Ben Chifley

Joseph Benedict Chifley (September 22 1885 - June 13 1951), Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia, was one of Australia's most influential Prime Ministers. Among his government's accomplishments were the post-war immigration scheme under Arthur Calwell, the establishment of Australian citizenship in 1949, the Snowy Mountains scheme, the national airline TAA, a social security scheme for the unemployed, and the founding of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO). One of the few successful referenda to modify the Australian Constitution took place during his term.

Further reading

• Ben Chifley, Things Worth Fighting For (collected speeches), Melbourne University Press, 1952
• L F Crisp, Ben Chifley: A Political Biography, Longman, Green and Co, 1961
• David Day, Chifley, HarperCollins, 2001