The VIP aircraft affair was an Australian political controversy relating to the use of

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(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 The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

. It occurred in the lead-up to the 1967 Senate election. In an attempt to avoid negative media coverage, Prime Minister

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in S ...

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

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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

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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 The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. 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