Prime Minister Joseph (Ben) Chifley

Prime Minister Joseph (Ben) Chifley.

Ben Chifley was Prime Minister of Australia during Indonesia’s struggle for independence. He became convinced that the pre-World War II colonial order in Indonesia could not be re-established, and that Australia’s vital security interests were best served by supporting the Indonesian people’s struggle for independence.

Following a Dutch military incursion into Indonesian-held territory in 1947 the Chifley Government referred the Dutch to the United Nations Security Council for a breach of the peace. This resulted in the establishment of the Good Offices Committee which oversaw a ceasefire and ensured internal powers would remain with the Republic in the interim period pending the transfer of Dutch sovereignty.