 Australian operations in Phuoc Tuy province continued throughout the remainder of 1967 , and although they were largely successful at the tactical level , the Viet Cong continued to be able to enter most of the villages in the province , and were causing increasingly heavy Allied casualties with mines lifted from the controversial barrier minefield laid by the Australians . Operation Santa Fe , a further large @-@ scale joint US @-@ Australian operation , took place between October and November , but it too ended with only limited success in comparison to the resources committed . Meanwhile , despite allegations of corruption and ballot rigging by the ruling military junta , South Vietnam 's presidential elections in September had been unhampered by security concerns and were largely considered successful , with 83 percent of eligible voters turning out nationwide ; in Phuoc Tuy this number was higher still at over 90 percent . Graham believed that the large public turnout in Phuoc Tuy had been due to the long @-@ term effects of Australian operations in the province which had increased the population 's sense of security . As a result , 1 ATF now turned its attention to expanding its area of operations . 
