Ben Chifley and John Curtin introduced underpinnings for social and economic policy in Australia. Chifley, the 16th Prime Minister of Australia, is respected for his exceptional leadership and administrative skills, his charismatic personality, and his dependability. His predecessor, John Curtin, was also the supporter of Chiefly ideological integrations into social life of Australia. The post-war period, therefore, witnessed significant expansion of national and social improvement and creation of various social services increasing the quality of life among the Australians, including the organization of a national airline, the Snowy Mountains Scheme, and the Holden car. Visionary immigration policy initiated by Chifley also contributed to the development of the current multicultural society.
The politicians remained faithful to full employment capabilities, although industrial unrest led to serious problems at a governmental level. As a result, Chifley took the oppositional government and remained committed to social reforms. Working in team with Curtin, the politicians worked out uniform taxation system and made the Commonwealth administration responsible for gathering tax payments.
Apart from Chifley’s incredible contributions to social and economic welfare, the political leader has a potent impact on managing parliamentary business. He was also focus on retaining taxation legislation and taking control of the economic policies to avoid inflation. His leadership style was radical and progressive because Chifley was oriented more on creating competition and opportunities for people to develop industrial and business sectors in the country, although it created serious problems because of reluctance of people to face changes.
John Curtin, like his successor, also chose the course on the development of progressive democratic policy. His orientation on international cooperation and interaction provide a solid basis for improving the Australia’s political and economic image among other countries. In this respect, his leadership approaches are closely oriented with establishment of effective and successful collaboration with other countries that could contribute to the social, cultural, and political welfare of Australia. His security policies are revealed through the expansion of the Defense Act, as well as integration of progressive social reforms.
With regard to the achievements and leaderships styles of both politicians, it could be stated that Chifley and Curtin were oriented progressively and radically on the development of social welfare and equal wealth distribution among the Australian population. However, there were some differences in their controlling and leading mechanism. In particular, Chifley was more concerned with internal policies and placed an emphasis on the development of effective social schemes and taxation legislation. In contrast, Curtin accentuated the problem of external security and international relations because it laid foundation for successful image and social advancement of the country.
Their teamwork, therefore, was a significant step forward toward the development of highly successful community. Considering various dimensions of public policy provided a solid ground for improvement and advancement of the Australian community. Thus, the difference in leadership lied in opposite views on how social reforms should be implemented, as well as on integration of changes and progressive ideas.
Despite the differences, both Curtin and Chifley were pioneers in developing transformational leadership styles contributing to creating effective change management. They made Australian society be reader to face challenges and overcome difficulties on the way to better political, cultural, and economic future of the country. More importantly, their radical and proactive thinking provided perspective for development of further social policies.