Before entering parliament, Calwell held various positions in the Labor Party's organisation wing, serving terms as state president and as a member of the federal executive.

After the 1943 election, Calwell was elevated to cabinet as Minister for Information, overseeing government censorship and propaganda during World War II.

Calwell was one of the most prominent opponents of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, a stance that was not electorally popular at the time, voting age being then 21.

[3] As a young boy he contracted diphtheria, which permanently scarred his vocal chords and gave him a lifelong "raspish, nasal voice".

After his second rejection in 1916 he made no further attempts to seek active service, being unwilling to join as an enlisted man; however, he was placed in the Army Reserve and remained there until receiving an honourable discharge in 1926.

Calwell unsuccessfully sought Labor preselection for the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the Senate on a number of occasions, and was elected to the party's federal executive in 1926.

Maloney would remain in parliament until his death at the age of 85, and Calwell made no effort to force an early retirement, despite being widely seen as the heir apparent to the seat.

During World War II, Calwell was appointed as Minister for Information in the Second Curtin Ministry following the 1943 election, and became well known for his tough attitude towards the Australian press and his strict enforcement of wartime censorship.

Thus, he was the chief architect of Australia's post-war immigration scheme at a time when many European refugees desired a better life far from their war-torn homelands, and he became famous for his relentless promotion of it.

In July 1947 he signed an agreement with the United Nations Refugee Organisation to accept displaced persons from European countries ravaged by war.

[15] Calwell's refusal to grant entry to Lorenzo Gamboa – a Filipino man who had fought with the U.S. Army and had an Australian wife and children – caused an international incident with the Philippines.

Calwell remained unmoved, and told a rally prior to the 1949 election that "I am sure we don't want half-castes running over our country" and "if we let in any U.S. citizen, we will have to admit U.S. negroes.

[16][17] Calwell left ministerial office from the 1949 election when the Chifley government was defeated by the Liberal Party, led by Robert Menzies.

Calwell's friendship with many of the leaders of the Industrial Groups (known collectively as "Groupers") led Evatt to privately question his loyalty.

Ultimately, a narrow loss in Bruce, located in the DLP's heartland of Melbourne, ended any realistic chance of a Labor win, but the Coalition was not assured of another term in government until the Brisbane-area seat of Moreton was called for the Liberals hours later.

The Liberals seized on it, issuing a leaflet accusing Calwell of taking direction from "36 unknown men, not elected to Parliament nor responsible to the people.

Labor suffered a crushing defeat, losing nine seats while the Coalition won the largest majority government in Australian history at the time.

It was clear by this time that Calwell's awkward, tactless image was no match for that of his charismatic and ambitious young Deputy Leader, the urbane, middle-class, university-educated Whitlam.

In particular, Whitlam's clear mastery of the media gave him a huge advantage over Calwell, who looked and sounded substantially older than his 70 years.

Calwell, an old-fashioned stump orator whose career was forged in the days of the raucous public meeting, had always come across badly on television, compared with the smooth, avuncular and rich-voiced Menzies and the suave Holt.

As he was leaving the meeting, and just as his car was about to drive off, a 19-year-old student named Peter Kocan approached the passenger side of the vehicle and fired a sawn-off rifle at Calwell at point-blank range.

However, the closed window deflected the bullet, which lodged harmlessly in his coat lapel, and he sustained only minor facial injuries from broken glass.

[22] Reflecting his Catholic values, Calwell later forgave and visited Kocan in the mental hospital (where he was confined for ten years), and through a regular correspondence encouraged his eventual rehabilitation.

Notwithstanding Calwell's poor relations with the conservative press in Australia and his public battles against right-wing Catholics like Archbishop Mannix and B.

He attended Calwell's funeral, but (according to his biographer Allan W. Martin) became so overwhelmed by grief after arriving at the cathedral that he was unable to compose himself and leave his car.

He was made a Knight Commander with Star of the Order of St Gregory the Great (KC*SG) by Pope Paul VI (following nomination by Australian cardinal Martin Toal) for his lifelong service to the church.

He attributed this to the press, stating that "because of some anti-Australian Asian journalist or perhaps because some Australian pressman with a chip on his shoulder, a Labor Party hater, the name of White was deliberately altered into a definition of colour".

In March 1972 he publicly endorsed British Conservative MP Enoch Powell's views on race,[40] later describing the United Kingdom as having experienced a "black tragedy".

This is reflected by Calwell's comments in his 1972 memoirs Be Just and Fear Not in which he maintained his view that non-European people should not be allowed to settle in Australia.

[42]Speaking regarding the incident involving Lorenzo Gamboa, when a questioner brought up his U.S. citizenship for consideration, Calwell responded "If we let in any U.S. citizen we will have to admit U.S. negroes.