The VIP aircraft affair was an Australian political controversy relating to the use of
Royal Australian Air Force
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(RAAF)
VIP aircraft by the
Holt Government and its predecessor the
Menzies Government
Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges.
Derivation and history
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. It occurred in the lead-up to the
1967 Senate election.
In an attempt to avoid negative media coverage, Prime Minister
Harold Holt provided vague and inaccurate answers to
parliamentary questions
A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...
about the VIP fleet, notably denying the existence of
passenger manifests which might confirm instances of misuse. Air Minister
Peter Howson
Peter Howson OBE (born 27 March 1958) is a Scottish painter. He was a British official war artist in 1993 during the Bosnian War.
Early life
Peter Howson was born in London of Scottish parents and moved with his family to Prestwick, A ...
became aware of the inaccuracies and sought to protect Holt, but their statements were soon subjected to further scrutiny, leading to accusations that they had conspired to
mislead parliament. The situation came to a head in October 1967, when the
opposition
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moved to call senior public servants before the Senate, but was defused somewhat by the decision on the 25th of October of
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...
, the
Leader of the Government in the Senate, to
table
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the "missing" passenger manifests.
The controversy weakened Holt's popularity and diminished the reputations of Holt and Howson within the
Liberal Party
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.
However, its significance was lessened by
the drowning death of Holt in December 1967. Gorton's decisive action, although initially harmful to the government, boosted his standing among government senators and may have contributed to
his election as Holt's successor.
References
Further reading
* {{cite journal, url=https://www.aspg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/VIP-final.pdf, title=The V.I.P. Affair, 1966–67: The causes, course and consequences of a ministerial and public service cover-up, first=Ian, last=Hancock, journal=Australasian Parliamentary Review, volume=18, publisher=Australasian Study of Parliament Group, year=2003, issue=2
1967 in Australia
Political scandals in Australia
1967 in aviation
Transport in Australia