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 Hopetoun William Lyne Edmund 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.	[1]

Deakin government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Petriana affair	1903	Government: Protectionist	Alfred Deakin|[[James Drake}}	Citing the White Australia policy, the government refused permission for shipwrecked sailors of Asian origin to land in Australia.	[2]

Hughes government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
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.
–	1918	Government: Nationalist	Jens Jensen Billy Hughes	Jensen was sacked from the ministry after a royal commission reported unfavourable on his conduct as navy minister.	[3]
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.	[4]

Bruce–Page government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Walsh–Johnson case	1925	Government: Nationalist	Tom Walsh Jacob Johnson Littleton Groom	The government unsuccessfully sought to deport Walsh and Johnson, foreign-born leaders of the militant Seamen's Union. Groom resigned as Attorney-General.	[5]

Scullin government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
ALP split of 1931	1931	Government: ALP	James Scullin Joseph Lyons Jack 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	Source
Kisch case	1934	Government: UAP Opposition: ALP	Egon Kisch Joseph Lyons Robert Menzies Herbert Evatt	The government failed to stop a member of the German Communist Party from entering Australia.
Freer case	1936	Government: UAP/Country	Mabel Freer Thomas 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.	[6]
	1938	Government: UAP	Alexander McLachlan	McLachlan resigned as Postmaster-General following revelations of a conflict of interest with his business affairs.	[7]
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.	[8]

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.

Chifley government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
New South Wales coal strike	1949	Government: ALP	Ben Chifley	The govermnent 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 Petrov Evdokia Petrova Robert Menzies H. 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. Evatt B. 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 Menzies John Spicer Harold Holt Edward 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 Holt Peter Howson Vince Gair Arthur Calwell John Gorton	Government cover-up of misuse of RAAF VIP flights; Holt and Hewson misled parliament.	[9]

Whitlam government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
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	[10]

Fraser government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
	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.	[11]
	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.	[11]
	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.	[12]
	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.	[12]
Colour TV affair	1982	Government: Liberal	Michael MacKellar John 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.	[13]

Hawke government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Combe–Ivanov affair	1983	Government: ALP	David Combe Valery Ivanov Mick Young	Young resigned as Special Minister of State following revelations he had leaked the government's decision to expel Soviet diplomat Ivanov.	[14]
	1987	Government: ALP	John Brown	Brown resigned from the ministry after misleading parliament over World Expo 88 tenders.	[15]
	1988	Government: ALP	Mick Young Stephen Loosley	Young resigned from parliament and the ministry after allegations he had mishandled campaign donations. Loosley later accepted responsibility for the errors.	[15]

Keating government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Marshall Islands affair	1992	Government: ALP	Graham Richardson Greg 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.	[16]
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.	[17]
Sports rorts affair	1994	Government: ALP	Ros Kelly	Kelly resigned from the ministry, and later from parliament, over allegations of pork barreling.	[17]

Howard government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
	1996	Government: Liberal	Jim Short Brian Gibson	Short and Gibson separately resigned as parliamentary secretaries due to conflicts of interest relating to their shareholdings.	[18]
	1997	Government: Liberal	Geoff Prosser	Prosser resigned from the ministry due to a conflict of interest relating to his ownership of a small business.	[18]
Travel rorts	1997	Government: Liberal/National	David Jull Peter McGauran John 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.	[19]
Tampa affair	2001	Government: Liberal	John Howard Philip Ruddock	The government refused to allow asylum-seekers to enter Australia.
Children Overboard affair	2001	Government: Liberal	John Howard Peter Reith	Howard falsely claimed that asylum seekers were throwing their children into the water so the navy would be forced to rescue them.	[20]
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 Haneef Philip Ruddock Kevin Andrews	Haneef's visa was cancelled following false allegations he had aided terrorists.
Lindsay pamphlet scandal	2007	Government: Liberal	Jackie Kelly David 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
Pink Batts scandal	2010	ALP	Kevin Rudd, Peter Garrett

Gillard government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
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"	[21]
Peter Slipper affair	2012	Liberal Party ALP	Peter Slipper, James Ashby

Abbott government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Offshore detention crisis	2013-2019	Liberal Party	Tony Abbott Scott Morrison	Asylum seekers were locked up indefinitely while their refugee status was being assessed
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	[22]
Australian Water Holdings corruption scandal	2013	Liberal Party	Arthur Sinodinos	Corruption in Australian Water Holdings and ICAC investigation into fundraising at the Liberal Party	[23][24]
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
Shirtfronting Putin	2014	Liberal Party	Tony Abbott	Abbott promised to "shirtfront" Putin when confronting him about his role in the MH17 disaster	[25]
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	[26]
Joe Hockey home ownership gaff	2015	Liberal Party	Joe Hockey	With house prices rising sharply, treasurer Joe Hockey said on radio that the first step to home ownership was "get a good job that pays good money"	[27]
Dutton overheard on a hot mic	2015	Liberal Party	Peter Dutton Tony Abbott Scott Morrison	Peter Dutton at a press conference was overheard on an overhead microphone saying about the Pacific Islands that "time doesn't mean anything when you're about to have water lapping at your door"	[28]
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	Source
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	[29]
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	[30]

Morrison government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Robodebt	2018-19	Liberal Party	Scott Morrison, Stuart Robert, Christian Porter	Centrelink were issuing automated debts that had not been incurred by the individuals concerned.
It's ok 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"	[31]
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 voter to vote for the Liberal Party	[32]
Hawaii holiday	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	[33]
Forced hand shakes	2020	Liberal Party	Scott Morrison	When touring bushfire affected communities, many residents refused to engage with Morrison. On a number of occasions Morrison forced a handshake on residents	[34]
Bushfire response ad	2020	Liberal Party	Scott Morrison	The government released an ad praising their bushfire response. The ad was attacked as being a party political ad paid for by taxpayers	[35]
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 to attend an official White House dinner. Houston is under investigation for covering up his father's sex abuse	[36]
Destruction of Aboriginal cultural sites	2020	Liberal Party	Ken Wyatt	Miners Rio Tinto destroyed two sites of Aboriginal cultural significance in Juukan Gorge.	[37][38]

State controversies

New South Wales

Controversy "name"	Date	State	Administration	People involved	Summary	Source
1932 New South Wales constitutional crisis	1932	NSW	Lang	Dismissal of NSW Premier Jack Lang by governor Philip Game
Metherell affair	1992	NSW	Greiner	Nick Greiner, Tim Moore, Terry Metherell
Orange Grove affair	2004	NSW	Carr
Eddie Obeid corruption scandals	2012	NSW	Carr, Iemma, Rees, Keneally	Eddie Obeid, Ian Macdonald
Grangegate	2014	NSW	O'Farrell	Barry O'Farrell	O'Farrell received a $3,000 bottle of Grange Hermitage and did not declare it.

Queensland

Controversy "name"	Date	State	Administration	People involved	Summary	Source
Mungana affair	1929	Queensland	Theodore	Corrupt actions by Qld. Premiers Ted Theodore and William McCormack
Bjelkemander	1972 -1987	Queensland	Bjelke-Petersen	Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Fitzgerald Inquiry	1987	Queensland	Bjelke-Petersen	Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Terry Lewis, Leisha Harvey, Don Lane, Brian Austin
Scott Driscoll corruption scandals	2013	Queensland	Newman	Scott Driscoll

South Australia

Controversy "name"	Date	State	Administration	People involved	Summary	Source
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	Source
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
Lobster with a Mobster	2018	Andrews	Matthew Guy	The opposition leader, Guy was photographed having lunch with an alleged organised crime boss	[39]
Branch stacking scandal	2020	Andrews	Adem Somyurek	High level and wide reaching cases of branch stacking 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	Summary	Source
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

References

1. La Nauze, John (1957). The Hopetoun Blunder: The Appointment of the First Prime Minister of Australia, December 1900. Melbourne University Press.
2. Foster, Leonie (2014). "Shipwrecks and the White Australia policy". The Great Circle. The Australian Association for Maritime History. 36 (2): 68–84. JSTOR 24583070.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
3. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 11.
4. King, Terry (1983). "The Tarring and Feathering of J. K. McDougall: 'Dirty Tricks' in the 1919 Federal Election". Labour History. 45: 54–67.
5. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 12.
6. Hartcher, Peter (4 December 2019). "From the Archives, 1936: The lady, the puritan, and the cover-up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
7. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 15.
8. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 16.
9. Hancock, Ian (2003). "The V.I.P. Affair, 1966–67: The causes, course and consequences of a ministerial and public service cover-up" (PDF). Australasian Parliamentary Review. Australasian Study of Parliament Group. 18(2).
10. Twomey, Anne. "Australian politics explainer: Gough Whitlam's dismissal as prime minister". The Conversation. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
11. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 23.
12. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 24.
13. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 25.
14. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 26.
15. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 27.
16. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 31.
17. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 34.
18. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 35.
19. Wilson & Healy 2017, p. 35–36.
20. Marr, David (2014-02-11). "Burnt hands, children overboard, it all seems the same to Peter Reith | David Marr". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
21. Muller, Denis. "Sexist abuse has a long history in Australian politics – and takes us all to a dark place". The Conversation. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
22. "Abbott rejects Indonesia's call for spying apology". www.abc.net.au. 2013-11-19. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
23. Griffiths, political correspondent Emma (2014-03-19). "Sinodinos stands aside as Assistant Treasurer over ICAC investigation". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
24. Elvery, Simon (2014-04-29). "A tangled web: ICAC investigates NSW corruption". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
25. "What is a 'shirtfront'?". www.abc.net.au. 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
26. "Angus Houston, Prince Philip named Australia's newest knights". ABC News. 2015-01-26. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
27. Clarke, political reporters Melissa; Bennett, James (2015-06-09). "'Get a good job': Hockey under fire over advice to first-home buyers". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
28. "Dutton jokes about rising sea levels in Pacific". www.abc.net.au. 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
29. Crowe, David (2020-04-16). "'How could he have been so stupid': Turnbull, Joyce and the 'bonk ban' debacle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
30. Hatch, Patrick (2019-02-22). "Suspicious minds are circling Helloworld boss". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
31. "Senators backed Hanson's 'OK to be white' motion by mistake: Government". www.abc.net.au. 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
32. Taylor, Josh (2019-11-06). "Liberal official admits Chinese language signs were meant to look like they came from AEC". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
33. Remeikis, Amy (2019-12-20). "Scott Morrison's Hawaii horror show: how a PR disaster unfolded". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
34. Staff; agencies (2020-01-02). "Scott Morrison heckled after he tries to shake hands with bushfire victim in NSW town of Cobargo". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
35. "'Like being sold to at a funeral': Morrison slammed for running political ads during fire crisis". www.abc.net.au. 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
36. "Morrison admits inviting controversial pastor to White House dinner". The New Daily. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
37. "Rio Tinto blasting of 46,000-year-old Aboriginal sites compared to Islamic State's destruction in Palmyra". www.abc.net.au. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
38. Wahlquist, Calla (2020-05-30). "Juukan Gorge: Rio Tinto blasting of Aboriginal site prompts calls to change antiquated laws". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
39. "Liberals review slams town party for 'lobster with a mobster'". NewsComAu. 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2020-06-17.

Further reading

• Wilson, Janet; Healy, Margaret (2017). "That's it—I'm leaving: ministerial departures 1901–2017" (PDF). Australian Parliamentary Library.