The seven dwarfs and the age of the mandarins : Australian government administration in the post-war reconstruction era / editor Samuel Furphy

"Even to this day, the identity of the seven dwarfs remains a matter of dinner party conversation. As also is the identity of Snow White. Conventional wisdom usually sees Ben Chifley as Snow White. But was it Menzies? What is not in doubt is why the seven dwarfs and their generation were important. They were not simply present when the Australia of the middle years of the twentieth century took shape; they were, in many respects, the architects. Sparked by the Second World War, but continuing through the long post-war boom, the size of government and the range of its responsibilities grew. Central to this growth was the increasing ascendancy of the Commonwealth in the affairs of the federation. Government became more active and more interventionist. Extensive activity within Australia was reflected by comparable activity in numerous conferences abroad, to which Australia sent representatives, ranging from Bretton Woods where the international monetary system was established, to the creation of the United Nations itself, as well as the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The policies being promoted were markedly Keynesian in character, especially in advocacy of full employment, and, in the welfare field, strongly influenced by the 1942 report by Sir William Beveridge" --Page xvi (Preface)