| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (55 min. 57 sec.) ; 336220098 bytes |
| Summary |
*Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that the following program contains images and voices of people who have died*Award-winning journalist and author Chris Masters investigates the tumultuous 1920s and 1930s and the events that laid the foundation for Australia in the 21st century.Episode two begins in 1929. The Australian Labor Party is back in power after over a decade in the wilderness. One week after new Prime Minister James Scullin is sworn into power, the world is rocked by the Wall St crash and the start of the Great Depression. Elected on a promise to protect the worker living wage, Scullin finds himself leading a nation heavily in debt to British banks. Worse, the Federal Government's bank, The Commonwealth, refuses to lend money to ease the pain of unemployment. Soon unemployment reaches 33%. The country is broke, the politicians are at each other's throats and the country divides along class lines. The middle class and wealthy continue to live comfortably as prices fall. The working class suffer as jobs disappear. Families are forced to survive in humpy camps without the unemployment benefits we know today. Violent strikes, radical politics and secret armies threaten to tear the nation apart. The years 1929 to 1933 become the greatest political crisis in Australian history. The Communists and Fascists believe democracy has failed. Battlelines are drawn. The scene is set for civil war. In Germany, Italy and China the class divide erupts in violence and dictatorship. Australia is on the brink and millions of lives are on the line.PRODUCTION DETAILS:3 x 60 minutes. A Screen Australia and Beyond Screen production in association with Screen NSW and the ABC. Written and presented by Chris Masters. Executive Producer and Producer Mark Hamlyn. Directed by Andrew Saw and Stuart Goodman |
| Event |
Broadcast 2013-06-30 at 21:25:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: G |
| Subject |
Scullin, James Henry, 1876-1953.
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Bank of England.
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Commonwealth Bank (Australia)
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Communist parties.
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Democracy -- Study and teaching.
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Depression, Mental -- Social aspects.
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Australia.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Goodman, Stuart, director
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Saw, Andrew, director
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Masters, Chris, host
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