@Toinho @CaaC (John) @Harry @Devil-Dick Willie
Doing a bit of reading on Aussie history and it is mental the stuff that isn't taught in schools. Absolutely flabergasted that Australia nearly blew up in civil/independance war post-WW1. The British Empire was pressuring Australia to payback loans that were used to purchase military equipment, and the Premier of NSW Jack Lang opposed that on grounds that slavery was banned in the Empire and that paying the loans would cripple Australia to the point of economic flatlining, ergo making the people essentially slaves to the loan repayments. He was backed by the courts but he was pressued by the governor of NSW to resign leading to the police under Lang and the (largely depleted) military under the NSW governor having a tense mexican stand-off. Lang backed down to avoid bloodshed but the responce was that 40% of Sydney's population (400,000 people) marched under protest of his forced resignation.
Lang at the time was the post powerful politician in Australia being the NSW premier, the first to defy British demands, and the first (sorry Gough) to be *sacked* from his position. The man is considered to have had a personality cult, due to his immense popularity.