The Liberal and Country Parties held office in Australia without interruption, winning nine elections in a row from 1949 to 1972. It was the longest unbroken period of government for one side of politics in Australia’s history. The description of ‘Menzies era’ rightly attaches to that whole period, such was the influence of Australia’s longest serving PM, who dominated Australian politics like no one has done before and since.
Over the twenty three years of that era, Australia saw huge economic growth, social change and considerable political turmoil. Covering attempts to ban the Communist Party, the Petrov Affair, the impact of the great Labour Split of 1955, Australia’s alliance with the United States, the increasing focus on Asian nations, the impact of the Vietnam War on Australian politics, and the recovery of the Labour Party under Whitlam’s leadership in the late 1960s, this book offers a comprehensive assessment of how the Menzies era laid the foundations of contemporary Australia.
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