It was held by the
High Court of Australia in Farey v Burvett[2] that during wartime, the scope of the federal Government's power under
Section 51(vi) of the
Australian Constitution (under which the Act was passed) expands to meet the exigencies of wartime. As a result, the responsibility for defence policy lies solely with the Parliament and the Executive.[3] There were 3,442 prosecutions under the Act, almost all of which were successful.
The Act
Under the Act, which was to be read as one with the Defence Act 1903–1912,[4] the Commonwealth could make regulations "for securing the public safety and the defence of the Commonwealth",[5] including:
preventing
espionage and other activity that could "jeopardize the success of the operations of any of His Majesty's forces," securing "the safety of any means of communication", and preventing "the spread of reports likely to cause disaffection or alarm" (the breach of which was subject to trial by
court-martial)[6]
prohibiting aliens from entering the Commonwealth, or requiring their deportation therefrom
prohibiting aliens from residing or remaining in a specified place, or requiring them to reside and remain in a specified place[a]
regulating the registration and change of abode of aliens, and any travelling and trading done by them
imposing similar restriction on naturalsed citizens as could be imposed on aliens
requiring "any person to disclose any information in his possession as to any matter"
preventing "money or goods being sent out of Australia" except under certain conditions
Later amendments expanded the scope of regulations to cover:
the restriction the transmission abroad of all written communication other than through the post[7]
the ownership of property held by enemy aliens, and the regulation or restriction of any trade or business operated by them[8]
the conditions (ie, times, place and prices) of the disposal or use of any thing[8]
During the conscription referendums of
1916 and
1917, a regulation that banned statements likely to prejudice recruiting was used to hamper the anti-conscription campaign. Almost any anti-conscriptionist speech could be construed as offending, and a number of prominent anti-conscriptionists were charged, including
John Curtin.[14]
When coal-miners in
New South Wales went on strike in 1916, the Act was used to empower the
Attorney-General to order the men back to work. The following year, a nationwide strike of Waterfront workers was defeated by the passing of a regulation that deprived the
Waterside Workers Federation of preferences in seven of the busiest ports in Australia. Although in many cases the use of the Act in settling labour disputes could be seen as necessary for the war effort, some other uses appeared calculated to suppress the
labour movement. For example, in September 1918 the Act was used to ban the use of the
red flag, a traditional labour emblem.
On a number of occasions, the Aliens Restrictions Orders made under the act were used to deport radical left-wing activists, particularly members of the
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), without trial. In July 1918, New Zealand-born IWW leader
Tom Barker was deported to Chile. The following year, strike leader
Paul Freeman was secretly deported in a case that became a cause celebre for the labour movement.[15]
Following the end of the war, the Act's continued operation led to a series of violent demonstrations known as the
Red Flag Riots.[16][17]
Demise
The Act was later repealed by the War Precautions Act Repeal Act 1920.[18][b]
^Evans, Raymond (1989). "Radical Departures: Paul Freeman and Political Deportation from Australia Following World War One". Labour History (57). Liverpool University Press: 16–26.
doi:
10.2307/27508951.
^Evans, Raymond (1992). "Agitation, ceaseless agitation: Russian radicals in Australia and the Red flag riots". In McNair, John; Poole, Thomas (eds.).
Russia and the Fifth Continent. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press. pp. 126–171.
ISBN978-0-7022-2420-1..
^Coulthard-Clark, Christopher (1998). Where Australians Fought: The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles (1st ed.). Sydney: Allen & Unwin. p. 165.
ISBN1-86448-611-2..