This thesis examines the process by which an Australian policy
of post-war economic reconstruction, the main focus of which was the
achievement and maintenance of full employment, was developed in
preparation for the return of peace at the conclusion of World War II,
and the consequences which that policy had within the Australian
community. Development of a policy of economic reconstruction took
place largely at the instigation of the Curtin Labor government, which
had come to power in October 1941, and which in December 1942 established
a Ministry of Post War Reconstruction with J.B. Chifley as Minister.
Those who were associated with the work of the Ministry in
formulating economic policy were Ministers of the Labor Government and
professional economists. In the contribution which they made, each was
conditioned by the experience of the Great Depression, which motivated
them to formulate a policy of full employment, by their adherence to the
attitudes and values of the groups to which they belonged: the Labor
Party which advocated a move to centralized powers and socialism on
the one hand, and the school of Keynesian economic thought which gave
the economic initiative to governments on the other, and by the
pervasive climate of stringent government direction and control which
the war had brought about.
This thesis argues that the attitudes and values which were
brought to the task of economic reconstruction policy defined the
character of that policy, set limits on its scope, and created
difficulties in reconciling political and economic views. As a consequence,
the policy proposals which were put forward for public debate
and endorsement were inadequately thought through, poorly co-ordinated,
and too radical to be accepted by the Australian electorate. Because
the response of the various interest groups within the community had
not been taken into account when the policy was framed, nor had been
considered when deciding on the measures to implement the policy, there
was considerable opposition to the proposed program of post-war economic
reconstruction. This program, when associated with other apparently
radical policies such as the nationalization of the banking system,
notably contributed to the defeat of the Labor Government in the 1949
elections. The rejection of the post-war reconstruction program might
have been avoided or at least ameliorated had a broader perspective
been taken in formulating the policy and assessing its consequences.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219177 |
| Date | January 1980 |
| Creators | Mamchak, Yaroslaw Andreas, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Administrative Studies |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Yaroslaw Andreas Mamchak |
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