 There was a considerable public backlash to the way in which some of the provisions of the "War Precautions Act" were applied, particularly in relation to certain sections of the community such as trade unions and other sections of the community that were for various reasons not as sympathetic to the British cause as the wider community.Indeed, in 1917, following the suppression of a prominent trade union and the jailing of 12 of its members on charges of sedition and sabotage, it seemed as if Australia's war effort might have been in danger of breaking down.After the war, the continued operation of the "War Precautions Act" led to considerable social and political unrest in late 1918 and into 1919 and a number of violent incidents broke out.