# List of political controversies in Australia

This is a list of major political controversies in Australia:

## Pre-federation

| Controversy "name" | Date | State | People involved | Summary | Source |
| Rum Rebellion | 1808 | NSW | Deposition and arrest of NSW Governor William Bligh by Major George Johnston, John Macarthur | | |

## Federal controversies
### Barton government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary | Source |
| Hopetoun Blunder | 1900 | n/a | Lord HopetounWilliam LyneEdmund Barton | Lyne was chosen by Hopetoun to form Australia's first government, but leading politicians refused to serve under him and Barton was chosen instead. | |

### Deakin government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary | Source |
| Petriana affair | 1903 | Government: Protectionist | Alfred DeakinJames Drake | Citing the White Australia policy, the government refused permission for shipwrecked sailors of Asian origin to land in Australia. | |

### Hughes government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary |
| ALP split of 1916 | 1916 | Government: ALP | Billy Hughes | The ALP split over the issue of overseas conscription and the conscription referendum. Hughes and his supporters were expelled from the ALP and formed a separate National Labor Party. |
| – | 1916–1918 | Government: ALP/Nationalist | Jens JensenJames LongArchibald Shaw | A 1918 royal commission found that Long had accepted a bribe from Shaw in 1916 and that Jensen had not secured proper approvals for the purchase of assets from Shaw's company. Long resigned from the Senate and Jensen was dismissed from the ministry. |
| McDougall incident | 1919 | Opposition: ALP | John Keith McDougall | During the 1919 federal election campaign, McDougall was kidnapped and publicly tarred and feathered by return soldiers. |

### Bruce–Page government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary | Source |
| Walsh–Johnson case | 1925 | Government: Nationalist | Tom WalshJacob JohnsonLittleton Groom | The government unsuccessfully sought to deport Walsh and Johnson, foreign-born leaders of the militant Seamen's Union. Groom resigned as Attorney-General. | |
| | 1927 | Opposition: ALP | William MahonyTed Theodore | A 1928 royal commission concluded Mahony had taken a bribe to resign his seat in parliament, allowing Theodore to enter the House of Representatives at the subsequent by-election. | |

### Scullin government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary | Source |
| ALP split of 1931 | 1931 | Government: ALP | James ScullinJoseph LyonsJack Lang | The ALP split three ways over the Scullin government's response to the Great Depression, with Lyons and his followers joining the opposition and Lang's supporters joining the crossbench. Both eventually voted down the government forcing the 1931 federal election. | |

### Lyons government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary |
| Kisch case | 1934 | Government: UAP Opposition: ALP | Egon KischJoseph LyonsRobert MenziesHerbert Evatt | The government failed to stop a member of the German Communist Party from entering Australia. |
| Freer case | 1936 | Government: UAP/Country | Mabel FreerThomas Paterson | The government refused entry to Freer on the grounds of immoral conduct. Paterson's perceived bungling of the case effectively ended his ministerial career. |
| | 1938 | Government: UAP | Alexander McLachlan | McLachlan resigned as Postmaster-General following revelations of a conflict of interest with his business affairs. |
| Dalfram dispute | 1938–1939 | Government: UAP | Robert Menzies | Attorney-General Menzies intervened to force striking waterside workers to load pig iron on a ship bound to Japan. |

### Menzies government (I)

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary | Source |
| | 1940 | Government: UAP | John Lawson | Lawson resigned as Minister for Trade and Customs following revelations of a conflict of interest. | |

### Curtin government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary | Source |
| "Brisbane Line" affair | 1942–1943 | Government: ALP | Eddie Ward | A royal commission found Ward had made unsubstantiated claims about the previous government's war strategy. He remained in the ministry but was demoted to lesser portfolios. | |
| "Australia First" affair | 1942–1945 | Government: ALP | H. V. EvattFrank FordeP. R. StephensenAdela Walsh | Members of the far-right Australia First Movement were interned without trial for national security reasons. A post-war inquiry found they had been illegally detained and recommended compensation be awarded. | |

### Chifley government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary |
| New Guinea timber affair | 1948–1949 | Government: ALP | Jock GardenEddie Ward | Garden was convicted of forging Ward's signature on documents to defraud investors in timber plantations. Ward was cleared of involvement by a subsequent royal commission, during which time he stood down as a minister. |
| Gamboa case | 1949 | Government: ALP | Arthur CalwellLorenzo Gamboa | Calwell as immigration minister refused entry to Gamboa, a Filipino-American, under the White Australia policy, despite Gamboa having an Australian wife and children. |
| New South Wales coal strike | 1949 | Government: ALP | Ben Chifley | The government sent in troops as strike-breakers following an illegal strike by the Australian Coal and Shale Employees' Federation. |

### Menzies government (II)

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary | Source |
| Petrov Affair | 1954 | Government: Liberal Opposition: ALP | Vladimir PetrovEvdokia PetrovaRobert MenziesH. V. Evatt | Petrov and his wife defected from the USSR to Australia in dramatic circumstances, which the Menzies Government exploited for political gain in the lead-up to the 1954 election. | |
| ALP split of 1955 | 1955 | Opposition: ALP Crossbench: ALP (Anti-Communist) | H. V. EvattB. A. Santamaria | ALP members opposed to Evatt's leadership, predominantly associated with the anti-communist Industrial Groups and Santamaria's Catholic Social Studies Movement, either left the party or were expelled, forming what eventually became the Democratic Labor Party. | |

### Holt government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary | Source |
| Melbourne–Voyager collision | 1964–1967 | Government: Liberal/Country | Robert MenziesJohn SpicerHarold HoltEdward St John | The government stalled on holding a second royal commission into the collision, following concerns over the conclusions of the first. | |
| VIP affair | 1967 | Government: Liberal Opposition: ALP Crossbench: DLP | Harold HoltPeter HowsonVince GairArthur CalwellJohn Gorton | Government cover-up of misuse of RAAF VIP flights; Holt and Howson misled parliament. | |

### Whitlam government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary |
| Gair Affair | 1974 | ALP | Vince Gair, Gough Whitlam, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Lionel Murphy, Ron Maunsell, Magnus Cormack, Billy Snedden | |
| Morosi Affair | 1974–1977 | ALP | Jim Cairns, Junie Morosi | |
| Loans affair | 1975 | ALP | Jim Cairns, Rex Connor | |
| 1975 Australian constitutional crisis | 1975 | ALP Liberal Party | Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Sir John Kerr | Kerr dismissed the sitting government of the day |

### Fraser government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary |
| | 1976 | Government: Liberal | Vic Garland | Garland resigned as Minister for Post and Telecommunications after being charged with electoral offences. They were dismissed and he returned to the ministry in 1977. |
| | 1977 | Government: Liberal | Phillip Lynch | Lynch resigned as Treasurer following allegations of a conflict of interest relating to his land dealings. Two reports found he had not acted illegally and he returned to the ministry one month later in a different portfolio. |
| | 1978 | Government: Liberal | Reg Withers | Withers was sacked as Minister for Administrative Services after a Queensland royal commission found he had attempted to interfere with an electoral redistribution. |
| | 1979 | Government: NCP | Ian Sinclair | Sinclair resigned as Minister for Primary Industry after a report to the New South Wales parliament accused him of inappropriate business dealings. He was charged with fraud but acquitted, and returned to the ministry in 1980. |
| Colour TV affair | 1982 | Government: Liberal | Michael MacKellarJohn Moore | MacKellar submitted an incorrect customs declaration relating to his importation of a colour television, which Moore attempted to cover up. Both resigned from the ministry. |

### Hawke government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary |
| Combe–Ivanov affair | 1983 | Government: ALP | David CombeValery IvanovMick Young | Young resigned as Special Minister of State following revelations he had leaked the government's decision to expel Soviet diplomat Ivanov. |
| | 1987 | Government: ALP | John Brown | Brown resigned from the ministry after misleading parliament over World Expo 88 tenders. |
| | 1988 | Government: ALP | Mick YoungStephen Loosley | Young resigned from parliament and the ministry after allegations he had mishandled campaign donations. Loosley later accepted responsibility for the errors. |

### Keating government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary |
| Marshall Islands affair | 1992 | Government: ALP | Graham RichardsonGreg Symons | Richardson was censured by the Senate and resigned from the ministry due to controversy over his dealings with Symons, a businessman charged with forgery in relation to a migration scheme based in the Marshall Islands. |
| Sandwich shop affair | 1994 | Government: ALP | Alan Griffiths | Griffiths resigned from the ministry after allegations he had misused party and government resources for personal gain. He was later cleared of wrongdoing by an Australian Federal Police investigation. |
| Sports rorts affair | 1994 | Government: ALP | Ros Kelly | Kelly resigned from the ministry, and later from parliament, over allegations of pork barreling. |

### Howard government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary |
| | 1996 | Government: Liberal | Jim ShortBrian Gibson | Short and Gibson separately resigned as parliamentary secretaries due to conflicts of interest relating to their shareholdings. |
| | 1997 | Government: Liberal | Geoff Prosser | Prosser resigned from the ministry due to a conflict of interest relating to his ownership of a small business. |
| Travel rorts | 1997 | Government: Liberal/National | David JullPeter McGauranJohn Sharp | Sharp and McGauran resigned from the ministry over false travel expense claims, while Jull resigned due after allowing Sharp to make secret payments and tabling an inaccurate report. |
| Tampa affair | 2001 | Government: Liberal | John HowardPhilip Ruddock | The government refused to allow asylum-seekers to enter Australia, using Special Air Service Regiment soldiers to board the MV Tampa, a Norwegian freighter that had rescued them from a sinking vessel. |
| Children Overboard affair | 2001 | Government: Liberal | John HowardPeter Reith | Howard falsely claimed that asylum seekers were throwing their children into the water so the navy would be forced to rescue them. |
| Australia–East Timor spying scandal | 2004 | Government: Liberal | Bernard Collaery |
| Unlawful detention of Cornelia Rau | 2005 | Government: Liberal | Philip Ruddock | |
| Unlawful deportation of Vivian Solon | 2005 | Government: Liberal | Philip Ruddock | |
| AWB oil-for-wheat scandal | 2006 | Government: Liberal | Terence Cole | A royal commission found that AWB Limited had paid kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq in exchange for lucrative wheat contracts, contravening UN sanctions. |
| Muhamed Haneef affair | 2007 | Government: Liberal | Muhamed HaneefPhilip RuddockKevin Andrews | Haneef's visa was cancelled following false allegations he had aided terrorists. |
| Lindsay pamphlet scandal | 2007 | Government: Liberal | Jackie KellyDavid Bradbury | Liberal Party volunteers distributed fake pamphlets purporting to be from an Islamic organisation. |

### Rudd government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary | Source |
| Utegate or OzCar affair | 2009 | Liberal Party | Malcolm Turnbull, Godwin Grech | Grech claimed Prime Minister Rudd intervened in a grants claim for a Car Dealership, Turnbull as Opposition Leader then seized upon the claims. It was later determined Grech fabricated the entire thing. | |
| Energy Efficient Homes Package | 2010 | ALP | Kevin Rudd, Peter Garrett | | |

### Gillard government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary |
| Health Services Union expenses affair | 2010 | ALP | Craig Thomson, Health Services Union, Kathy Jackson, Fair Work Australia, Julia Gillard, Michael Williamson | |
| Ditch the Witch | 2011 | Liberal Party | Tony Abbott, Bronwyn Bishop, Sophie Mirabella | In a protest against the Gillard government's carbon tax a number of MPs from the Liberal party were pictured in front of signs saying "Ditch the Witch" and "JuLiar... Bob Brown's Bitch" |
| Peter Slipper affair | 2012 | Liberal Party ALP | Peter Slipper, James Ashby | |

### Abbott government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary |
| Spying on Indonesian officials | 2009–2013 | Liberal Party ALP | Tony Abbott | Australian spy agencies attempted to tap the phones of high ranking Indonesian officials including the president. Abbott refused to apologise |
| Australian Water Holdings corruption scandal | 2013 | Liberal Party | Arthur Sinodinos | Corruption in Australian Water Holdings and ICAC investigation into fundraising at the Liberal Party |
| Joe Hockey's first budget | 2014 | Liberal Party | Tony Abbott Joe Hockey | The first budget delivered by the government was seen as being based on severe cuts to welfare and other social programs. It triggered a polling slump that Abbott struggled to recover from |
| Duke of Edinburgh knighthood | 2015 | Liberal Party | Tony Abbott | After controversially reinstating knighthoods, Abbott gave one of the first knighthoods to Prince Philip rather than to an Australian |
| Choppergate | 2015 | Liberal Party | Bronwyn Bishop | Bishop was found to have chartered a helicopter to a Liberal Party fundraiser. This was charged at over $5,000 for what would have been a 1 hour drive. |

### Turnbull government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary |
| 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis | 2017 | Liberal Party Nationals ALP Greens Xenophon One Nation | Scott Ludlam, Larissa Waters, Matt Canavan, Malcolm Roberts, Barnaby Joyce, Fiona Nash, Nick Xenophon and others | Parliamentarians of various parties were found to be in breach of Section 44 of the Constitution which prohibits dual citizens from sitting in parliament |
| Bonk Ban | 2018 | Nationals | Barnaby Joyce | Joyce who was married at the time, was discovered having an affair with a staffer, who was pregnant with his baby. In response a code of conduct was introduced that prevented relationships between MPs and staffers |
| Helloworld scandal | 2019 | Liberal Party | Mathias Cormann, Joe Hockey | It was uncovered that government contracts were being given to a Liberal Party donor, who was also paying for the holidays of a number of MPs |

### Morrison government

| Controversy "name" | Date | Parties involved | People involved | Summary |
| Allegations of war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016 | 2016–21 | Morrison government | David McBride, Dan Oakes, Sam Clark, Annika Smethurst, Peter Dutton, Christian Porter, and others | Publication of the allegations, based on leaked documents, by the ABC lead in 2019 to the Australian Federal Police raiding the ABC's Ultimo offices (as well as News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst's home, due to her reporting on another leaked plan to allow the ASD to spy on Australian citizens). Media organisations feared the raids posed a severe threat to investigative journalism, as well as to Australia's reputation as a free and open democracy. See also the Brereton Report. |
| Robodebt | 2016–19 | Liberal Party | Scott Morrison, Stuart Robert, Christian Porter | Centrelink were issuing automated illegal debts that had not been incurred by the individuals concerned. Scott Morrison was the lead figure in this scandal, he was the minister responsible for designing, funding, approving and continuing the project. The settlement cost the Australian taxpayers $112 million. Many people committed suicide after receiving the debt letters. |
| It's okay to be white | 2018 | Liberal Party One Nation | Christian Porter Mathias Cormann Pauline Hanson | The governing coalition supported a motion in the senate declaring "it's ok to be white" and opposing the "deplorable rise of anti-white racism and attacks on Western civilisation" |
| Chinese election signs | 2019 | Liberal Party | Gladys Liu Josh Frydenberg | The Liberal party put up signs in Mandarin in places with large Chinese populations that were deliberately made to look like they were produced by the AEC. The signs directed voters to vote for the Liberal Party. |
| 2019–20 bushfire response | 2019–20 | Liberal Party | Scott Morrison | Scott Morrison took a family holiday to Hawaii during one of the worst bushfire seasons on record. He returned only after significant public pressure. When touring bushfire affected communities, many residents refused to engage with Morrison. On a number of occasions Morrison forced a handshake on residents. The government released an ad praising their bushfire response. The ad was attacked as being a party political ad paid for by taxpayers. |
| Sports rorts affair (2020) | 2019–20 | Liberal Party Nationals | Bridget McKenzie | The government were providing grants for sports projects for communities in marginal electorates. Many of these projects were considered low priority or previously rejected, and were seen as a way to defend the marginal electorates. |
| Brian Houston invited to the White House | 2020 | Liberal Party | Scott Morrison | Scott Morrison's pastor, Houston, was invited by Morrison to attend an official White House dinner. Houston is under investigation for covering up his father's sex abuse. Morrison continually denied this as gossip until admitting it was true. |
| Destruction of Aboriginal cultural sites | 2020 | Liberal Party | Ken Wyatt, Ben Wyatt | Miners Rio Tinto destroyed two sites of Aboriginal cultural significance in Juukan Gorge. |
| 2021 Australian Parliament House sexual misconduct allegations | 2021 | Liberal Party ALP | Brittany Higgins, Linda Reynolds, Christian Porter, Scott Morrison, Andrew Laming | Two separate ongoing allegations including rape and sexual assault, both raised in February 2021, causing controversy for the Liberal-National Morrison government. These allegations have sparked further discussions over workplace culture, systemic misogyny and victim blaming within the Morrison government and Parliament as a whole, with the government heavily criticised for its response. |
| Murugappan family asylum claims | 2018–21 | Liberal Party | Scott Morrison, Peter Dutton, Karen Andrews | A Tamil family from Sri Lanka had applied for asylum. The government rejected their claims and wanted to send them back to Sri Lanka with their two Australian-born children. The family was sent to offshore detention for years while their case was taken to court. |
| Car park rorts affair | 2021 | Liberal Party | Scott Morrison, Josh Frydenberg, Tim Wilson, Michael Sukkar | The government handed out grants to build carparks near train stations a day before a federal election was called. The carparks had no tender process and were almost exclusively in Liberal party seats. Some were cancelled, or the site was not near train stations. |
| Scott Morrison ministerial positions controversy | 2020–2022 | Liberal Party | Scott Morrison, David Hurley, Christian Porter | Scott Morrison had himself secretly sworn in as Health Minister, Finance Minister, Treasurer, Home Affairs Minister, and Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources Minister at various times between 2020 and 2021, without announcement to the public, to Parliament, to the Ministerial staff, or in most cases to the existing relevant Ministers. |

## State controversies
### New South Wales

| Controversy "name" | Date | Administration | People involved | Summary |
| 1932 New South Wales constitutional crisis | 1932 | Lang | Dismissal of NSW Premier Jack Lang by governor Philip Game | |
| Metherell affair | 1992 | Greiner | Nick Greiner, Tim Moore, Terry Metherell | |
| Orange Grove affair | 2004 | Carr | | |
| Eddie Obeid corruption scandals | 2012 | Carr, Iemma, Rees, Keneally | Eddie Obeid, Ian Macdonald | |
| Grangegate | 2014 | O'Farrell | Barry O'Farrell | O'Farrell received a $3,000 bottle of Grange Hermitage and did not declare it. |
| Gladys Berejiklian resignation | 2021 | Berejiklian | Gladys Berejiklian | Berejiklian resigned when it was revealed that she was under ICAC investigation. |
| John Barilaro Trade Commissioner appointment | 2021 | Perrottet | John Barilaro, Stuart Ayres | Barilaro was appointed to a trade commissioner position in New York, questions raised about impropriety, Barilaro violently attacks cameraman, Ayres resigns as Trade Minister |

### Queensland

| Controversy "name" | Date | State | Administration | People involved | Summary |
| Mungana affair | 1929 | Queensland | Theodore | Corrupt actions by Qld. Premiers Ted Theodore and William McCormack | |
| Bjelkemander | 1972—1987 | Queensland | Bjelke-Petersen | Joh Bjelke-Petersen | Use of Malapportionment to keep National Party and Bjelke-Petersen in power. |
| Fitzgerald Inquiry | 1987 | Queensland | Bjelke-Petersen | Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Terry Lewis, Leisha Harvey, Don Lane, Brian Austin | Commission of Inquiry into Police Corruption |
| Scott Driscoll corruption scandals | 2013 | Queensland | Newman | Scott Driscoll | |

### South Australia

| Controversy "name" | Date | State | Administration | People involved | Summary |
| Playmander | 1936–1968 | South Australia | Playford | South Australian Electoral "gerrymander" favouring the Liberal and Country League and Sir Thomas Playford | |
| Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy | 1989–1997 | South Australia | Bannon, Arnold, Brown, Olsen | Ngarrindjeri people, Tom & Wendy Chapman, Michael Armitage, Robert Tickner, Ian McLachlan, John von Doussa | Building of a road bridge at Goolwa, linking Hindmarsh Island to the town. Resulted in the Hindmarsh Island Royal Commission. |
| State Bank of South Australia collapse | 1991 | South Australia | Bannon | It caused the resignation of premier John Bannon in 1992, and the crushing electoral defeat of the South Australian Labor government at the 1993 election. | |
| Motorola affair | 2001 | South Australia | Olsen | John Olsen | |

### Tasmania

| Controversy "name" | Date | Administration | People involved | Summary | Source |
| Edmund Rouse bribery scandal | 1989 | | Jim Cox, Robin Gray, Gunns | | |

### Victoria

| Controversy "name" | Date | Administration | People involved | Summary |
| State Bank of Victoria collapse | 1990 | Kirner | | These events were a key factor in the defeat of the Labor government of Joan Kirner and the election of the Liberal Party, led by Jeff Kennett, at the 1992 Victorian state election |
| Red Shirts rorts scandal | 2018 | Andrews | Daniel Andrews | In 2018, the Victorian Ombudsman found the Victorian Labor had misused $388,000 of taxpayer funds which were used to win the 2014 Victorian election. |
| Branch stacking scandal | 2020 | Andrews | Daniel Andrews, Adem Somyurek, Jenny Mikakos | High level and wide reaching cases of branch stacking (internal vote rigging) in the Victorian Labor party. Outcome was the federal party taking over the state branch for several years to fix the problem |

### Western Australia

| Controversy "name" | Date | Administration | People involved |
| Nevanas affair | 1915 | Scaddan | Actions leading to the downfall of John Scaddan's W.A. government |
| WA Inc royal commission | 1992 | Burke | Brian Burke, Alan Bond, Laurie Connell |
| Easton affair | 1992 | Court | Carmen Lawrence |