of these technologies also renewed large-scale foreign investment. That injection of foreign investment led to increases in construction, particularly in the private residential sector. That injection of foreign cash was the main contributor to economic expansion, which was again troublesome for Australia's economy. Returns on investments, as before, were immensely different from the expected returns. By the 1920s, agricultural producers were experiencing profit troubles and governments, which invested heavily on transportation infrastructure, were not getting the returns that they had expected. Cutbacks in borrowing, government and private expenditure in the late 1920s led to a recession. The recession itself became worse as other nations fell into depressions. They not only cut back on foreign investments to Australia but also led to a lower demand for Australian exports. That culminated into the biggest recession in Australia's history, which peaked in 1931-1932. The worldwide depression of the 1930s was not felt as badly in Australia than in to international counterparts because of increases in productivity from the manufacturing sector. (In William Sinclair 's terms , that is when Australia moved from the old model to the new model.) Trade protection, particularly from tariffs implemented by governments at the time, were instrumental to the prosperity of the manufacturing sector. A major labour strike took place at the State Coalfields in Wonthaggi, Victoria in 1934. Conditions were hard on the strikers over a five month episode. Their resilience, cohesion, and significant community support accounted for their persistence. Winning the strike revitalized the Victorian labour movement and enhanced its political power. 1939–1945 World War II had a profound impact on the Australian economy and permanently changed how the economy was run. Prior to 1939, the Commonwealth Government had little role in the management of the Australian economy. The state governments levied most of the income tax, and Australia's international trade was dictated by its relationship with the British Empire. The Japanese attack on Australia in 1942 led the Australian Government to adopt an "All In" war policy, which dictated the full mobilisation of the Australian economy and workforce. To that end, a range of economic and industrial controls were adopted: rationing, production controls, military and industrial conscription. The new powers were generally administered by the Commonwealth Government assisted by government appointed boards of control. The best and the most successful example was the Commonwealth Munitions Board (CMB) which directed the expansion of the Australian munitions