Analyse the influence of Sir Robert Menzies’ legacy on the modern political environment.
The lasting legacy of Sir Robert Menzies can be viewed as both a triumph and a tragedy; pertaining to the former being his formation of the Liberal Party, the effect of his prime-ministership on the Labor Party, and his laying the foundation for 22 consecutive years in government for the Liberal-Country Party Coalition. Pertaining to the latter, however, is how the Liberal Party departed from Menzies-era philosophies and thus altered his legacy from what he foresaw, a turning point being the prime-ministership of John Howard. Sir Menzies’ enduring impression upon the contemporary political climate is complex and multi-faceted, however it can be explained as a…show more content… Fraser often spoke at great length about Menzies in his speeches, most frequently with regard to their shared belief in the core principles of Australian Liberalism. Fraser felt that he was prime minister at a time of revival and renewal for the nation and for the Liberal Party, and that the key to this revival was traditional Menzies Liberalism. election Speaking in 1978, Fraser explained that he had “called for a return to timeless Liberal values”, and employed the technique of learning from the past as opposed to looking to the future; a technique frequently used by Menzies. In fact, Menzies may have summarised the views of himself and, later, Fraser during this 1963 Australia Day address: “We are inheritors of the work of the past… build soundly on the existing foundations… to build up a wider and fuller civilisation.” Fraser inherited Menzies’ past work and succeeded in furthering his existing legacy and building upon the Liberal Party’s beginnings, and he was almost certainly the last Liberal Prime Minister to effectively do
