List of political controversies in Australia

This is a list of major political controversies in Australia:

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Pre-federation

Controversy "name"	Date	State	People involved	Summary	Source
Rum Rebellion	1808	NSW	Deposition and arrest of NSW Governor William Bligh by Major George Johnston, John Macarthur

Federal controversies

Barton government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Hopetoun Blunder	1900	Government	Appointment of the first Prime Minister: Edmund Barton, William Lyne and John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun

Lyons government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Attempted exclusion of Egon Kisch from Australia	1934	United Australia Party ALP	Egon Kisch, Joseph Lyons, Robert Menzies, Herbert Evatt and many others	The government failed to stop a member of the German Communist Party from entering Australia.

Menzies government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Petrov Affair	1954		Vladimir Petrov and others

Whitlam government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Gair Affair	1974	ALP	Vince Gair, Gough Whitlam, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Lionel Murphy, Ron Maunsell, Magnus Cormack, Billy Snedden
Morosi Affair	1974-1977	ALP	Jim Cairns, Junie Morosi
Loans affair	1975	ALP	Jim Cairns, Rex Connor
1975 Australian constitutional crisis	1975	ALP Liberal Party	Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Sir John Kerr	Kerr dismissed the sitting government of the day	[1]

Hawke government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Combe-Ivanov affair	1983	ALP	David Combe, Valery Ivanov, Mick Young

Keating government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Sports rorts affair	1994	ALP	Ros Kelly

Howard government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Travel Rorts	1997	Liberal Party	John Sharp, David Jull, Peter McGauran	In September 1997, three ministers resigned or were removed from office for misuse of politicians’ travel entitlements. It became known as the "travel rorts affair".
Tampa affair	2001	Liberal Party	John Howard
Children Overboard affair	2001	Liberal Party	John Howard, Peter Reith	Howard claimed that asylum seekers were throwing their children into the water so the navy would be forced to rescue them. The claim was false.	[2]
Unlawful detention of Cornelia Rau	2005	Liberal Party	Philip Ruddock
Unlawful deportation of Vivian Solon	2005	Liberal Party	Philip Ruddock
AWB oil-for-wheat scandal	2006	Liberal Party	AWB Limited
Muhamed Haneef affair	2007	Liberal Party	Philip Ruddock, Kevin Andrews
Lindsay pamphlet scandal	2007	Howard	Jackie Kelly	Liberal Party

Rudd government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Utegate or OzCar affair	2009	Liberal Party	Malcolm Turnbull, Godwin Grech
Pink Batts scandal	2010	ALP	Kevin Rudd, Peter Garrett

Gillard government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Health Services Union expenses affair	2010	ALP	Craig Thomson, Health Services Union, Kathy Jackson, Fair Work Australia, Julia Gillard, Michael Williamson
Ditch the Witch	2011	Liberal Party	Tony Abbott, Bronwyn Bishop, Sophie Mirabella	In a protest against the Gillard government's carbon tax a number of MPs from the Liberal party were pictured in front of signs saying "Ditch the Witch" and "JuLiar... Bob Brown's Bitch"	[3]
Peter Slipper affair	2012	Liberal Party ALP	Peter Slipper, James Ashby

Abbott government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Offshore detention crisis	2013-2019	Liberal Party	Tony Abbott Scott Morrison	Asylum seekers were locked up indefinitely while their refugee status was being assessed
Spying on Indonesian officials	2009-2013	Liberal Party ALP	Tony Abbott	Australian spy agencies attempted to tap the phones of high ranking Indonesian officials including the president. Abbott refused to apologise	[4]
Australian Water Holdings corruption scandal	2013	Liberal Party	Arthur Sinodinos	Corruption in Australian Water Holdings and ICAC investigation into fundraising at the Liberal Party	[5][6]
Joe Hockey's first budget	2014	Liberal Party	Tony Abbott Joe Hockey	The first budget delivered by the government was seen as being based on severe cuts to welfare and other social programs. It triggered a polling slump that Abbott struggled to recover from
Shirtfronting Putin	2014	Liberal Party	Tony Abbott	Abbott promised to "shirtfront" Putin when confronting him about his role in the MH17 disaster	[7]
Duke of Edinburgh knighthood	2015	Liberal Party	Tony Abbott	After controversially reinstating knighthoods, Abbott gave one of the first knighthoods to Prince Phillip rather than to an Australian	[8]
Joe Hockey home ownership gaff	2015	Liberal Party	Joe Hockey	With house prices rising sharply, treasurer Joe Hockey said on radio that the first step to home ownership was "get a good job that pays good money"	[9]
Dutton overheard on a hot mic	2015	Liberal Party	Peter Dutton Tony Abbott Scott Morrison	Peter Dutton at a press conference was overheard on an overhead microphone saying about the Pacific Islands that "time doesn't mean anything when you're about to have water lapping at your door"	[10]
Choppergate	2015	Liberal Party	Bronwyn Bishop	Bishop was found to have chartered a helicopter to a Liberal Party fundraiser. This was charged at over $5,000 for what would have been a 1 hour drive.

Turnbull government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis	2017	Liberal Party Nationals ALP Greens Xenophon One Nation	Scott Ludlam, Larissa Waters, Matt Canavan, Malcolm Roberts, Barnaby Joyce, Fiona Nash, Nick Xenophon and others	Parliamentarians of various parties were found to be in breach of Section 44 of the Constitution which prohibits dual citizens from sitting in parliament
Bonk Ban	2018	Nationals	Barnaby Joyce	Joyce who was married at the time, was discovered having an affair with a staffer, who was pregnant with his baby. In response a code of conduct was introduced that prevented relationships between MPs and staffers	[11]
Helloworld scandal	2019	Liberal Party	Mathias Cormann, Joe Hockey	It was uncovered that government contracts were being given to a Liberal Party donor, who was also paying for the holidays of a number of MPs	[12]

Morrison government

Controversy "name"	Date	Parties involved	People involved	Summary	Source
Robodebt	2018-19	Liberal Party	Scott Morrison, Stuart Robert, Christian Porter	Centrelink were issuing automated debts that had not been incurred by the individuals concerned.
It's ok to be white	2018	Liberal Party One Nation	Christian Porter Mathias Cormann Pauline Hanson	The governing coalition supported a motion in the senate declaring "it's ok to be white" and opposing the "deplorable rise of anti-white racism and attacks on Western civilisation"	[13]
Chinese election signs	2019	Liberal Party	Gladys Liu Josh Frydenberg	The Liberal party put up signs in Mandarin in places with large Chinese populations that were deliberately made to look like they were produced by the AEC. The signs directed voter to vote for the Liberal Party	[14]
Hawaii holiday	2019-20	Liberal Party	Scott Morrison	Scott Morrison took a family holiday to Hawaii during one of the worst bushfire seasons on record. He returned only after significant public pressure	[15]
Forced hand shakes	2020	Liberal Party	Scott Morrison	When touring bushfire affected communities, many residents refused to engage with Morrison. On a number of occasions Morrison forced a handshake on residents	[16]
Bushfire response ad	2020	Liberal Party	Scott Morrison	The government released an ad praising their bushfire response. The ad was attacked as being a party political ad paid for by taxpayers	[17]
Sports rorts affair (2020)	2019–20	Liberal Party Nationals	Bridget McKenzie	The government were providing grants for sports projects for communities in marginal electorates. Many of these projects were considered low priority or previously rejected, and were seen as a way to defend the marginal electorates.
Brian Houston invited to the White House	2020	Liberal Party	Scott Morrison	Scott Morrison's pastor, Houston, was invited to attend an official White House dinner. Houston is under investigation for covering up his father's sex abuse	[18]
Destruction of Aboriginal cultural sites	2020	Liberal Party	Ken Wyatt	Miners Rio Tinto destroyed two sites of Aboriginal cultural significance in Juukan Gorge.	[19][20]

State controversies

New South Wales

Controversy "name"	Date	State	Administration	People involved	Summary	Source
1932 New South Wales constitutional crisis	1932	NSW	Lang	Dismissal of NSW Premier Jack Lang by governor Philip Game
Metherell affair	1992	NSW	Greiner	Nick Greiner, Tim Moore, Terry Metherell
Orange Grove affair	2004	NSW	Carr
Eddie Obeid corruption scandals	2012	NSW	Carr, Iemma, Rees, Keneally	Eddie Obeid, Ian Macdonald
Grangegate	2014	NSW	O'Farrell	Barry O'Farrell	O'Farrell received a $3,000 bottle of Grange Hermitage and did not declare it.

Queensland

Controversy "name"	Date	State	Administration	People involved	Summary	Source
Mungana affair	1929	Queensland	Theodore	Corrupt actions by Qld. Premiers Ted Theodore and William McCormack
Bjelkemander	1972 -1987	Queensland	Bjelke-Petersen	Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Fitzgerald Inquiry	1987	Queensland	Bjelke-Petersen	Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Terry Lewis, Leisha Harvey, Don Lane, Brian Austin
Scott Driscoll corruption scandals	2013	Queensland	Newman	Scott Driscoll

South Australia

Controversy "name"	Date	State	Administration	People involved	Summary	Source
Playmander	1936-1968	South Australia	Playford	South Australian Electoral "gerrymander" favouring the Liberal and Country League and Sir Thomas Playford
State Bank of South Australia collapse	1991	South Australia	Bannon	It caused the resignation of premier John Bannon in 1992, and the crushing electoral defeat of the South Australian Labor government at the 1993 election.
Motorola affair	2001	South Australia	Olsen	John Olsen

Tasmania

Controversy "name"	Date	Administration	People involved	Summary	Source
Edmund Rouse bribery scandal	1989		Jim Cox, Robin Gray, Gunns

Victoria

Controversy "name"	Date	Administration	People involved	Summary	Source
State Bank of Victoria collapse	1990	Kirner		These events were a key factor in the defeat of the Labor government of Joan Kirner and the election of the Liberal Party, led by Jeff Kennett, at the 1992 Victorian state election
Lobster with a Mobster	2018	Andrews	Matthew Guy	The opposition leader, Guy was photographed having lunch with an alleged organised crime boss	[21]
Branch stacking scandal	2020	Andrews	Adem Somyurek	High level and wide reaching cases of branch stacking in the Victorian Labor party. Outcome was the federal party taking over the state branch for several years to fix the problem

Western Australia

Controversy "name"	Date	Administration	People involved	Summary	Source
Nevanas affair	1915	Scaddan	Actions leading to the downfall of John Scaddan's W.A. government
Edmund Rouse bribery scandal	1989		Jim Cox, Robin Gray, Gunns
WA Inc royal commission	1992	Burke	Brian Burke, Alan Bond, Laurie Connell
Easton affair	1992	Court	Carmen Lawrence

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

References

1. Twomey, Anne. "Australian politics explainer: Gough Whitlam's dismissal as prime minister". The Conversation. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
2. Marr, David (2014-02-11). "Burnt hands, children overboard, it all seems the same to Peter Reith | David Marr". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
3. Muller, Denis. "Sexist abuse has a long history in Australian politics – and takes us all to a dark place". The Conversation. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
4. "Abbott rejects Indonesia's call for spying apology". www.abc.net.au. 2013-11-19. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
5. Griffiths, political correspondent Emma (2014-03-19). "Sinodinos stands aside as Assistant Treasurer over ICAC investigation". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
6. Elvery, Simon (2014-04-29). "A tangled web: ICAC investigates NSW corruption". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
7. "What is a 'shirtfront'?". www.abc.net.au. 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
8. "Angus Houston, Prince Philip named Australia's newest knights". ABC News. 2015-01-26. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
9. Clarke, political reporters Melissa; Bennett, James (2015-06-09). "'Get a good job': Hockey under fire over advice to first-home buyers". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
10. "Dutton jokes about rising sea levels in Pacific". www.abc.net.au. 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
11. Crowe, David (2020-04-16). "'How could he have been so stupid': Turnbull, Joyce and the 'bonk ban' debacle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
12. Hatch, Patrick (2019-02-22). "Suspicious minds are circling Helloworld boss". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
13. "Senators backed Hanson's 'OK to be white' motion by mistake: Government". www.abc.net.au. 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
14. Taylor, Josh (2019-11-06). "Liberal official admits Chinese language signs were meant to look like they came from AEC". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
15. Remeikis, Amy (2019-12-20). "Scott Morrison's Hawaii horror show: how a PR disaster unfolded". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
16. Staff; agencies (2020-01-02). "Scott Morrison heckled after he tries to shake hands with bushfire victim in NSW town of Cobargo". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
17. "'Like being sold to at a funeral': Morrison slammed for running political ads during fire crisis". www.abc.net.au. 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
18. "Morrison admits inviting controversial pastor to White House dinner". The New Daily. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
19. "Rio Tinto blasting of 46,000-year-old Aboriginal sites compared to Islamic State's destruction in Palmyra". www.abc.net.au. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
20. Wahlquist, Calla (2020-05-30). "Juukan Gorge: Rio Tinto blasting of Aboriginal site prompts calls to change antiquated laws". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
21. "Liberals review slams town party for 'lobster with a mobster'". NewsComAu. 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2020-06-17.