nce, had not conscription been introduced then Australia would have fallen to the Japanese because of the lack of defense.
             The war had a huge impact on the Australian economy. With military conscription introduced, the number of people working in jobs slowly began to increase so in January 1942, a Directorate of Manpower was established with the authority to allocate labor on the basis of the war need. John Curtin put it simply when he said, "anybody in Australia can be called upon to do whatever the government wants." Men and women were required to leave non-essential industries and work in essential industries. This was because more goods had to be produced to support the war effort and so the necessary jobs required more people to help with the production of supplies and equipment. Certain jobs were classified as reserved occupations and people in these jobs were not allowed to enlist in the armed forces or leave their job for any reason. The government also encouraged women to join the workforce. By the end of 1942 almost 40, 000 Australian workers had been directed away from civilian non-essential industry to war-related industry. By June 1943 some 89 percent of all males and 29 percent of all females in the country were either in the armed forces or doing essential war-related work, or were in reserved occupations. John Curtin acknowledged the contribution of working men and women in the war effort: "Behind the fighting men and women in the front line is the second line of men and women engaged in the production of supplies and equipment for the forces; behind these again are those engaged in producing, processing, transporting and commercially organizing the innumerable items of supplies and essential services without which the nation's resistance would collapse." From the above facts, it can clearly be seen that the introduction of industrial conscription had a large bearing on the course of the war.
             Most goods were in s...