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Robert Menzies uses widely-held fears of Communism to win the election to his second term as Prime Minister, promising to control its spread, especially due to a Communist-led mining strike earlier that year. He promised to outlaw the Communist Party of Australia
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This banned such organisations and meant that members had to declare themselves to avert their employment in the Commonwealth, trade unions, or any area of the defence industry.
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In order to both better relations with the US and enhance security against the threat of Communism, Australia sides with the US in the Korean War.
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The ANZUS Treaty (The Australian, New Zealand and United States Security Treaty) is signed in order to protect the security of the Pacific.
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Australia is split by the referendum to alter the constitution in order to pass the Communist Party Dissolution Bill. ‘No’ narrowly wins.
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An international organisation for collective defence in Southeast Asia is signed in Manila by Australia, New Zealand, France, Pakistan, the Philippines, Bangladesh (now), Thailand, the UK and the US, to prevent communist gains (“the domino effect”) in Southeast Asia.
SEATO and ANZUS afforded America the ability to establish military bases in Australia and New Zealand.
The period in which the two treaties were signed has been termed “Pactomania”, perhaps stemming from early Cold War paranoia -
Menzies is informed that Vladimir Petrov had defected to Australia, giving evidence of a so-called ‘spy ring’ in Australia. He establishes a Royla Commision to investigate this suspected espionage. This did not find anything however it damaged the reputations of countless suspects called to give evidence.
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Australian troops, alongside American soliders were sent to South Vietnam to fight in a proxy war against the USSR, their intention being to stop the spread of Communism into South Vietnam. However, they gradually withdrew their forces between 1970 and 1973.
