Achievements
The Australian Labor Party formed the first National Labor Government in the world more than 100 years ago. Labor Governments have a proud history of reform.
The following timeline outlines the major achievements of each of the Labor Governments:
First National Labor Government in the world (lasted 4 months), demonstrating that Labor could govern as a party.
- Initiated a Royal Commission into coastal navigation which led to significant reforms to and improvements in the working conditions of Australian seamen.
- First Federal Labor Government to win an election in its own right.
- Legislated for a Commonwealth Bank and issued Australia’s first national banknotes.
- Expanded and increased the old age pension.
- Introduced a payment to mothers on the birth of a child.
- Began the planning of the national capital.
- Created the jurisdiction of the Northern Territory.
- Began planning of the transcontinental railway.
- Formed the Royal Australian Navy.
- Legislated for a national worker’s compensation act.
- Passed 113 acts in just three years.
- Appointed the first Australian born Governor General Sir Isaac Isaacs.
- Labor's first native born Prime Minister.
- The first Catholic Prime Minister.
- Suspended compulsory military training for the first time since World War I.
- Increased social service payments for people facing the Great Depression.
- Negotiated for the British to reduce Australia's annual interest payments in the Great Depression by £1.6 million, protected jobs.
- Governed Australia during the Second World War, helping secure victory over the Axis forces in Europe and the Pacific.
- Achieved full employment for the first time in Australia in order to fight the war.
- Laid the basis for the ANZUS relationship by reaching out to the United States during the Second World War.
- Introduced the first national system of widows’ pensions and expanded the child endowment.
- Increased pensions for invalids.
- Began funding public hospitals for the first time.
- Increased soldier’s pay and allowances.
- Introduced a centralised and uniform income tax system.
- Laid the foundations of Australia’s post-war reconstruction policies.
- Opened Australia to a new wave of immigration, significantly boosting Australia’s population.
- Secured a major change in the Commonwealth Constitution to give the Federal Government power over social services.
- Introduced legislation to create a public health system, paving the way for the creation of Medibank and subsequently Medicare in the 1970s and 1980s.
- Created a government owned airline ‘Trans Australian airlines’.
- Began building the Snowy Hydro Electricity Scheme.
- Legislated for the construction of the Australian National University.
- Created a fully independent Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
- Assisted many former Asian colonies achieve independence through the United Nations.
- Played a major role in writing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through the efforts of then UN President HV Evatt.
- Invested in the creation of the Holden motor company, Australia’s first car company.
- Significantly invested in affordable housing for returned soldiers and the less fortunate.
- Increased investment in education and social security.
- Waged a campaign to rid Australia of Tuberculosis
- Withdrew Australian troops from Vietnam and ended conscription of Australian youths.
- Legislated for free and universal tertiary education.
- Legislated for the introduction of Medibank, a precursor to a universal public health system.
- Invested in urban infrastructure providing sewerage and running water to many Australian homes.
- Introduced the Commonwealth Land Rights Act, which gave Indigenous Australians freehold title to traditional lands in the Northern Territory and the power of veto over mining and development on those lands.
- Opened Australian relations with China.
- Dissolved the White Australia policy and expanded Australia’s program of immigration.
- Formally protested against the South African apartheid regime.
- Increased the aged pension.
- Introduced the Racial Discrimination Act.
- Greatly increased the rights for women and minority groups in Australia.
- Legislated for a universal public health system known as Medicare.
- Reformed Australia’s industrial relations, trade and fiscal systems, opening Australia to competition on the world stage.
- Created the Prices and Incomes Accord with the trade union movement to reform the economy whilst maintaining Australia’s high standard of living.
- Increased the investment into housing, health and education of Indigenous Australians.
- Intervened in Tasmania to protect the Franklin River from damming, transforming the way governments perceived environmental issues.
- Played an activist role in foreign affairs, including a major role in ending the apartheid regime in South Africa.
- Led international efforts to protect Antarctica from mining and exploitation.
- Reformed the tertiary education system, making it accessible to many Australians.
- Introduced the Sex Discrimination Act and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, providing security for women in the workforce and paving the way for further anti-discrimination legislation.
- Set Australia on the path towards reconciliation with its indigenous population.
- Promoted the cause of Aboriginal land rights and reconciliation
- Continued the economic reforms begun under the Hawke Government.
- Helped to create the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation Forum (APEC).
- Introduced Australia's national superannuation scheme which has secured retirement savings for millions of Australians and is recognised as one of the best savings schemes in the world.
- Created Australia's first national training authority ensuring greater consistency in Australia's skills qualifications and assisting to modernise the economy.
- Recognised native title through the historic Mabo legislation.
- Pushed for a republic so that an Australian could become the head of state and Australia could continue down the path of an independent nation.
- Improved Sex Discrimination provisions and boosted legislative protections for Australia's unique endangered species.
Over the last 2 years, the Federal Labor Government has been working hard to build Australia’s future. Here are some highlights.
- We abolished WorkChoices
- We have increased hospital funding by 50%
- We have increased the age pension by more than $100 for singles and $76 for couples.
- When we were all threatened by the GFC we did what we had to do and Australia came through stronger than most countries.
- We’re strengthening the economy and getting the budget back to surplus by 2013, three years earlier than expected.
- We have developed a single national school curriculum with a focus on the basics.
- We are investing in new cancer research and treatment centres.
- We are funding over 1,000 new nurse training places every year and now we’ll have an additional 1,300 GPs qualified or in training by 2013.
- We’re currently delivering Trade Training Centres for 732 schools and over the next three years we’ll ensure another 520 schools have access to one.
- Despite setbacks we’re tackling climate change with record investment in renewables like solar.
- We have cut taxes in the last three budgets.
- There is record investment in infrastructure like highways, rail and ports.
- We are building a National Broadband Network
- We are creating 130,000 new education and training places and 50,000 university places.