The War Precautions Act 1914 was an Act of the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

which gave the

Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federalism, federal parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster system, Westminster-sty ...

special powers for the duration of World War I and for six months afterwards. It was held by the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

in ''

Farey v Burvett ''Farey v Burvett'', is an early High Court of Australia case concerning the extent of the defence power of the Commonwealth. The majority of the Court took an expansive view of the defence power in a time of war, holding that the defence powe ...

'' that during wartime, the scope of the federal Government's power under Section 51(vi) of the

Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the ...

(under which the Act was passed) expands to meet the exigencies of wartime. As a result, the responsibility for defence policy lies solely with the Parliament and the Executive. There were 3,442 prosecutions under the Act, almost all of which were successful.

Provisions

Under the Act, which was to be read as one with the ''Defence Act 1903–1912'', the Commonwealth could make regulations "for securing the public safety and the defence of the Commonwealth", including: :* preventing

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

and other activity that could "jeopardize the success of the operations of any of His Majesty's forces," securing "the safety of any means of communication", and preventing "the spread of reports likely to cause disaffection or alarm" (the breach of which was subject to trial by

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

) :* prohibiting aliens from entering the Commonwealth, or requiring their deportation therefrom :* prohibiting aliens from residing or remaining in a specified place, or requiring them to reside and remain in a specified place :* regulating the registration and change of abode of aliens, and any travelling and trading done by them :* imposing similar restriction on naturalize citizens as can be imposed on aliens :* requiring "any person to disclose any information in his possession as to any matter" :* preventing "money or goods being sent out of Australia" except under certain conditions Later amendments expanded the scope of regulations to cover: :* the restriction the transmission abroad of all written communication other than through the post1915 Act :* the ownership of property held by enemy aliens, and the regulation or restriction of any trade or business operated by them1916 Act :* the conditions (ie, times, place and prices) of the disposal or use of any thing :* the requisitioning of any thing From 1915, the scale of punishments for offences under the Act was: :* on

summary conviction A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment (required for an indictable offence). Canada In Canada, summary offenc ...

: a fine of up to £100 or imprisonment up to six months, or both :* on

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...

: a fine of any amount or imprisonment for any term, or both :* on court-martial: the same punishment as if the offender had been subject to

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

:* where, on indictment or court-martial, an offence was committed with the intention of assisting the enemy: the person was liable to suffer death Regulations issued under the Act required all persons over 16 years of age, on leaving Australia, to possess a passport.

Other wartime legislation

Although the Act possessed very broad scope, it was not omnipotent. Other Acts were passed by the Parliament during the war relating to: :* criminal and civil sanctions for

trading with the enemy Trading with the enemy is a legal term of English origin that is used with a number of related meanings. It refers to: #An offence at common law and under statute #A ground for condemnation of ships in prize proceedings #A ground for illegality a ...

, :* cancellation of commercial contracts with firms in enemy countries, and :* levying of an income tax

Controversies

During the conscription referendums of

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...

and

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

, a regulation that banned statements likely to prejudice recruiting was used to hamper the anti-conscription campaign. Almost any anti-conscriptionist speech could be construed as offending, and a number of prominent anti-conscriptionists were charged, including

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...

. When coal-miners in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

went on strike in 1916, the Act was used to empower the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

to order the men back to work. The following year, a nationwide strike of Waterfront workers was defeated by the passing of a regulation that deprived the

Waterside Workers Federation The Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia (WWF) was an Australian trade union that existed from 1902 to 1993. After a period of negotiations between other Australian maritime unions, it was federated in 1902 and first federally registered ...

of preferences in seven of the busiest ports in Australia. Although in many cases the use of the Act in settling labour disputes could be seen as necessary for the war effort, some other uses appeared calculated to suppress the

labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

. For example, in September 1918 the Act was used to ban the use of the red flag, a traditional labour emblem. Following the end of the war, the Act's continued operation lead to a series of violent demonstrations known as the

Red Flag Riots The Red Flag riots were a series of violent demonstrations and attacks that occurred in Brisbane, Australia over the course of 1918–19.Dennis et al. 1995, p. 493. The attacks were largely undertaken by returned soldiers from the First Australi ...

Demise

The Act was later repealed by the ''War Precautions Act Repeal Act 1920''.

Provisions

Other wartime legislation

Controversies

Demise

See also

Notes

References

Further reading