Editing Order of Australia (section)

=== Background ===
As a member of the British Empire, members of the colonies and later federated nation of Australia were able to have achievement awarded under the [[Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom|British Imperial Honours system]]. However, existing criticism of the aristocratic nature of the awards grew following a [[David Lloyd George#Domestic crises|cash-for-honours corruption scandal]] in the UK in 1922. Moves to abolish the awards federally and the states were unsuccessful; however the [[Australian Labor Party]] remained opposed and generally refused to recommend awards whilst in office, with this a part of the party's platform since 1918. This was confirmed in a resolution adopted unanimously by the party conference in 1921.<ref>{{cite news |date=17 October 1921 |title=A.L.P. Congress: No More Honours for Australians |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15965076 |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |page=9 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref> In 1949, a Cabinet subcommittee of the Labor [[Chifley government]] recommended the creation of single level honour called the ''Order of the Southern Cross'' or the ''Order of the Golden Wattle'' to be established at Australia's jubilee of federation in 1951.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fox |first=Karen |title=Honouring a nation: a history of Australia's honours system |date=2022 |publisher=Australian National University Press |others=Australian National University Press |isbn=978-1-76046-500-1 |location=Canberra, ACT, Australia |chapter=In war and peace, 1939–1967 |chapter-url=https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n9544/html/ch05.xhtml}}</ref> However, the Labor government lost office in the [[1949 Australian federal election|1949 elections]], replaced by the long running [[Menzies government (1949–1966)|Menzies government]] who supported the continued use of the imperial system.