vietnam war, public opinion

Public Opinion

From 1962 – 1971 Australia was involved in the Vietnam War. The elected Prime Minister of Australia was Sir Robert Menzies from1949 till 1965. In 1962 the government started to introduce the belief to the Australian public, that if Vietnam fell to communism, then the other countries in South East Asia would fall one by one to communism. At the beginning the main reason for Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War was the fear of communism overtaking Australia. The government had decided that there is no other alternative than to get involved in the war, and also to introduce compulsory service. The Australian public was afraid of communism and it can be that this view has affected some people’s decision to fight in the war. The Australian public admired and looked up to the former Prime Minister and initially did not oppose the re-introduction of compulsory service in the Vietnam War. In 1964 it was becoming clear that the war would worsen and that Australia w...