In 1939, the history on the homefront, Australia changed significantly due to the declaration of WW2. Some changes include the roles Women played, rationing of supplies and food and our alliance to other countries. Due to the change, the Government tried to improve the life of the civilians by introducing new laws. The changes on the home front and the role of Women impacted on ongoing changes post the war years. Censorship and propaganda were both used to influence people to join the war and help keep information safe. Censorship was when the government was in control of the information that was made public when using printed media, radio broadcasts and other forms of communications. This is the National Security Act (NSA) that was brought in on September 8th 1939. This was to prevent important information about Australia's wartime strategies and capabilities becoming known to the enemy. This was also to shield Australia from bad news that may influence the promotion of war. Propaganda was used by the government to present certain messages to influence the public's opinion on war. Some anti-Japanese slogans that were spread by posters, broadcasts included: 'We've always Despised Them- Now we must Smash them' and 'Every one a killer'( Darlington and Hospodaryk 1999). These slogans were used to influence the viewers judgement on the Japanese by using fear and hatred. This is recalled as one of the changes used throughout the war.
Many things changed in Australia during World War 2. These changes include, the reduction of Christmas- New Years holidays to three days, daylight savings introduced, the issue of personal identity cards and rationing. Rationing became a big thing as you had to minimise your purchases. This includes petrol, tea, beer, spirits, sugar, clothes, butter and meat( Blanden, M.G 1999, Australia: All Our Yesterdays). To keep track of their purchases they had rationing books that contained a number of coupons for each family.
