Thread: A paper on conscription, from Tim Fischer, former dceputy PM

Interesting, if I had not joined the Navy in 1964, I would have been called up in the 2nd ballot, 1965.





Melbourne Military History Conference: Conscription and National Service
Saturday 30 May 2015, CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY - EMBARGO 0945 30 / 5 / 2015

Reflections on Conscription in Australia:
It should never be selective National Service ever again: Either all in or none in !

- Tim Fischer AC , Author, Former Deputy PM, ex Ambassador and Federal Nationals Leader.

Fifty years ago National Service selective balloting commenced in Australia to pick out a cohort of young men turning twenty and send them into the Army for two years. One hundred years ago Conscription referenda were considered in Australia, fiercely debated and ultimately defeated at the height of World War One.
It is never an easy issue for vibrant democracies to handle, with the compulsion element clashing with the spirit of freedom dimensions of democracy, plus the always difficult to define and administer aspect of “Conscientious Objection” overarching all, in times of war.
In a democracy, it for the Executive to propose Conscription or National Service, the Parliament or Congress to consider and pass into law the requirements involved, sometimes involving the people by way of referendum. It is then implemented with lashings of anti-democratic compulsion – all in defence of the nation state same said democracy.

As you would expect, this is as never easy and a close reading of history affirms this in exactitude. It all goes back to the Commonwealth Defence Act of 1903 that did provide for compulsory “Home Defence Service” but not overseas service. Later speakers will deal with this in more detail but let me quote from my book MAESTRO JOHN MONASH: Australia’s greatest Citizen General”:
(Remember it was then Prime Minister W M Hughes who drove forward the conscription issue and there is some evidence he became unhinged by the results)
Generals are not meant to buy into political fights but Birdwood (British Indian born AIF GOC, later made an Australian Field Marshal in 1925, ahead of Blamey and Prince Philip) was asked to make a statement in favour of a ‘Yes’ vote and for that to be widely distributed through the AIF. Eventually the soldiers voted in October 1916 and back in Australia, the vote was held on the 28th October but the overall count mounted to a narrow loss for Hughes, 48% to 52%, a margin of 72,476 votes: Yes 1,087,557 No 1,160,033 and a repeat exercise in December 1917 saw the No vote margin more than double to 166,588 votes. The official results for the 20 December 1917 referendum was: 46% to 54 % so in total Yes 1,015,159 No 1,181,747.

In each referendum, it was single digit percentages deciding the NO results, it had been close but ultimately tested twice after detailed debate and the answer was NO. The Australian vibrant democracy of the era had rejected conscription in the darkest days of World War One, to quote W M Hughes, egged on by that meddlesome Irish prelate, Archbishop Daniel Mannix of Melbourne.
Joan Beaumont in her recent comprehensive book on the Great War, titled Broken Nation, highlights the Keith Murdoch observation that the Third Division in training on the Salisbury Plains had voted yes, counterbalancing the margin from the trenches. Maybe the Third Division soldiers voting were thinking about extra recruits to restore their manpower to full strength before they went to the Western Front. It was not to be but the understrength Division soon had its equipment and its embarkation orders. (End of book extract)


Recently through the good book “Politics and Sacrifice” about the war service of NSW State Parliamentarians, I learnt of the extraordinary story of Ambrose Carmichael MC MLA, 1871 to 1953, who grew up on the Lachlan, elected for a Sydney seat (Leichhhardt) in 1907 as an ALP member, then he resigned as State Treasurer in 1915 to enter the Army as a private in the 36th Battalion. He personally rallied enlistments for the war, two lots of one thousand and he favoured conscription . In 1919 he resigned from the ALP over their opposition to conscription. In 1920 he failed to win back a seat in the NSW State Parliament.
It should be remembered every AIF member volunteered for World War One, including the 414 AIF Chaplains who I dedicated my Monash book to and the 61,000 who lost their lives - many towns and suburbs were decimated. Despite the efforts of Ambrose Carmichael, it seems the majority of diggers did not want conscription and the nation was of two minds but ultimately voted narrowly against the compulsion involved.


National Service
Fifty years later selective National Service was introduced in 1965 with some early push back. It was as Vietnam was unfolding with this difficult and controversial war leading to massive rallies, demonstrations and moratoriums. The Coalition Government was able to get the necessary approvals through the Parliament, the standout feature was a so called random ballot to select some but not all males as they turned twenty years of age.
At the time I thought the same number of balls or marbles marked with a particular date for the six monthly ballots were placed in the barrel for each day of the relevant six month period. I no longer think this is the case. It appears that after the Department of Labour and National Service and the Army reviewed the trades and experience and education of each registrant, some dates were then overloaded with marbles to ensure the right talent mix was called up.
On the 4th December 2014, I handed a clipping from the Canberra Times of 3 December 2014 direct to the Attorney General George Brandis in his office at Parliament House, in his capacity as head of the Office of National Archives. He assured me he would ascertain an answer to the simple question: Was the National Service ballot stacked in favour of certain pre- determined dates or not ? Well I have heard back from National Archives, see postscript.

Whatever the real story associated with National Service 1965 to 1972, it changed my life and it changed all the lives of those called up, some sadly making the ultimate sacrifice. In my case I had to mature quickly, after Kapooka and OTU I was soon a Platoon Commander and Transport Officer with 1 RAR, dealing with a huge raft of man management problems and the requirements of raw leadership by a raw junior officer, on exercise then in Vietnam on operation but also in base camp.

It has to be said that maybe National Service will be required again, in this very troubled world of the second decade of the Twenty First Century.
If so then the only fair way to proceed is surely to ensure all twenty year olds, both male and female, are called up for National Service. After the Navy, Army and RAAF have filled their needs then the remainder should be employed for Peace Corps type duties at home and abroad. This is expensive but it is the only true way to be fair and just. Of course usual and carefully defined “Conscientious Objection” provisions should be retained.
The Government of the day and the Parliament of the day will always be reluctant to go down this path because of the costs involved, also the career disruption to many with its own economic impact and also because in this century the real politik is that it would have to involve male and female with all the complications attaching.
However who can rule out for ever that it may in fact be necessary in the distant future. The war against terrorism generally has already extended beyond the combined length of World War One and Two, kicked along by that White House George Bush Junior and Downing Street Tony Blair led decision to invade Iraq in 2003. This indirectly resulted in the advent of the powerful ISIS caliphate holding brutally much territory in both Iraq and Syria today.


To digress, if Lawrence of Arabia and also the phenomenal UK “Agent provocateur” Gertrude Bell had won the day at Versailles, back in 1919, with sensible boundaries and nation state creations for the Middle East sans France, then we would be better placed today. However the forces against ISIS and terrorism will win eventually – I am confident of this.
I reiterate though, you cannot rule out the need for National Service at some time in the future and when that times arrives, all things considered, it would be best done on the basis of all in or none in, both male and female.
Australia is a vibrant democracy, warts and all and this Conference today is a reflection of this and a helpful platform to ensure we learn from our history and never ignore our history, to do so as others have stated would be to do so at our peril.
I close by commending to you that important statement that a Reservist or CMF Officer made in the Great Depression when declining to mount a “Coup d’etat”. I quote John Monash of Jerilderie and Melbourne: “The only hope for Australia is the ballot box and good education”. ENDS
(Further Information NFP Tim Fischer 0427 271456) POSTSCRIPT ATTACHED



POSTSCRIPT
It seems the National Service Ballot was not formally stacked but may have been stacked on the margins as - in short - not all were taken that had registered for a particular birth date drawn out in the twice yearly ballot.



"I reiterate and emphasize not all registrants whose birth dates were drawn were called up in the twice yearly ballots (even allowing for health and other declared non call up or exempt categories), so it appears some person within the system played God big time. " WTF,


Further, note 1 Jan to 30 Jun 1946 births, the month of May saw 13 days drawn out including mine but only 4 for albeit the short month of Feb, still this is almost beyond random possibilities. Now read on and all dates drawn are listed at the bottom for the actual ballots 1965 to 1972.


Australian War Memorial Facts Sheet re National service 1964 to 1972
Statistics
Between 1964 and 1972, 804 286 twenty-year-olds registered for national service and 63 735 national servicemen served in the Army.12.
Balloted out: 567, 238
Theological students, ministers of religion and members of religious orders: 553
Physical or mental disabilities: 1768
Conscientious objection determined by a court: 1242
 Indefinite deferments: 35 548
Married before the date of call-up: 20 502
Members of the Citizen Forces: 7197
Citizen Forces whose obligations completed: 7849
 No longer liable to be called up: 102 134
Death subsequent to registration: 916
Served or serving in Permanent Forces: 2194
Rejected as not meeting the medical, psychological and educational standards required by the Army: 99 010
Imprisoned for refusal to obey a call-up notice: 14 [ this is interesting, bob]
,

 Unavailable for call-up as at 31 December 1972: 21 876
Granted or being considered for deferment 15 526
Granted or seeking deferment on grounds of exceptional hardship: 470
Under investigation for suspected breaches of National Service Act: 3890
Granted permission to leave Australia: 610
Migrants not included elsewhere, not yet due for call-up: 1380
 Called up and enlisted in the Army: 63 740  Available for call-up subject to meeting the standards required for Army service and the outcome of applications for exemption or deferment: 10 187
Termination Act
During the 1972 election campaign the Australian Labor Party promised that 'all men imprisoned under the National Service Act will be released, pending prosecutions discontinued and existing convictions expunged'.
Within a few days of winning office in early December the new Minister for Labour and National Service, Lance Barnard, suspended the operation of the scheme by administrative action, cancelling the call-up of approximately 2200 men who had been medically examined and deferring the liability of all men who had enlisted for service. National servicemen already in the Army who did not wish to continue their service were released as quickly as possible. Prosecutions and pending prosecutions were dropped. Young men who had taken up the option of part-time military service in the Citizen Military Forces were able to be discharged at their own request. National servicemen who opted to complete their term of service were entitled to the same benefits as before. In June 1973 the Whitlam Government passed the National Service Termination Act, giving legislative effect to Barnard's administrative action. The Government also intended to repeal the National Service Act itself as soon as possible, but felt constrained to wait until national servicemen who continued to serve under the Act had completed their service and received all the benefits to which they were entitled under the Act. This state of affairs did not come about before the dismissal of the Whitlam Government on 11 November 1975.
The National Service Act 1951 and its subsequent amendments were repealed by the Defence Legislation Amendment Act of 1992. Following this legislation, the Government retained the power to introduce conscription under the Defence Act, but only in a time of war and only with prior parliamentary approval. The Act also revised provisions concerning conscientious objection, providing for special tribunals to determine claims and making it possible for an individual to be recognised as a conscientious objector to a particular war. In introducing the legislation the Parliamentary Secretary to the Attorney-General, Peter Duncan, said that the Keating Government's aim was 'to preserve the capacity to introduce conscription for the protection of Australia, but to ensure that those claiming exemption would receive a rapid and fair hearing'. The Government clearly wished to remove many of the anomalies in the operation of compulsory military service that had become evident during the Vietnam War. Duncan expressed the hope that repeal of the National Service Act would 'remove this last vestige of an unhappy and divisive episode in our history'.'3


Birthdates drawn in National Service ballots 1965-72
Birthdates drawn in the first National Service ballot: 10 March 1965
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 January 1945 to 30 June 1945.
January 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 21, 23, 27, 28
February 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9,12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26
March 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29,30
April 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 29
May 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 14, 19, 22, 23, 26, 30
June 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, 25, 26, 29

Birthdates drawn in the second National Service ballot: 10 September 1965
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 July 1945 to 31 December 1945.
July 3, 6, 7, 8, 16, 22, 25, 26, 31
August 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26
September 2, 4, 5, 6, 14, 17, 21, 25, 26
October 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 23, 25, 29
November 3, 4, 12, 14, 15, 16, 22, 24, 27
December 6, 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 21, 24, 25, 26, 28, 31
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 July 1945 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
July to December—as above
January 3, 6, 7, 8, 16, 22, 25, 26, 31
February 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26
March 5, 7, 8, 9, 17, 20, 24, 28, 29
April 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 25, 27
May 1, 6, 7, 15, 17, 18, 19, 25, 27, 30
June 8, 12, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21, 23, 26, 27, 28, 30

Birthdates drawn in the third National Service ballot: 1I March 1966
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 January 1946 to 30 June 1946.
January 2, 3, 5, 12, 13, 21, 22, 30
February 1, 2, 12, 23
March 1, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, 29
April 5, 10, 15, 18, 19, 24, 26, 29
May 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 13, 14, 20, 22, 23, 26, 29, 30
June 1, 6, 9, 14, 17, 25, 30
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 January 1946 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
January to June—as above
July 2, 3, 5, 12, 13, 21, 22, 30
August 1, 2, 12, 23, 29
September 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26
October 3, 8, 13, 16, 17, 22, 24, 27, 30, 31
November 1, 7, 8, 10, 11, 17, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 29
December 4, 7, 12, 15, 23, 28, 31
Birthdates drawn in the fourth National Service ballot: 9 September 1966
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 July 1946 to 31 December 1946.
July 15, 17, 20, 24
August 2, 14, 19, 20, 22, 25, 27
September 12, 16, 18, 23, 24, 25
October 1, 16, 21, 22, 23, 29
November 1, 2, 5, 9, 11, 12, 17, 24, 26, 28, 30
December 1, 6, 18, 25
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 July 1946 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
July to December—as above
January 15, 17, 20, 24
February 2, 14, 19, 20, 22, 25, 27
March 15, 19, 21, 26, 27, 28
April 3, 18, 23, 24, 25
May 1, 4, 5, 8, 12, 14, 15, 20, 27, 29, 31
June 2, 3, 8, 20, 27

Birthdates drawn in the fifth National Service ballot: 10 March 1967
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 January 1947 to 30 June 1947.
January 1, 4, 6, 7, 12, 16, 17, 20, 24, 25, 30
February 3, 8, 12, 16, 18, 23
March 3, 11, 16, 21, 22, 23
April 4, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 24, 29
May 1, 13, 14, 22, 25, 29
June 5, 11, 12, 15, 16, 20, 29
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 January 1947 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
January to June as above
July 1, 4, 6, 7, 12, 16, 17, 20, 24, 25, 30
August 3, 8, 12, 16, 18, 23, 31
September 8, 13,18,19, 20
October 2, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 22, 27, 29
November 10, 11, 19, 22, 26
December 3, 9, 10, 13, 14, 18, 27, 30

Birthdates drawn in the sixth National Service ballot: 8 September 1967
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 July 1947 to 31 December 1947.
July 2, 12, 15, 19, 21, 23, 25, 29
August 1, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 19, 26, 27
September 10, 13, 15, 16, 19, 23
October 13, 14, 16, 21, 25, 26, 31
November 6, 17, 18
December 4, 10, 15, 22, 24, 25
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 July 1947 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
July to December—as above
January 2, 12, 15, 19, 21, 23, 25, 29
February 1, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 19, 26, 27
March 13, 16, 18, 19, 22, 26
April 15, 16, 18, 23, 27, 28
May 3, 9, 20, 21
June 6, 12, 17, 24, 26, 27

Birthdates drawn in the seventh National Service ballot: 15 March 1968
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 January 1948 to 30 June 1948.
January 1, 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21
February 5, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 21
March 2, 7, 8, 9, 15, 22, 25, 26, 29, 31
April 3, 16, 17, 19, 25, 30
May 1, 7, 11, 17, 18, 21, 23, 31
June 10, 17, 24, 28
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 January 1948 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
January to June—as above
July 1, 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21
August 5, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 21, 30
September 4, 5, 6, 12, 19, 22, 23, 26, 28
October 1,14,15,17, 23, 28, 29
November 4, 8, 14, 15, 18, 20, 28
December 8, 15, 22, 26

Birthdates drawn in the eighth National Service ballot: 13 September 1968
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 July 1948 to 31 December 1948.
July 3, 21, 22, 24, 30
August 1, 3, 16, 18, 24, 26
September 5, 9, 12, 14, 22, 23, 24, 26
October 3, 13, 18
November 5, 18, 24, 28, 29
December 7, 12, 14, 15, 19, 21, 22, 26
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 July 1948 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
July to December—as above
January 3, 21, 22, 24, 30
February 1, 3, 16, 18, 24, 26
March 7, 11, 14, 16, 24, 25, 26, 28
April 4, 14, 19
May 7, 20, 26, 30, 31
June 8, 13, 15, 16, 20, 22, 23, 27

Birthdates drawn in the ninth National Service ballot: 14 March 1969
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 January 1949 to 30 June 1949.
January 2, 3, 9, 11, 12, 14, 19, 20, 23, 25, 29, 31
February 3, 8, 12, 14, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28
March 1, 7, 11, 12, 20, 22, 26, 28
April 2, 3, 8, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 21, 25, 26
May 13, 18, 19, 27
June 7, 9, 10, 23, 28, 30
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 January 1949 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
January to June—as above
July 2, 3, 9, 11, 12, 14, 19, 20, 23, 25, 29, 31
August 3, 8, 12, 14, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 30
September 5, 9, 10, 18, 20, 24, 26
October 1, 2, 7, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 20, 24, 25
November 11, 16, 17, 25
December 6, 8, 9, 22, 27, 29, 31

Birthdates drawn in the tenth National Service ballot: 22 September 1969
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 July 1949 to 31 December 1949.
July 3, 8, 11, 15, 20, 25
August 9, 13, 25, 29
September 18, 19, 21, 28
October 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, 15, 25
November 17, 22, 29
December 2, 5, 7, 15, 17, 25
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 July 1949 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
July to December—as above
January 3, 8, 11, 15, 20, 25
February 9, 13, 25, 29
March 20, 21, 23, 30
April 4, 6, 11, 12, 13, 16, 26
May 19, 24, 31
June 3, 6, 8, 16, 18, 26

Birthdates drawn in the eleventh National Service ballot: 13 March 1970
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 January 1950 to 30 June 1950.
January 3, 4, 6, 11, 22, 26, 28, 30
February 4, 11, 15, 21
March 1, 10, 15, 21
April 7, 13, 15, 21, 28
May 10, 20, 22, 25, 31
June 4, 11, 19, 23
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 January 1950 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
January to June—as above
July 3, 4, 6, 11, 22, 26, 28, 30
August 4, 11, 15, 21, 30
September 8, 13, 19
October 6, 12, 14, 20, 27
November 8, 18, 20, 23, 29
December 3,10,18, 22

Birthdates drawn in the twelfth National Service ballot: 28 September 1970
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 July 1950 to 31 December 1950.
July 5, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 29, 30
August 1, 17, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29, 31
September 2, 3, 5, 13, 15, 19, 26
October 2, 3, 4, 10, 15, 30
November 18, 20, 29, 30
December 2, 6, 7, 22, 28, 29
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 July 1950 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
July to December—as above
January 5, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 29, 30
February 1, 17, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29
March 2, 4, 5, 7, 15, 17, 21, 28
April 3, 4, 5, 11, 16
May 1, 20, 22, 31
June 1, 3, 7, 8, 23, 29, 30

Birthdates drawn in the thirteenth National Service ballot: 26 March 1971
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 January 1951 to30 June 1951.
January 2, 7, 8, 11, 15, 26, 28
February 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 24, 28, 29
March 5, 7, 13, 15, 17, 20, 26, 27, 28, 30
April 2, 5, 6, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 30
May 4, 5, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 25, 26, 29
June 2, 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21, 23, 28, 29, 30
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 January 1951 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
January to June—as above
July 2, 7, 8, 11, 15, 26, 28
August 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 24, 28, 29
September 3, 5, 11, 13, 15, 18, 24, 25, 26, 28
October 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 17, 18, 19, 20, 29
November 2, 3, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 23, 24, 27
December 1, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 20, 22, 27, 28, 29

Birthdates drawn in the fourteenth National Service ballot: 17 September 1971
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 July 1951 to 31 December 1951.
July 1, 9, 10, 12, 13, 17, 21, 22, 26, 31
August 1, 6, 7, 10, 21, 24, 27, 30
September 4, 8, 10, 14, 21, 23, 28, 29
October 4, 5, 7, 10, 12, 16, 20, 22, 25
November 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 22, 27, 28, 30
December 7, 8, 9, 16, 21, 28, 29, 31
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 July 1951 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
July to December—as above
January 1, 9, 10, 12, 13, 17, 21, 22, 26, 31
February 1, 6, 7, 10, 21, 24, 27
March 1, 6, 10, 12, 16, 23, 25, 30, 31
April 5, 6, 8, 11, 13, 17, 21, 23, 26
May 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 24, 29, 30
June 1, 8, 9, 10, 17, 22, 29, 30

Birthdates drawn in the fifteenth National Service ballot: 24 March 1972
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 January 1952 to 30 June 1952.
January 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 23, 30
Februar 2, 3, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 29
March 9, 12, 13, 17, 26, 27, 30, 31
April 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 22, 24, 29
May 2, 3, 5, 11, 13, 20
June 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 16, 21, 24, 29, 30
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 January 1952 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
January to June—as above
July 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 23, 30
August 2, 3, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 29
September 7, 10, 11, 15, 24, 25, 28, 29
October 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 21, 23, 28, 31
November 1, 3, 9, 11, 18
December 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 15, 20, 23, 28, 29

Birthdates drawn in the sixteenth National Service ballot: 22 September 1972
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 July 1952 to 31 December 1952.
July 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 15, 17, 29, 30
August 1, 4, 11, 17, 19, 21, 28, 29
September 3, 10, 12, 17, 18, 20, 25
October 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 19, 29, 30
November 3, 15, 29, 30
December 1, 6, 21, 26, 30
Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 July 1952 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
July to December—as above
January 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 15, 17, 29, 30
February 1, 4, 11, 17, 19, 21, 28, 29
March 5, 12, 14, 19, 20, 22, 27
April 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 20, 30
May 1, 5, 17, 31
June 1, 2, 7, 22, 27

This is one part of the paper that really stood out for me.

"I reiterate and emphasize not all registrants whose birth dates were drawn were called up in the twice yearly ballots (even allowing for health and other declared non call up or exempt categories), so it appears some person within the system played God big time. "