 In Australia two referendums in 1916 and 1917 resulted in votes against conscription, and were seen as opposition to an all-out prosecution of the war.In retaliation, the Australian government used the War Precautions Act and the Unlawful Associations Act to arrest and prosecute anti-conscriptionists such as Tom Barker, editor of "Direct Action" and many other members of the Industrial Workers of the World.The young John Curtin, at the time a member of the Victorian Socialist Party, was also arrested.