However, at that time, Australia was on the eve of the general election, so the Liberal government worked in two aspects. On the one hand, preparing for the general election, on the other hand, sending expeditionary forces to Europe to participate in the war. The Labour Party won the election, and Andrew Fisher was elected as the new government of the Australian Federal Prime Minister.
After the internal affairs were settled, Fisher's government immediately set about solving the problem of participating in the war. The biggest problem facing the government is how to turn the country from peace to war. This is a brand-new problem for Australia. Because there has never been a war in Australia since 1788, Australia is far from Europe and isolated in the southern hemisphere. Suddenly, the war came, making the domestic life war a big problem. The Labor government has taken a series of measures to organize the whole country, set up an army, raise military expenses, develop the economy, boost domestic morale, and make full preparations for direct participation in military operations.
Two months after the declaration of war on Germany, the first expeditionary forces were sent to Europe, and Australia's slogan was "save the empire and defend Australia". The first expeditionary forces were all volunteers. After the war, the government called on people to volunteer to join the army, and the registration was very enthusiastic.
In view of the fact that the existing laws are not enough to deal with the extraordinary situation, the Federal Parliament passed an important decree, the Wartime Alert Law, which gave the federal government extremely extensive powers, enabled the government to conduct censorship of the press and publication, and established a centralized military management system. Another important law is the Law on Prohibiting Trade with the Enemy, which covers a wide range and imposes heavy penalties. Enterprises that violate laws and regulations will be reviewed or even taken over.
The war in Europe and Asia was fierce, and Australian troops kept going to the battlefield, so the source of soldiers became the biggest problem facing the federal government at that time. Australia implements voluntary military service instead of compulsory military service, and there is no fundamental guarantee for the source of soldiers. It can be said that during the whole war, the problem of military resources has always been the biggest and most troublesome problem faced by the government. At that time, the ruling Labor Party always opposed compulsory military service. Fisher, the leader of the Labor Party, resolutely resigned as Prime Minister in June of 5438+09 15, and Hughes, another leader of the Labor Party, succeeded him as Prime Minister. Hughes' compulsory military service in Australia has not been resolved after two referendums.
However, during the whole war, the Australian army always maintained the establishment of five divisions, and more than 400,000 soldiers and more than 300,000 people were sent to Europe, Asia and Africa to fight in the battlefield. The proportion of casualties of the Australian army is also very large, with the total number of casualties exceeding 60% of the starting number, which is the highest among all countries in the empire. From1914-1919, Australia has spent more than 300 million pounds on war expenses, in addition, it has spent about 270 million pounds on annuities, repatriation expenses, interest of the wounded, war debts and subsidies for returning soldiers, totaling 600 million pounds. With a population of 5 million, the per capita financial loss in wartime was nearly 65,433. This number is quite large.