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The Domino Theory was not a real threat to Australia but was part of the

political propaganda used to encourage Australians to participate in the Asian

chapter of the Cold War. The Domino Theory claimed that countries were being

taken over by communism one by one, starting from Russia. There is much

evidence that Australian politicians used the threat of communism and the

domino theory to gain political power and favour with Australian voters.

There is no factual evidence that communism spreads from country to country

and so there is no evidence that Australia was actually under threat of becoming

communist simply because Australia is located close to Asia. This concept was

known as the domino theory and it was first suggested when President

Eisenhower spoke about the Asian countries falling to communism like

dominoes in 1954.However, while Eisenhower never intended for the theory to

be extended to countries beyond Asia, other political leaders have since used the

Domino analogy to justify or explain their reasons for being involved in battles

that are not directly related to protecting their own boarders. What struck fearinto the hearts of Australians was the fact that the government had indicated

that China and Vietnam had fallen to or were in threat of going into communism

and that in accordance with the Domino Theory countries would fall down like

dominos all over the world. The fact is Chinas form of communism was differentto that of the USSR and Vietnams communism was also different to both thesecountries. It is also interesting to note that rivalry between communist states

existed during the Cold War. This shows the internal drive for communism was

more important for these countries that external drives. Further, many of the

countries that turned to communism believed their democratic governments

were corrupt. These populations turned to communism as alternative to the

ongoing abuse of their rights. All of this evidence shows that the domino theorywas wrong. In suggesting that countries become communist from the influence

or threat of their neighbouring countries. It was also wrong to suggest that

Australia was under threat of communism because it was close to Asia.

In reality, the Australian Liberal party played on fears of communism and used

the Domino Theory to gain the vote of the Australian people. In 1949 Robert

Menzies won the election because people believed that was their best chance to

defend them against communism. He promised to stop communism coming to

Australia. Menzies proposed a Bill that would ban communism from Australia,

which was passed by parliament in October 1950, which was later, challenged

defeated in High Court by the Communist Party of Australia. He then held a

referendum to change Australias constitution to outlaw communism. The result

was that the referendum just failed with yes votes of 2317927 and no votes of

2370009. But Australians doubted the threat of communism because both the

Bill and the referendum were knocked back. The next election was coming up

and the liberal party was behind in numbers. So in the lead up to April 1954,

Menzies used Petrov Affair to build fear of communism and stay in power. The

opposition leader Evatt was convinced that Menzies had used The Affair to boost

support in numbers for a strong anti communism push. He was probably correct

in this because before the Petrov affair the poll showed Menzies was going to

lose the 1954 election. The long-term outcome of the affair was that Menzies wasable split the Labor, which would keep the Labor party out of government until

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the 70s. These events prove that the threat the threat of communism toAustralia and hence the Domino Theory was largely political propaganda

designed to win elections.

Another factor influencing Australias actions in Asia during the Cold War was

its treaties. The Australian Government signed treaties with US, UK and others topledge support in conflicts overseas. Some people say that these treaties were

more about foreign policy objectives (such as trade) than defending Australiasshores. To gain support of the in Australians people in the Cold War conflicts in

Asia, the Australian Government had to promote the Domino Theory. The

Government created the hysteria around the potential threat of communism to

convince the people that it was right to go to war in Korea and Vietnam. The

Government needed to convince Australians that its communist neighbours were

a threat to them in order to gain support for Australias support of its allies in theAsian wars. Menzies believed that Australia should honour its treaty

commitments. Through neither ANZUS nor SEATO stipulated that Australia must

enter the war, Australia was not really asked to enter the Vietnam War. Instead

Prime Minister Menzies asked America to ask South Vietnamese to ask the

Australia to assist them. It is interesting to know Australia was not really asked

to enter the Vietnam War. Instead Prime Minster Menzies asked America to ask

the South Vietnamese. To ask the Australian people to assist them.