Government of Menzies III

The Menzies III government ruled Australia from October 28, 1940 to August 29, 1941. It was a coalition government of the United Australia Party (UAP) and the Country Party (CP).

The previous government was a coalition government of the UAP and the CP under Prime Minister Robert Menzies . In the parliamentary elections on September 21, 1940 , the UAP lost 5 seats and the CP 2 seats, and with a total of 33 of 75 seats in the House of Representatives, they were dependent on the support of 2 independent MPs. In the Senate , the government was able to hold its majority of 20 of the 36 seats. Menzies became prime minister again. Menzies offered the Labor Party, which he did not like, to form a large “war coalition” such as that which existed in the Churchill cabinet in Great Britain . Labor repeatedly refused to do this, insisting that Australian troops be kept at home and not deployed in European theaters of war. From January to May 1941 Menzies stayed abroad, first he visited the Australian troops in North Africa and Palestine, then he stayed in London. Menzies was increasingly criticized in public and even in his own party, among other things because of suspicions that he wanted to succeed Churchill as British Prime Minister. When his cabinet colleagues refused to trust him on another planned trip to London, Menzies announced his resignation on August 27, 1941 and left office two days later. A UAP-CP government followed, with Country Party Chairman Arthur Fadden as Prime Minister.

List of ministers

minister
Office	minister	Political party	Term of office	image
prime minister	Robert Menzies	UAP	October 28, 1940 - August 29, 1941
Minister for the Coordination of Defense
Information minister			October 28, 1940 - December 13, 1940
	Harry Foll	UAP	December 13, 1940 - August 29, 1941
Treasury minister	Arthur Fadden	CP	October 28, 1940 - August 29, 1941
Attorney General	Billy Hughes	UAP	October 28, 1940 - August 29, 1941
Naval Minister
Army minister	Percy dispenser	UAP	October 28, 1940 - August 29, 1941
Vice President of the Executive Council	George McLeay	UAP	October 28, 1940 - June 26, 1941
Minister for Repatriation			October 28, 1940 - June 26, 1941
	Herbert Collett	UAP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Postmaster General	George McLeay	UAP	October 28, 1940 - June 26, 1941
	Thomas Collins	CP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Minister for the Air Force	John McEwen	CP	October 28, 1940 - August 29, 1941
Minister for Aviation
Interior minister	Harry Foll	UAP	October 28, 1940 - August 29, 1941
Economics Minister	Earle Page	CP	October 28, 1940 - August 29, 1941
Foreign minister	Frederick Stewart	UAP	October 28, 1940 - August 29, 1941
Minister of Health
Minister of Social Affairs
Munitions Minister	Philip McBride	UAP	October 28, 1940 - August 29, 1941
Minister for Supply and Development			October 28, 1940 - June 26, 1941
	George McLeay	UAP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Minister for Trade and Customs	Eric Harrison	UAP	October 28, 1940 - August 29, 1941
Minister for Labor and Military Service	Harold Holt	UAP	October 28, 1940 - August 29, 1941
Research Minister
Minister for Aircraft Production	John Leckie	UAP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Minister of transport	Hubert Lawrence Anthony	CP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Minister of War Economics	Eric Spooner	UAP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Minister of Homeland Security	Joe Abbott	CP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Minister for the External Territories	Allan McDonald	UAP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Minister without Portfolio and Assistant Minister
Minister without portfolio in charge of veterans accommodation	Herbert Collett	UAP	October 28, 1940 - June 26, 1941
Ministers with no portfolio in support of the Prime Minister in the External Territories	Thomas Collins	CP	October 28, 1940 - June 26, 1941
Assistant Minister in support of the Minister for the Coordination of Defense	Joe Abbott	CP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Minister with no portfolio in support of the treasurer	Hubert Lawrence Anthony	CP	October 28, 1940 - June 26, 1941
Assistant Minister in Support of the Treasurer			June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Assistant Minister for the Army	Joe Abbott	CP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Minister with no portfolio in support of the Minister for Repatriation	Herbert Collett	UAP	October 28, 1940 - June 26, 1941
Minister without portfolio in support of the interior minister	Thomas Collins	CP	October 28, 1940 - June 26, 1941
Assistant Minister of the Interior	Allan McDonald	UAP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Minister without a portfolio in support of the Minister of Economics	Hubert Lawrence Anthony	CP	October 28, 1940 - June 26, 1941
Assistant Minister for Economy			June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Assistant Minister for Ammunition	John Leckie	UAP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Assistant Minister for Supply and Development	Thomas Collins	CP	June 26, 1941 - August 29, 1941
Minister with no portfolio in support of the Minister for Trade and Customs	John Leckie	UAP	October 28, 1940 - June 26, 1941
Minister with no portfolio in support of the Minister of Labor and Military Service

Remarks

The table is based on the Parliamentary Handbook . There the entries are incorrect for the postmaster general , minister for air , minister of civil aviation and minister for the interior offices . Here the table follows the Parliamentary Hansard of June 26, 1941 and the short biographies from the Parliamentary Handbook .

Web links

• Parliamentary Handbook for the 45th Parliament. (PDF; 13.4 MB) Part 6: Historical information on the Australian Parliament - Ministries and Cabinets. Parliament of Australia, p. 531 f. , accessed on May 4, 2019 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Stephen Barber: Federal election results 1901–2016 — Reissue 2. (PDF; 2.9 MB) Parliament of Australia, pp. 8, 31, 139 , accessed on May 4, 2019 .  
2. ^ AW Martin: Menzies, Sir Robert Gordon (Bob) (1894–1978) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 15. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 2000, ISBN 0-522-84843-5 (English).
3. ^ Johannes H. Voigt : History of Australia. Alfred Kröner, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-520-48801-9 , pp. 244-248.
4. ^ Margaret Bridson Cribb: Fadden, Sir Arthur William (1894-1973) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 14. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1996, ISBN 0-522-84717-X (English).
5. ^ House of Representative Official Hansard. No. 26, 1941 Parliamentary Debates. Sixteenth Parliament First Session - Third Period Thursday, 26 June 1941. (PDF; 736 kB) Part 6: Historical information on the Australian Parliament - Ministries and Cabinets. Parliament of Australia, p. 2 f. , accessed on May 4, 2019 .  
6. ↑ Biography for COLLINS, the Hon. Thomas Joseph. Parliament of Australia, accessed May 4, 2019 .  
7. ↑ Biography for FOLL, the Hon. Hattil Spencer. Parliament of Australia, accessed May 4, 2019 .  
8. ↑ Biography for McEWEN, the Rt. Hon. John, GCMG. Parliament of Australia, accessed May 4, 2019 .  
9. ↑ Biography for McLEAY, the Hon. George. Parliament of Australia, accessed May 4, 2019 .