Editing United Australia Party (section)

===Menzies government===
{{Main|Menzies government (1939–1941)}}

[[Robert Menzies]] defeated Hughes for the UAP leadership and became Prime Minister on 26 April 1939.<ref>{{cite book|author=A. W. Martin |chapter-url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A150416b.htm?hilite=robert%3Bmenzies |title=Biography – Sir Robert Gordon (Bob) Menzies – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter = Menzies, Sir Robert Gordon (Bob) (1894–1978)|publisher=Adb.online.anu.edu.au |access-date=28 June 2013}}</ref> Page refused to serve under Menzies, leaving the UAP with a minority government.

In addition to the office of Prime Minister, Menzies served as Treasurer. The [[First Menzies Ministry]] included the ageing former Prime Minister Billy Hughes and the young future Prime Minister [[Harold Holt]].<ref name="primeministers.naa.gov.au">{{cite web |url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/menzies/in-office.aspx#section1 |title=In office – Robert Menzies – Australia's PMs – Australia's Prime Ministers |publisher=Primeministers.naa.gov.au |access-date=28 June 2013 |archive-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113103332/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/menzies/in-office.aspx#section1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Menzies tried and failed to have the issue of national insurance examined by a committee of parliamentarians. Though no longer in formal coalition, his government survived because the Country Party preferred a UAP government to that of a Labor government.<ref name="autogenerated1978"/>

====World War II====
{{Main|Military history of Australia during World War II{{!}}Australia in World War II}}
[[File:Menzies Churchill WW21941.jpg|thumb|Prime Minister [[Robert Menzies]] and British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] in 1941.]]
The growing threat of war dominated politics through 1939. Menzies supported British policy against Hitler's Germany (negotiate for peace, but prepare for war) and&nbsp;– fearing Japanese intentions in the Pacific&nbsp;– established independent embassies in Tokyo and Washington to receive independent advice about developments.<ref name="primeministers.naa.gov.au"/> Menzies announced Australia's entry into World War Two on 3 September 1939 as a consequence of Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Australia was ill-prepared for war. A National Security Act was passed, the recruitment of a volunteer military force for service at home and abroad was announced, the [[2nd Australian Imperial Force]], and a citizen militia was organised for local defence.

Troubled by Britain's failure to increase defences at Singapore, Menzies was cautious in committing troops to Europe, nevertheless in 1940–41, Australian forces played prominent roles in the fighting in the [[Mediterranean Theatre of World War II|Mediterranean theatre]].

A special War Cabinet was created;– initially composed of Menzies and five senior ministers ([[Richard Casey, Baron Casey|RG Casey]], GA Street, Senator McLeay, HS Gullet and [[World War I]] Prime Minister Billy Hughes).<ref name="primeministers.naa.gov.au"/> In January 1940, Menzies dispatched potential leadership rival [[Richard Casey, Baron Casey|Richard Casey]] to Washington as Australia's first "Minister to the United States". In a consequent by-election, the UAP suffered a heavy defeat and Menzies re-entered coalition negotiations with the Country Party.<ref name="autogenerated1978"/> In March 1940, troubled negotiations were concluded with the Country Party to re-enter Coalition with the UAP. The replacement of Earle Page as leader by [[Archie Cameron]] allowed Menzies to reach accommodation.  A new Coalition ministry was formed including a number of Country Party members.<ref name="primeministers.naa.gov.au"/>

With the [[1940 Australian federal election|1940 election]] looming, Menzies lost his Chief of the General Staff and three loyal ministers in the [[1940 Canberra air disaster|Canberra air disaster]].<ref name="primeministers.naa.gov.au"/> The Labor Party meanwhile experienced a split along pro and anti Communist lines over policy towards the Soviet Union for its [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|co-operation with Nazi Germany]] in the invasion of Poland; this resulted in the formation of the [[Non-Communist Labor Party]].<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web|url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/curtin/before-office.aspx#section5 |title=Before office – John Curtin – Australia's PMs – Australia's Prime Ministers |publisher=Primeministers.naa.gov.au |access-date=28 June 2013}}</ref> The [[Communist Party of Australia]] (CPA) opposed and sought to disrupt Australia's war effort. Menzies banned the CPA after the fall of France in 1940, but by 1941 Stalin was forced to join the allied cause when Hitler reneged on the Pact and invaded the USSR. The USSR came to bear the brunt of the carnage of Hitler's war machine and the Communist Party in Australia lost its early war stigma as a result.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Beaumont|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jNXsy27cLSIC&q=communist+party+of+australia+opposed+australian+war+effort&pg=PA94|title=Australia's war 1939–1945|pages=94–95|publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]]|year=1996|isbn=9781864480399}}</ref>

At the general election in September 1940, there was a large swing to Labor and the UAP-Country Party coalition lost its majority, continuing in office only because of the support of two independent MPs, [[Arthur Coles]] and [[Alexander Wilson (Australian politician)|Alexander Wilson]]. The UAP–Country Party coalition and the Labor parties won 36 seats each.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Menzies proposed an all party unity government to break the impasse, but the Labor Party under [[John Curtin]] refused to join.<ref name="primeministers.naa.gov.au"/> Curtin agreed instead to take a seat on a newly created Advisory War Council in October 1940.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> New Country Party leader [[Arthur Fadden]] became Treasurer and Menzies unhappily conceded to allow Earle Page back into his ministry.

In January 1941, Menzies flew to Britain to discuss the weakness of Singapore's defences and sat with [[Winston Churchill]]'s [[United Kingdom coalition government (1940–1945)|British War Cabinet]]. En route he inspected Singapore's defences&nbsp;– finding them alarmingly inadequate&nbsp;– and visited Australian troops in the Mid-East. He at times clashed with Churchill in the War Cabinet, and was unable to achieve significant assurances for increased commitment to Singapore's defences, but undertook morale boosting excursions to war affected cities and factories and was well received by the British press and generally raised awareness in Britain of Australia's contribution to its war effort.<ref name="autogenerated1978"/> He returned to Australia via Canada and the United States – addressing the Canadian parliament and lobbying President Roosevelt for more arms production.<ref name="autogenerated1978"/> After four months, Menzies returned to Australia to face a lack of enthusiasm for his global travels and a war-time minority government under ever increasing strain.

In Menzies's absence, Curtin had co-operated with Fadden in preparing Australia for the expected [[Pacific War]]. With the threat of Japan imminent and with the Australian army suffering badly in the [[Battle of Greece|Greek]] and [[Battle of Crete|Crete]] campaigns, Menzies re-organised his ministry and announced multiple multi-party committees to advise on war and economic policy. Government critics however called for an all-party government.

====Menzies' resignation====
In August, Cabinet decided that Menzies should travel back to Britain to represent Australia in the War Cabinet&nbsp;– but this time the Labor caucus refused to support the plan. Menzies announced to his Cabinet that he thought he should resign and advise the Governor General to invite Curtin to form Government. The Cabinet instead insisted he approach Curtin again to form a war cabinet. Unable to secure Curtin's support, and with an unworkable parliamentary majority, Menzies faced continuing problems with the administration of the war effort and the undermining of his leadership by members of his own coalition. Menzies resigned as prime minister on 29 August 1941, but initially stayed on as UAP leader.