The Prime Minister of Australia, Sir Robert Menzies, gave as his reason for calling an election within two years that there was an insufficient working majority in the House.

The Labor premier of New South Wales, Robert Heffron, had promised money for science labs at non-government schools.

Menzies called a snap election with state aid for science blocks and Commonwealth scholarships for students at both government and non-government schools as part of his party's platform.

Other key issues in the election included the proposal by the United States to build the North-west Cape communications facility which would support the US nuclear submarine capability.

A special federal conference of the ALP was called in March 1963 which, by a narrow margin, supported the base.

The Left faction was opposed to a foreign base on Australian soil, especially one which supported America's nuclear weapons capability.

Although Calwell was the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives and Whitlam was his deputy, neither man was eligible to attend the conference, which consisted of six members elected by each state ALP branch.

Reid jibed that the ALP was ruled by "36 faceless men" – an accusation that was picked up by Menzies and the Liberal Party in its election material, and is still remembered more than 40 years later.