At the height of the Cold War, in April 1954 Vladimir Petrov a Soviet diplomat sought political asylum in Australia. Petrov, and his wife Evdokia, were working in Canberra at the Soviet Embassy as diplomats. But they were really spies. The incident had a massive impact on Australian politics. It ended the political career of the opposition leader and leader of the Labor Party Dr Herbert 'Doc' Evatt. And it led to a split in the Labor Party when anti-communist elements of the Labor Party, particularly the Catholic groups, split off to form the Democratic Labor Party. Partly as a result Labor languished in opposition until 1972. 

For those Russian speakers out there, apologies for mangling the pronunciation of Russian names.

On 27 May 1967 a referendum to amend the Australian Consitution was held. This month is the 50th anniversary of that referendum, so it’s a good time to remember this important part of Australian history. The referendum allowed Indigenous Australians to be counted in the population and for the Commonwealth Government to make policies in respect to Aboriginal people.