Editing Andrew Fisher (section)

===Second term (1910–1913)===
[[Image:AFisherFamily.jpg|thumb|left|A studio portrait of the prime ministerial family in 1910]]
At the [[1910 Australian federal election|1910 election]], Labour gained sixteen additional seats to hold a total of forty-two of the seventy-five House of Representatives' seats, and all eighteen Senate seats up for election to hold a total of twenty-two out of thirty-six seats. This gave Labour control of both upper and lower houses and enabled Fisher to form his [[Second Fisher Ministry]], Australia's first elected federal [[majority government]], Australia's first elected Senate majority, and the world's first [[List of Labour Parties|Labour Party]] majority government.<ref name=adb/> The 113 acts passed in the three years of the second Fisher government exceeded even the output of the second Deakin government over a similar period.<ref name=apmio/>

According to Labor MP and historian [[Denis Murphy (Australian politician)|Denis Murphy]], the second Fisher government represented "the culmination of Labor's involvement in politics", and was "a period of reform unmatched in the Commonwealth until the 1940s", under [[John Curtin]] and [[Ben Chifley]].<ref name=adb/> The Fisher government carried out many reforms in defence, finance, transport and communications, and social security, achieving the vast majority of their aims in just three years of government. These included extending old-age and disability pensions,<ref name=":0" /> introducing a [[maternity]] allowance and issuing Australia's first [[paper currency]], forming the [[Royal Australian Navy]], the start of construction of the [[Trans-Australian Railway]], expanding the bench of the [[High Court of Australia]], the founding of [[Canberra]], and the establishment of the state-owned [[Commonwealth Bank]].<ref name=apmio/> Fisher's second government also introduced uniform postal charges throughout Australia, carried out measures to break up land monopolies, put forward proposals for closer regulation of working hours, wages and employment conditions,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.australianhistory.org/andrew-fisher.php |title=Andrew Fisher |publisher=Australianhistory.org |access-date=15 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114235217/http://australianhistory.org/andrew-fisher.php |archive-date=14 November 2010 |url-status=usurped  }}</ref>  and amended the 1904 Conciliation and Arbitration Act to provide greater authority for the court president, and to allow for Commonwealth employees' industrial unions, registered with the Arbitration Court.<ref name=adb/>

A land tax, aimed at breaking up big estates and give wider scope for small-scale farming, was also introduced, while coverage of the Arbitration system was extended to agricultural workers, domestics, and federal public servants. In addition, the age at which women became entitled to the old-age pension was lowered from sixty-five to sixty. The introduction of the maternity allowance was a major reform, because it enabled more births to be attended by doctors, thus leading to reductions in infant mortality rates.<ref>[[Ross McMullin]], The Light on the Hill: The Australian Labor Party 1891–1991</ref> However, the maternity allowance was only available to white women, with the legislation barring "women who are Asiatic, or are aboriginal natives of Australia, Papua or the Pacific Islands" in line with the racial exclusions in the old-age pension.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Conditional Inclusion: Aborigines and Welfare Rights in Australia, 1900–47|first=John|last=Murphy|year=2013|doi=10.1080/1031461X.2013.791707|journal=Australian Historical Studies|volume=44|issue=2|page=210}}</ref> Compulsory preference to trade unionists in federal employment was also introduced,<ref>A New History of Australia edited by F.K. Crowley</ref> while the Seaman's Compensation Act of 1911<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Browse/Results/ByYearNumber/Acts/Historical/1911/0|title=ComLaw: Acts by Year / Number|work=comlaw.gov.au}}</ref> and the Navigation Act of 1912<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_act/1912/|title=1912 Commonwealth of Australia Numbered Acts|work=austlii.edu.au}}</ref> were enacted to improve conditions for those working at sea, together with compensatory arrangements for seamen and next of kin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freehill.com/articles/Maritime_Law-Twelve_Years_Into_the_Century.pdf |title=Maritime Law - Twelve Years Into the Century |access-date=6 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101223409/http://www.freehill.com/articles/Maritime_Law-Twelve_Years_Into_the_Century.pdf |archive-date=1 January 2015}}</ref> Eligibility for pensions was also widened. From December 1912 onwards, naturalised residents no longer had to wait three years to be eligible for a pension.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/online/aged1.htm|archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20040913140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/31911/20040914-0000/www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/online/aged1.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 September 2004|title=Social Security Payments for the Aged, People with Disabilities and Carers 1909 to 2002|work=nla.gov.au}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> That same year, the value of a pensioner's home was excluded from consideration when assessing the value of their property.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/online/aged3.htm#concessions|archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20040913140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/31911/20040914-0000/www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/online/aged3.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 September 2004|title=Social Security Payments for the Aged, People with Disabilities and Carers 1909 to 2002|work=nla.gov.au}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

[[File:Aussie pm Andrew Fisher cropped from naming of Canberra.JPG|thumb|right|upright=0.9|Andrew Fisher at the naming of [[Canberra]] ceremony, 1913{{efn|The Governor-General, [[Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman|Lord Denman]], is standing to the left of Fisher, while [[King O'Malley]], [[Minister for Home Affairs (Australia)|Minister for Home Affairs]], is at the far left of the photo (conversing with Lady Denman who was given the honour of pronouncing the new capital's name for the first time).}}]]
Fisher wanted additional Commonwealth power in certain areas, such as the [[nationalisation]] of [[monopolies]]. A [[1911 Australian referendum|constitutional referendum was initiated in 1911]] which aimed to increase the federal government's legislative powers over trade and commerce and over monopolies. Both questions were defeated, with around 61 per cent voting 'No'. The Fisher government made another attempt, holding a [[1913 Australian referendum|referendum in 1913]] which asked for greater federal powers over trade and commerce, corporations, industrial matters, trusts, monopolies, and railway disputes. All six questions were defeated, with around 51 per cent voting 'No'. At the [[1913 Australian federal election|1913 election]], the [[Commonwealth Liberal Party]], led by [[Joseph Cook]], defeated the Labor Party by a single seat.<ref name=adb/>