In 1922-23, Billy Hughes’ Nationalist Party brokered a deal with the Country Party to form government - but only on condition Hughes was no longer prime minister. It’s possible this could play out again.
An anti-conscription rally in Melbourne, 1916.
Heritage Council of Victoria
It’s time the Australians who voiced vociferous opposition to war in general and conscription in particular were commemorated as an important part of our history.
Prime Minister Billy Hughes worked hard to quash rebellion over conscription during the first world war.
Australian Prime Ministers
The current system of determining which organisations can receive tax-deductible donations and which cannot is overly complex and ad hoc.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott watches the signing of the free trade agreement with China, which he now accuses Labor of opposing for ‘racist’ reasons.
Reuters/Lukas Coch
Charges of racism against Labor for querying aspects of the free trade deal with China are a mark of how much Australian attitudes have changed and how adversarial politics fuels hyperbolic attacks.
Activists trying to bring attention to the issue of rape in war were arrested for protesting at Anzac Day services in the 1980s.
ACT Heritage Library
Protests on Anzac Day, rather than being ‘utterly alien to Australians’, have a long tradition and embody the democratic right to dissent for which the troops fought.