Australian Labour Movement - Governments

Governments

Labour candidates emerged in the late 19th century with much success, being a part of informal coalition governments from the early 1890s. The first Labour government in the world came in 1899 through Anderson Dawson, and the first national Labour government in the world in 1904 through Chris Watson. Then came the first national Labour majority government in the world, the first national majority government in Australia, and the first Senate majority in Australia, in 1910 through Andrew Fisher. The state branches formed their first majority governments in New South Wales and South Australia in 1910, in Western Australia in 1911, and in Queensland in 1915. Such success eluded equivalent social democratic and labour parties in other countries for many years. The 113 acts passed in the three years of the federal Fisher government was unprecedented, a period of reform unmatched in the Commonwealth up until that point. The government carried out many reforms in defence, constitutional matters, finance, transport and communications, and social security, such as establishing old-age and disability pensions, a maternity allowance and workers compensation, issuing Australia's first paper currency, forming the Royal Australian Navy, the commencement of construction for the Trans-Australian Railway, expanding the bench of the High Court of Australia, founding Canberra and establishing the government-owned Commonwealth Bank.