Editing Joseph Lyons (section)

===Foreign policy===
[[File:National Defence Council 1938.tif|thumb|right|Lyons with the National Defence Council in 1938]]
Lyons had no previous experience in international relations or diplomacy, but as prime minister took a keen interest in foreign relations and exerted significant influence over the government's foreign policy.{{sfn|Bird|2008|p=23}} His government pursued what has been called a policy of "appeasement and rearmament". Increases in Australia's defence budget in the years before World War II made him "the greatest peace-time rearmer in Australian history", and saw the military rebuilt after severe funding cuts during the Great Depression.{{sfn|Bird|2008|p=31}} Lyons had pacifist leanings and was keen to avoid a repeat of the First World War. These were rooted in his religious convictions, but also influenced by visits to the battlefields of Europe in which he viewed the graves of Australian soldiers. The appeasement aspect of his foreign policy was primarily directed at Italy and Japan, as it was likely that war between those countries and other major powers would affect the important trade routes in the Mediterranean and the Pacific upon which Australia relied. He was particularly concerned with [[Italy–United Kingdom relations|Anglo-Italian]] and [[Japan–United Kingdom relations|Anglo-Japanese relations]], where his goal was to "influence British policy in a manner conducive to Australian interests".{{sfn|Bird|2008|p=26}}

According to David Bird, whose book ''The Tame Tasmanian'' examined the Lyons government's foreign policy, there was a growing realisation in the 1930s that Australian interests would not be aligned with British interests in all cases. In order to differentiate the two, Lyons authorised three "Pacific initiatives". The first was the [[Australian Eastern Mission]] of 1934 led by Deputy Prime Minister [[John Latham (judge)|John Latham]], which visited seven Asian countries. The second was the 1935 appointment of Australian government representatives in China, the Dutch East Indies, Japan, and United States – albeit below the rank of ambassador – where previously Australia's interests had been represented solely by British officials. The third was Lyons's "Pacific Pact" proposal, which envisioned a [[non-aggression pact]] between the major powers in the Pacific. Although he championed the pact at the [[1937 Imperial Conference]], discussions failed to progress.{{sfn|Bird|2008|p=25}} In Bird's opinion, "the Lyons years should thus be seen as a part of the evolution of Australian external policy from dependency towards autonomy […] it is perhaps the continuation and acceleration of the process of transition for which Lyons as Prime Minister ought to be best remembered".{{sfn|Bird|2008|p=336}}

{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXJ164Jhjfg Newsreel footage of Joseph Lyons visiting England for the Silver Jubilee of King George V in 1935], from [[Pathé News]]}}
Lyons was prime minister during the [[Edward VIII abdication crisis]] of 1936. He and the other Dominion leaders were only officially informed of the king's intention to abdicate a few weeks before it occurred, although he had found out about the situation earlier through unofficial channels. Lyons strongly opposed the proposed marriage to [[Wallis Simpson]], a view shared by his cabinet; it is unclear if he was initially aware how deep the king's feelings were. He later telegraphed the king asking him not to abdicate, and after the event gave a speech in parliament announcing his regret at the king's decision.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|pp=383–388}} Lyons is the only Australian prime minister to have held office during the reigns of three monarchs, and the only prime minister to serve throughout a monarch's entire reign.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/timeline/results.aspx|title=Timeline|work=Australia's Prime Ministers|publisher=National Archives of Australia|access-date=6 April 2019|archive-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804142705/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/timeline/results.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>