page_title: Conscription in Australia
section_title: World War I
hierarchical_section_title: Conscription in Australia / World War I
caption_attribution_description: English: The Blood Vote - Anti-conscription handbill poem issued during anti-conscription campaign, 1917. Purportedly written by William Robert Winspear. Note: Leaflet with a verse by W. R. Winspear and a drawing by Claude Marquet, features an image a deeply worried woman casting a 'Yes' vote while Billy Hughes, Australia's labor prime minister and supporter of conscription, looks on gleefully. It was printed by Fraser &amp; Jenkinson in Melbourne, 1917 and authorised by J. Curtin, Secretary for the 'National Executive'. 'The Blood Vote' was widely-published in papers such as The Australian Worker, The Westralian Worker and The Catholic Press. It was also posted directly into letterboxes.
context_page_description: Conscription in Australia, or mandatory military service also known as National Service, has a controversial history dating back to the first years of nationhood. Australia currently only has provisions for conscription during times of war when authorised by the governor-general and approved within 90 days by both houses of parliament as outlined in the Defence Act 1903.
context_section_description: Under Labor prime minister Billy Hughes, full conscription for overseas service was attempted during WWI through two plebiscites.
  The first plebiscite was held on 28 October 1916 and narrowly rejected conscription with a margin of 49% for and 51% against. The plebiscite of 28 October 1916 asked Australians:
  Are you in favour of the Government having, in this grave emergency, the same compulsory powers over citizens in regard to requiring their military service, for the term of this War, outside the Commonwealth, as it now has in regard to military service within the Commonwealth?
  A second plebiscite was held on 20 December 1917 and defeated by 46% for and 54% against. The question put to Australians was:
  Are you in favour of the proposal of the Commonwealth Government for reinforcing the Commonwealth Forces overseas?
  After the failure of the first plebiscite, Billy Hughes and his supporters left the Australian Labor Party parliamentary caucus, taking with them a good deal of the parliamentary party's talent. They created a new National Labor Party, and Hughes survived as prime minister by forming a conservative Nationalist government, dependent for survival on the Commonwealth Liberal Party. The remainder of the Labor Party, under their new leader Frank Tudor, then expelled Hughes and all who had followed him. Following the split, Labor stayed out of office for ten years.
  After the first plebiscite the government used the War Precautions Act and the Unlawful Associations Act to arrest and prosecute anti-conscriptionists such as Tom Barker, editor of Direct Action and many other members of the Industrial Workers of the World and E. H. Coombe (who had three sons at the front) of the Daily Herald. The young John Curtin, at the time a member of the Victorian Socialist Party, was also arrested. Anti-conscriptionist publications (in one case, even when read into Hansard), were seized by government censors in police raids.
  Other notable opponents to Conscription included the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne Daniel Mannix, the Queensland Labor Premier Thomas Ryan, Vida Goldstein and the Women's Peace Army. Most trade unions actively opposed conscription. The County Cork born Archbishop Mannix stated that Ireland had been more wronged by Great Britain than Belgium had been by Germany.
  Many people thought positively of conscription as a sign of loyalty to Britain and thought that it would also support those men who were already fighting. However, trade unions feared that their members might be replaced by cheaper foreign or female labour and opposed conscription. Some groups argued that the whole war was immoral, and it was unjust to force people to fight.
  South Africa and India were the only other participating countries not to introduce conscription during the First World War.
caption: 1917 Handbill – The Blood Vote
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