Above: Communist Party of Australia Comic Book
YOU ARE A
COMMUNIST:
The 1951 Referendum
In post-war Australia, reducing the risk
of threats to the country’s security and
national identity was of vital importance
to the Federal Government. The risk of
influence on the Australian public by
the Australian Communist Party and
communist in general, was deemed
by the Menzies’ Liberal-Country
Government to be detrimental to the
Australian country and could lead
to the destruction of the nation.i
When attempts to ban the Australian
Communist Party using legislation failed
due to the High Court finding that the
legislation was invalid under the
Constitution, Robert Menzies announced
to the nation that a referendum would
be held in order to “deal with the
communists”.ii The referendum was
fought viciously through the media and
propaganda by both the Liberal-Country
government and Labour Party, working
with the Communist Party. The shock of
the result of the referendum held on the
22nd of September, 1951, ultimately
doomed the debate on banning any
party from being a part of the Australian
Federal Parliament.
The relentless campaign by both sides of
politics changed how the parties viewed
themselves, leading to a split within the
Australian Labour Party. Ultimately, the
1951 referendum created an Australia in
which the public are free to vote and be
associated with any political party they
choose without fear of conviction.
 the constitution in order to give Federal
Parliament the power to ban communism
in Australia.vii For the Menzies’
Government, they needed to convince
the Australian public that the Australian
Communist Party was the ‘new’ threat
to the country and that only the Federal
Parliament could protect them with new
powers under the Constitution.viii

Above: Robert Menzies

Robert Menzies’ Government in the early

1950’s waged a long campaign against
communists in Australia in order to
undermine their influence on the
Australian public. As this was not long
after the end of World War II, the fear
of communism and fascism rising above
the democratic system in Australia was
constant and prevalent.iii The popularity
of the Australian Communist Party
amongst the voting public caused alarm
in the Liberal-Country government that Above: ‘Yes’ Campaign Broadside
communist would become a ‘greater
menace’ through influence the public’s This began a propaganda campaign
thoughts and belief systems.iv by the Menzies’s government involving
speeches, posters and pamphlets to
In its first attempt to ban the Australian
convince the public to vote ‘Yes’ in the
Communist Party, the Menzies’
referendum.ix For the election campaign
Government attempted to pass the
earlier in the year and the pamphlets
Communist Party Dissolution Act in
for the ‘Yes’ campaign, the Menzies’
1950.v However, the High Court of
Government went through enormous
Australia deemed that the Act was
amounts of paper to present their views
unconstitutional and declared that the
to the public that there was concern that
legislation as a whole was invalid.vi
there would not be enough paper for the
In response to the High Court’s decision,
upcoming referendum.x
Mr. Menzies announced that a
referendum would be held to change
The campaign led by the Federal
Government was focused to appealed
the Australian public’s values of loyalty,
safety, security and peace.xi In this way,
Menzies and his government were also
relying on that the public would fear the
Australian Communist Party and vote
‘Yes’ in the referendum as a means of
protecting themselves from a perceived
dangerous threat.xii
Above: Protesting University Students in
1951
Furthermore, Menzies would often attack
the Australian Labour Party in his
speeches for their support of communists
and the Communist Party, creating a
noticeable divide in Australian politics
in which the public was also forced to
choose a side to believe.xiii
The Liberal-Country Government
enjoyed early success in their referendum
campaign with their tactic of inciting
danger and fear surrounding
communists, which the held a majority
of voters in opinion polls.xiv For the
majority of the referendum campaign,
Menzies and his government had a
winning campaign to ban the Communist
party based on the defence and overall
peace of the country.
Conversely, the Australian Labour Party
with the Australian Communist Party led
their own campaign based on appealing
the Australian public’s values of justice
and fairness.
Above: Dr. H. V. Evatt
Early in the debate in regards to banning
the Communist Party, the Australian
Labour Party had difficulty choosing a
side of the debate as they did not want to
alienate voters in the upcoming
election.xv Once the election was over and
the Menzies Government had retained
power in the House of Representatives
and the Senate, the leader of the Labour
Party, Dr. H. V. Evatt decided to directly
oppose the Federal Government’s stance
on communists in Australia.xvi A former
High Court Judge, Evatt would often
warn his own party as well as the
Australian public about the dangers that
the referendum would pose, such as an
extension of the defence powers under
the Australian Constitution could damage
the principles of justice that the country
of Australia had been founded on.xvii
Due to this stance, the Australian
Communist Party also joined with
the Australian Labour Party to prevent
the end of their party and the views
being forced underground or out of the
country. In order to appeal to the
Australian public, the Communist Party
used imagery and words from World War
II to demonstrate how they would protect
Australians from Nazism and further
breakouts of war.xviii

Above: Tribune Newspaper Article

The Communist Party used tactics to

separate themselves from Nazi Germany
and reassure the Australian public that
they supported not re-arming
Germany.xix The Communist Party also
continued appealed the Australian Above: ‘No’ Campaign Pamphlet
public’s desire for peace in the early
1950’s by stating that the Menzies’ Although the Labour party did not make
Government had no evidence that the a quick decision on its views on banning
Communist Party wanted to start the Communist Party, the campaign led
war-mongering activities in Australia.xx by the two parties together successfully
changed the views of the Australian
In pamphlets delivered to the wider public to turn against the Liberal-
public, the Labour and Communist Country Government.
Parties also used the tactic of fear that
anyone could be declared a communist To convey their campaigns to the
by the Federal Parliament and it would Australian public, both sides of Federal
not be decided by a court.xxi Parliament utilised the media and public
appearances to ensure that their message
In addition to this, pamphlets created by was spread across the country.
the Labour and Communist Parties also
targeted trade union organisations, due
to the threat by the Menzies’ Government
to take funds away from trade unions,
believing that they were a part of the
communist organisation.xxii The fear of
losing trade unions in Australia created
an uproar in the voting public and caused
some voters to doubt what the Menzies
Government was communicating to
them.
Above: West Australian Newspaper
Article
The Australian Communist Party’s own
newspaper, The Tribune, often included
at least one article dedicated to inform
they party and the public about the
upcoming election and how Menzies
was ‘lying’ to the Australian people.xxiii
Newspapers often reported on Menzies
and Evatt’s speeches to the Australian
people to give their readers an informed
view on the referendum.xxiv In Tasmania,
The Mercury newspaper present the
viewpoints of both the Menzies
Government and the Opposing Labour
Party, referring both to communism as a
“slimy…octopus” and that the trade
unions needed to be protected from
raising inflation costs.xxv By showing both
sides of the argument in one article, The
Mercury was able to present the case for
both sides and allow for the public to
reach their own conclusion, rather than
make the conclusion for their readers.
the Australian Communist Party and
ending communism ideals in Australia.xxvi
From the opinion polls, the prevailing
belief was that communists in Australia
was the main source of “trouble” in the
country and needed to be stopped.xxvii
With a predicted majority, as high as
80% of the voting public voting “Yes”,
the Menzies government was on track to
win the referendum and change the
constitution in order to “deal” with the
Australian Communist Party.xxviii
However, after the results of the
referendum were announced to the
Australian public, the voters were left
wondering how the opinion polls
obtained the wrong result.xxix With the
newspaper being used as a another tool
of propaganda by both the Liberal-
Country Government and the Labour
Party, it could be understood that the
presentation of all the evidence caused
some voters to instead vote “No” on
the referendum, where it was secret
and no judgement of being called a
‘communist’.xxx

Above: Australian Public Voting in the

1951 Referendum

In addition to this, newspapers began to

use and rely on the results of opinion Above: Official Results of the 1951
polls of the Australian voting public to Referendum
attempt to determine the result of the
The media, particularly newspapers in
upcoming referendum. From the
the early 1950’s become an effective tool
beginning of the referendum campaign,
to display information by both parties in
the opinion polls had suggested a large
an attempt to convince decided voters to
majority of voters would vote ‘Yes’ on
change their opinion on Communism and
the referendum, in favour of banning
communists in the country.
The result of the 1951 referendum led to a
substantial change in the political scene
in Canberra as well as in the Australian
public.
Over four and a half million votes were
counted in the official statement of
results, demonstrating that may
members of the public wanted make sure
that their vote would be counted on such
a controversial issue.xxxi Although a
narrow margin, the result was a swing
against the ‘Yes’ campaign and the
Federal government; a shock result that
the opinion polls did not predict.xxxii
With a victory to the ‘No’ campaign, the
public were left with multiple questions
about what changes the country could
expect.xxxiii
The Liberal-Country Government was
forced to withdraw their plans and
attempts to ban the Australian
Communist Party and pursue other
avenues of ‘protecting’ Australia from the
threat of communism.xxxiv In addition to
this, the Government and the Australian
public started to doubt the reliability of
opinion polls in newspapers. The
Menzies’ Government even went as far to
suggest that certain newspapers
intentionally mislead the public and
made false representations about the
result of the referendum.xxxv
The public showed concern about opinion
polls being used in the future to influence
further referendum debates, considered
far more important than a mere federal
election.xxxvi
However, it was not a complete victory
for the ‘No’ campaign and the Australia
Labour Party. The stance that the Labour
Party took on communism in Australia,
caused a split within the party.xxxvii
Unable to accept the party line made by
Dr. H. V. Evatt and the Labour Party,
some party members left the party to
create the Democratic Labour Party.xxxviii
This demonstrated how personal the
issue of communism in Australia and
national security became for certain
members of the Australian Labour Party,
leading to fractions emerging after the
results were released.xxxix
For the Australian Communist Party, the
result did not change pre-formed
opinions about the party and were still
consider a threat by members of the
public.xl Furthermore, the Menzies’
government continued to create
problems for communists in Australia,
prosecuting communist activity under
the federal Crimes Act.xli
Above: ‘Yes’ Campaign Poster
Although the result of the referendum
was influential on future constitutional
law, its immediate impact was
unfavourable to those that support both
sides of the campaign.
Communism in Australia proved to
be a controversial topic amongst the
Australian public and within political
parties in the post-war period.
With the result of the 1951 referendum
providing a shock to the Menzies’
government, suggesting that the
Australian public did not view
communism and communists to
be a threat to national security.
However, as the result of the referendum
was narrow, it is difficult to prove this.
The propaganda campaigns led by the
two major parties gave a new method
of informing the public about the issues
at hand as well as trying to convince the
public to vote with them. The education
of the public on the issue of communism
is a major factor that led to the narrow
result in the referendum.
As the Australian public voted ‘No’ Above: John Firth Cartoon
to banning the Australian Communist
Party, they in turn, preserve future rights of expression and freedom for
years to come.
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i
‘Bill to Dissolve Communist Party’, Canberra Times, 28 Apr. 1950, 1, in Trove [online database], accessed 13
Oct. 2019.
ii
‘Menzies Assures Party of Action on Reds’, Warwick Daily News, 12 Jun. 1951, 1, in Trove [online database],
accessed 13 Oct. 2019.
iii
‘Mr. Menzies Warns on “No” Vote’, West Australian, 20 Sep. 1951, 3, in Trove [online database], accessed
13 Oct. 2019.
iv
‘Promise to Outlaw Communist Party’, Muswellbrook Chronicle, 3 Apr. 1951, 2, in Trove [online database],
accessed 13 Oct. 2019.
v
Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950 (Cth).
vi
Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth (1951) 83 CLR 1.
vii
‘Notice of Referendum’, Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, 23 Aug. 1951, 2153, in Trove [online
database], accessed 13 Oct. 2019.
viii
‘Mr. Menzies Warns on “No” Vote’, West Australian, 3.
ix
Smash Communism, c. 1951 [poster], With Thanks to State Library of Western Australia, Ephemera
Collection PR8680/1951, in Flickr, < https://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibrarywa/9131801040/>, accessed 13
Oct. 2019.
x
‘Shortage of Paper May Delay Referendum’, Labor Call (Melbourne), 5 Jul. 1951, 7, in Trove [online
database], accessed 13 Oct. 2019.
xi
‘Menzies Explains Action’, Sydney Morning Herald, 29 May, 1951, 1, in Trove [online database], accessed 13
Oct. 2019.
xii
‘Mr. Menzies Warns on “No” Vote’, West Australian, 3.
xiii
‘Menzies Calls Labour Party a “Broken Rabble”’, Warwick Daily News, 18 Apr. 1951, 1, in Trove [online
database], accessed 13 Oct. 2019.
xiv
Murray Goot and Sean Scalmer, ‘Party Leaders, the Media, and Political Persuasion: The Campaigns of Evatt
and Menzies on the Referendum to Protect Australia from Communism’, Australian Historical Studies, 44/1
(2013), 71.
xv
John Firth, ‘Thumbs Down-And Up’ [cartoon], Herald (Melbourne), 12 May 1950, 4, in Trove [online
database], accessed 13 Oct. 2019.
xvi
‘Referendum Endangers Justice, says Dr. Evatt’, Canberra Times, 11 Jul. 1951, 1, in Trove [online database],
accessed 14 Oct. 2019.
xvii
Ibid.
xviii
‘Communist Party Defends Australia’, Tribune (Sydney), 15 Mar. 1951, 1, in Trove [online database],
accessed 14 Oct. 2019.
xix
Ibid.
xx
‘Communist Party Challenge: Let Menzies Prove Slanders or Stand Exposed as a Liar’, Tribune (Sydney), 19
Sep. 1951, 11, in Trove [online database], accessed 14 Oct. 2019.
xxi
‘Politicians--Not a Court---Can Decide That---You are a Communist’[pamphlet] (c. 1950),
<http://www.reasoninrevolt.net.au/bib/PR0000559.htm>, accessed 14 Oct. 2019.
xxii
‘Why Not a Referendum on Prices’[pamphlet], Worker Print (Brisbane), 1951,
<http://www.reasoninrevolt.net.au/bib/PR0000499.htm>, accessed 14 Oct. 2019.
xxiii
‘Communist Party Challenge’, Tribune, 11.
xxiv
‘Party Viewpoints’, Mercury (Hobart), 16 Apr. 1951, 10, in Trove [online database], accessed 14 Oct. 2019.
xxv
Ibid.
xxvi
‘Yes or No?’, Dandenong Journal, 19 Sep. 1951, 7, in Trove [online database] accessed 14 Oct. 2019.
xxvii
‘Gallup Poll says… “Yes” Vote Forecast in Referendum on Reds’, Herald (Melbourne), 7 Jul. 1951, 5, in
Trove [online database], accessed 14 Oct. 2019.
xxviii
Ibid.
xxix
‘Letters to the Editor’, Mercury (Hobart), 25 Sep. 1951, 4, in Trove [online database], accessed 14 Oct.
2019.
xxx
Ibid.
xxxi
‘Statement Showing the Result of Referendum Upon Proposed Law to Alter the Constitution with Respect to
Powers to Deal with Communist and Communism’, Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, 1 Nov. 1951, 2782, in
Trove [online database] accessed 17 Oct. 2019.
xxxii
Ibid.
xxxiii
‘Letters to the Editor’, Mercury (Hobart), 4.
xxxiv
‘Cabinet to Review Situation’, Canberra Times, 24 Sep. 1951, 1, in Trove [online database], accessed 17
Oct. 2019.
xxxv
‘Public Opinion Polls “Propaganda”’, Illawarra Daily Mercury, 27 Sep. 1951, 8, in Trove [online database],
accessed 17 Oct. 2019.
xxxvi
‘Letters to the Editor’, Mercury (Hobart), 4.
xxxvii
Murray Goot and Sean Scalmer, ‘Party Leaders, the Media, and Political Persuasion’, 85.
xxxviii
Ibid.
xxxix
Ibid.
xl
‘Referendum Thoughts’, Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton), 25 Sep. 1951, 4, in Trove [online database],
accessed 17 Oct. 2019.
xli
‘Cabinet to Review Situation’, Canberra Times, 1.