War Precautions Act 1914

The War Precautions Act 1914 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which gave the Government of Australia special powers for the duration of World War I and for six months afterwards.

Under the War Precautions Act, the federal Government could make laws about anything that affected the war effort. This included the power to make laws that were not normally within its prerogative; that is, the limitations on federal power provided by the Constitution were set aside. For example, under the War Precautions Act the federal Government had the power to levy an income tax, whereas under the Constitution that power belonged exclusively to the States.

Furthermore, many of the powers available to the federal Government under the Act were exercisable under Regulation. This means that they did not need to be passed by Parliament in order to became law. Any document prepared by the relevant Minister and signed by the Governor-General became law. Many War Precautions Regulations were made in this way.

Some of the activities carried out under the authority of the War Precautions Act include:

• cancellation of commercial contracts with firms in enemy countries;
• levying of an income tax;
• price fixing;
• interning of "enemy aliens"; and
• censorship of publications and letters.

There were 3442 prosecutions under the Act, almost all of which were successful. Penalties ranged from cautionary fines to imprisonment for up to six months.

Some of the uses of the War Precautions Act were highly controversial. For example, leading up to the referendums on conscription, 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-constriptionists were charged, including John Curtin.

Another controversial use of the Act was in the settling of labour disputes. When coal-miners in New South Wales went on strike in 1916, the Act was used to empower the Attorney-General 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 Waterfront Workers Union 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. For example in September 1918 the War Precautions Act was used to ban the use of the red flag, a traditional labour emblem.

The War Precautions Act was repealed by the War Precautions Act Repeal Act 1920.

References

• Scott, Ernest (1941). The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918, Volume XI: Australian During The War. Angus and Robertson, Sydney. Available at the Australian War Memorial website.