:
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Parkes PlaceCanberra ACT 2600, Australia
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