Sir Robert Menzies for his time introduced significant welfare measures and in those days would never refer to people as leaners as you do. At times things were very hard and jobs unavailable. He did some significant social reform measures as per below from Wikipedia:
“... in 1962, Menzies’s Commonwealth Electoral Act provided that all Indigenous Australians should have the right to enrol and vote at federal elections.[45]
In 1960, the Menzies Government introduced a new pharmaceutical benefits scheme, which expanded the range of prescribed medicines subsidised by the government.Other social welfare measures of the government included the extension of the Commonwealth Child Endowment scheme, the pensioner medical and free medicines service, the Aged Persons’ Homes Assistance scheme, free provision of life-saving drugs; the provision of supplementary pensions to dependent pensioners paying rent; increased rates of pension, unemployment and sickness benefits, and rehabilitation allowances;"
