This thesis is a comparative study of trades unions in the conscription debate in Australia and New Zealand during the Great War. The governments of Australia and New Zealand looked to conscription to maintain the supply of men in the war effort. However, when they declared conscription for overseas service was necessary, most unions opposed it, although some unions in both countries were divided over the issue. New Zealand’s unions fought for the repeal of the Military Service Act, which compelled men between the ages of 20 and 46 years to register for overseas military service. Australian unions fought for the defeat of two plebiscites conducted by the government of the day regarding the invocation of conscription. Several factors influenced unions to oppose conscription. Through the use of trades union and government archival material, particularly minutes of meetings, correspondence, annual reports, conference minutes, diary entries, government documents, pamphlets, biographies, union and contemporary newspapers, it is possible to establish why unions took their stance. In this thesis the factors that shaped the stance of unions on conscription are presented; including the circumstances of the formation of unions, their early history and influences, and their attitudes to compulsory military training. Evidence is also presented regarding the relationship between the union movement and the government of each country, and it is posited that these relationships were influential in the outcome of the conscription debate in the respective countries. Unions in both countries campaigned vigorously to stop conscription. Only in Australia were they successful. When war was declared in 1914, unionists from both countries balanced union beliefs against other factors. Unionists were concerned that this war was a class war, incorporating inequality of sacrifice. Unionists were also concerned about provisions for families of those serving, the cost of living and loss of civil liberties; none of which were addressed by the governments of the day in the opinion of unionists. Unionists feared economic and industrial conscription. Other unionists simply lacked a belief in war and opposed it. Unionists, in general, opposed the manufacture of war materials. However, this war was also considered to be a necessary evil. Opposition to conscription was counter-balanced with patriotism and belief in the evil of Germany, with the result that many unionists enlisted voluntarily for overseas service. When conscription became the issue, unionists in both countries opposed it. The New Zealand government legislated for a Military Service Act which the unions attempted to have repealed, but in Australia the government held two plebiscites on conscription to determine the wishes of the populace. Both were defeated, the unions claiming victory. / Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Adelaide, School of History and Politics, 2010
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/288686 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Pearce, Robert Anthony |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Detected Language | English |
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