The Petrov Affair
During the Cold War between Communist and democratic nations in the late 1940's, Communism was feared by many Australians. Menzies exploited that fear during his time as prime minister. But his attempts to outlaw the Communist Party were declared invalid by the High Court and rejected by the electorate in a referendum in 1951. The issue of Communism, however, split the Labor Party, guaranteeing the Liberal-Country Party coalition a long term in office.
In 1954, Menzies announced the defection of Vladimir Petrov, a Soviet diplomat, and the creation of a Royal Commission to investigate Petrov's allegations of a Soviet spy ring in Australia. Diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union were severed. After two of his staff was called before the commission, Evatt claimed that the Petrov Affair had been engineered to discredit him politically.
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