New South Wales is at war!

On Wednesday 5 August 1914, Premier William Holman walked onto the floor of the Legislative Assembly chamber to issue a Ministerial Statement. Great Britain had declared war on Germany and as a result, Australia was now also at war. Premier Holman stated that “such an event necessarily casts new duties on the Government of the state, and will probably cast on the Parliament of the state new and additional duties… which will demand the closest attention of the Government and of honourable members generally in the course of the next few days.”  

The Premier believed that some of the biggest challenges for the people of New South Wales would be connected to: 

• Finance 

• Industry 

• Ordinary life for communities 

In his statement to the Parliament, Premier Holman told those in attendance that he had offered “unreservedly” to place the resources of the Government of New South Wales at the command of the Federal Parliament. The Federal Government was responsible for arranging the effective defence of Australia. This would be the first occasion where New South Wales would join their fellow states to fight under the newly federated Australian nation in a time of war.

The Premier concluded his statement by declaring that there was “no occasion for hysteria or panic“. He also encouraged all members of the Parliament, regardless of their party, to express “a loyal and resolute determination to remain united in front of the common danger and in opposition to the common enemy.”

The leader of the opposition, Charles Wade, agreed with the Premier. He also acknowledged that most of the responsibility for supporting Great Britain was with the Federal Government. However, he believed that “there are many functions and spheres of action over which the Federal authorities have no jurisdiction, and in respect to which the state can be of the utmost assistance indirectly as well as directly in helping a united Empire“. He added that the period of war would bring challenges and would require sacrifices from everyone.

“We are confronted with a period of trial involving sacrifices on the part of every section of the community. We have taken our own part as politicians by sinking all party issues and lines of party cleavage, but we cannot close our eyes to the fact that with the declaration of war the means of transport must at all events, for some time be crippled, and the volume of trade and industry which has reached large dimensions in the Commonwealth of recent years, must, for the time being, be brought, more or less, to a standstill.

That inevitably involves a curtailment of profits, a shrinkage in the volume of business and a curtailment in the channels of employment. I, therefore, say that one and all should be prepared for some sort of sacrifice in the near future, and I only hope and trust that every section of New South Wales will be prepared to share the sacrifices with each other.”

Charles Wade, Leader of the Opposition

 

Questions!

After Premier Holman and Opposition leader Wade had spoken, the Premier was asked five questions by his fellow members of Parliament. Each question gives a unique insight into what was considered important by the members at the outbreak of war. Although Australians were beginning to enlist for service overseas, it was important that the Australian homefront was looked after. The NSW Government had several matters to consider:

• 1. 1. Fake News!

  Colonel James Macarthur-Onslow, the member for Bondi, asked a question about the possibility of prosecuting the Sun newspaper for publishing misleading and malicious false headlines (fake news!). The Premier responded that there were no powers to prosecute newspapers for publishing what is not true. In fact, as the war continued, censorship would become quite common and accurate facts were often left out of newspaper articles.

  1. 1. Money!

  Dr. Richard Arthur, the member for Middle Harbour, asked a question about the salaries of the members of Parliament. He made the point that in times of prosperity their salaries went up, so should they now be lowered as a way of sharing in the sufferings of their communities? The Premier answered by asking members to “refrain from suggesting panic legislation” or that “historical or extreme steps should be taken.” He didn’t want such questions to be mistaken for fact.

  1. 1. Germans!

  Richard Ball, the member for Corowa, asked the Premier to state publicly the desire not to cause unnecessary offence to thousands of German descendants living in Australia. Premier Holman responded that he hoped to speak on behalf of the community that although Australia was now at war with Germany, it did not change the friendly attitude towards Germans living throughout the state. However, at the federal level the government established internment camps for ‘enemy aliens’ in which a few thousand Germans were held for the duration of the war. These decisions reflected the division of powers that came as a result of Federation, whereby the Federal Government were able to overrule the State Governments on certain matters.

  1. 1. Food!

  William Robson, the member for Ashfield, asked the Premier to protect against any attempts to inflate the price of essential foodstuffs as a result of the war. Holman asked for additional time to properly consider the question and made reference to it the following day. He stated that if the issue became more widespread, they would not hesitate to deal with it in the House.

  1. 1. Industry!

  Thomas Thrower, the member for Macquarie, asked whether the Premier would allow industrial organisations of the state an opportunity to express their views before any industrial laws were altered as a result of the war. Premier Holman replied that it was “impossible for me to make any statement of definite action on that question tonight.” After a lengthy discussion with his cabinet and the leader of the opposition, there were no proposed changes to increase the powers of the Government over the industrial workers.

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