1. The Beginning
1.1. In 1962, the Australian Government sent a team of 30 army advisers to help train the South Vietnamese Army for its fight against the NLF guerrillas.
1.2. In January 1965, Australia sent an army battalion to help Britain defend newly independent Malaysia against border raids by Indonesia.
2. Introduction Conscription
2.1. Menzies Government announced in November 1964 that it was introducing military conscription.
2.2. At the time, the major concern was Indonesia, but early in 1965 that threat declined and the Australian Government became increasingly concerned about Vietnam.
3. The decision to send Australian combat troops
3.1. Menzies' announcement of the decision to send an Australian battalion to Vietnam was made in federal parliament on 29 April 1965.
3.2. The South Vietnamese Government was at first reluctant to receive Australian troops
3.3. Menzies represented the decision as one that would make Australia more secure against the threat of Communism by strengthening its alliance with the USA.
3.3.1. Public opinion polls in 1965 indicated that most Australians supported the Government's decision
4. Anti-Vietnam War protests
4.1. The late 1960s and early 1970s were times of change, when protest movements arose on a scale that had never been seen in Australia.
5. The views of supporters of the war
5.1. Until the late 1960s, the majority of Australians supported sending troops to the war. Most Australians knew little about the historical roots of the conflict. They simply accepted the Australian Government's arguments that:
5.1.1. South Vietnam and North Vietnam were separate countries.
5.1.2. The Government of South Vietnam had asked for help to defend it against North Vietnamese aggression.
5.1.3. a victory for the NLF and North Vietnam would be a victory for worldwide communist aggression.
5.1.4. other countries would be threatened if Vietnam 'fell' to communism.
6. Arguments against the war
6.1. Those who protested against the war saw it very differently. They believe that:
6.1.1. The conflict was a civil war between Vietnamese people, not a part of any world communist conspiracy
6.1.2. Most of the South Vietnamese people supported the NLF and wanted to see their country reunified in a united Vietnam.
6.1.3. The North Vietnamese and the supporters of the NLF in South Vietnam were fighting a war of national liberation
6.1.4. USA was acting as an imperialist power committing aggression against a small Third World country
6.1.5. The tactics and weapons used by the USA and its allies including Australia were inflicting unjustifiable suffering on the civilian population.