Leadership
The Premiers’ Plan
25 May 1931
The Great Depression drives the Prime Minister and state premiers to develop a national economic plan.
As the Great Depression deepened, the Australian Government and state governments agreed to a national plan that guided how Australia tackled the crisis. It was known as the ‘Premiers' Plan’.
The aim of the Plan was to balance government budgets and lower the costs of goods and services. This would be achieved by cutting wages and pensions and increasing taxes. Continuing to pay interest on overseas loans (especially to Britain) was also considered important.
The Plan was very unpopular, and unemployment continued to climb. The Australian economy only began to improve after 1936 when state and local governments funded public works and international trade recovered.
Deputy leader Mr Edward Granville Theodore and Prime Minister James Henry Scullin
National Library of Australia, PIC/15611/8000
Deputy leader Mr Edward Granville Theodore and Prime Minister James Henry Scullin
National Library of Australia, PIC/15611/8000
Description
This photograph was taken in Sydney in the early days of the Great Depression on 25 December 1929. James Scullin had become Prime Minister only two days before the Wall Street crash that triggered the economic crisis and had the difficult task of leading Australia during this time.
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