Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows archival black-and-white footage of the Labor senator Lionel Murphy speaking at an antiwar rally in Sydney. His face is shown in close-up and members of the audience, some rising out of their seats, are shown with fingers raised in the V for victory sign. Murphy’s speech, which urges an end to conscription and the Vietnam War, is greeted by cheers.

Educational value points

• Lionel Murphy urged an end to the conscription of Australian youth, one of the key concerns of those engaged in the anti-Vietnam War movement. Conscription was introduced in 1964 in Australia. The system featured a ballot based on randomly chosen birth dates. For any date selected, all 20-year-old males born on that day would be conscripted for 2 years on a full-time basis and they could be sent overseas. This selective system was seen as undemocratic and a campaign to dissuade young men from registering for conscription gained increasing support.

• Lionel Murphy (1922–86), a Labor Party MP with a lifetime commitment to social justice and civil liberties, is seen in the clip opposing the war in Vietnam. At the time he was shadow attorney-general and with the election of the Whitlam government in 1972 he became leader of the government in the Senate, minister of customs and excise, and attorney-general. Probably his most significant achievement in these roles was the passing of the Family Law Act, which established 'no fault’ divorce in Australia.

• Lionel Murphy was a controversial figure, renowned for his outspoken defence of social justice issues such as the role of the United Nations, human rights, Indigenous health and discrimination. A political reformer, he was instrumental in creating Senate Standing Committees. He was appointed to the High Court in 1975 where he continued to divide public opinion through his often dissenting decisions. He died shortly after being acquitted of charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

• This clip shows scenes of the anti-Vietnam War protest movement in Australia. Opposition to the War grew slowly from 1963, predominantly on university campuses. Televised images of the War strongly influenced antiwar feeling. Opposition to conscription was a powerful part of the peace movement in Australia. A Gallup Poll in August 1969 revealed that a majority of Australians favoured bringing Australian troops home. In May 1970 more than 200,000 people marched in street protests across Australia.

• Australia’s participation in the Vietnam War is claimed by some to have given rise to the greatest expression of social dissent and division since the conscription referendums of the First World War. During March and April 1969, 302 people were arrested in street marches and sit-ins across the country. The protest movement reached a peak in May 1970 when the first Moratorium was organised, with up to 70,000 participating in Melbourne and 20,000 in Sydney. Two more moratorium campaigns, held in September 1970 and June 1971, were not as successful as the first.

• Opposition to Australia’s participation in the Vietnam War grew from 1967 as awareness of the War and opposition to conscription increased. During the years of Australia’s involvement, 1962–72, 47,000 Australians served in Vietnam. Ground troops included those who had been conscripted under the National Service Scheme that operated from November 1964 to December 1972. As a result of the War, 520 Australians died and almost 2,400 were wounded. The conflict resulted in 58,000 American deaths and it is claimed that as many as 3 million people died as a result of the hostilities.

This clip starts approximately 54 minutes into the documentary.

Federal Opposition shadow minister Lionel Murphy is addressing a crowd. The crowd cheer and applaud.
Lionel Murphy That is the most important issue facing all Australians. It transcends all else. We are here to end the war in Vietnam.
The crowd cheer and applaud.
Murphy We are here to end the conscription of Australian youth for an unjust war.
The crowd cheer and applaud.
Murphy My fellow citizens, in the interests of peace, in the interests of justice, we must withdraw our troops immediately.
The crowd cheer and applaud.