RIP Gough Whitlam

[Camikaze]

The former Prime Minister of Australia has died, aged 98.

Obituary from Sydney Morning Herald:

"With all my reservations," Gough Whitlam said on his 80th birthday, "I do admit I seem eternal." He warned, however: "Dying will happen sometime. As you know, I plan for the ages, not just for this life." Whitlam defied these intimations of mortality for another 18 years before dying happened. What were his plans for the next age, his afterlife? "You can be sure of one thing," he said of a possible meeting with his maker, "I shall treat Him as an equal."

[...]

Bitter opponents warmed somewhat after he left parliament. They had borne grudges. After 23 years of non-Labor government, they were reluctant to concede that the government he led in 1972 had a right to govern. Their tactics of obstruction led him to call an election after 18 months, which he won. They tried again 18 months later, this time with the help of Sir John Kerr, the governor-general, and shambolic behaviour by some government ministers. The propriety of their actions remains open for debate, but Kerr dismissed Whitlam in 1975 and Labor lost the ensuing election overwhelmingly.

The manner of his defeat has confused the Whitlam legacy. He is remembered as much for his going, which made him a martyr for many Australians, as for his achievements and the new sense of identity he brought the nation.

Senator John Faulkner asked in 2002: "Are you comfortable being an icon and elder statesman?". Whitlam replied: "Well, I hope this is not just because I was a martyr. The fact is I was an achiever." He could point to achievements and reforms such as recognising China, abolishing conscription, establishing Medibank, introducing needs-based school funding, extending tertiary education, reforming family law, boosting the arts, indexing pensions, and moving to equal pay for women, voting at 18, one vote-one value and Aboriginal land rights. He removed sales tax on contraceptives. He broke the cultural cringe, introduced an Australian honours system and a new national anthem, made relations with Asia a priority and ended Australia's involvement with imperialism, later revived in Iraq.

Edward Gough Whitlam was born on July 11, 1916, in Kew, Melbourne, when Australia's first prime minister, Edmund Barton, still lived. He lived during the lifetimes of all 27 other Australian prime ministers, to Tony Abbott. He contributed to the national debate from 1944, when he campaigned for a referendum seeking federal powers for post-war reconstruction - it lost - and still went to his office four days a week in his 98th year.

[...]

In parliament, his favourite forum, Whitlam had established ascendancy over Menzies' successors Harold Holt and Gorton, then had fun at the expense of the ineffectual Bill McMahon. McMahon tried to revive the communist bogey when Whitlam met Chou-En-lai in China in 1971, only to discover that US President Nixon was following in Whitlam's footsteps. With the help of Clyde Cameron and John Ducker, the ALP's Victorian branch was reformed and a measure of reform brought to NSW.

A majority of Australians accepted Labor's campaign slogan in 1972 - "It's Time". The Coalition had been in power too long. Whitlam won a swing of only 2.6 per cent on December 2, but enough to take eight seats and government. Impatient to start governing before Christmas, Whitlam had himself and his deputy, Lance Barnard, sworn into the existing 27 portfolios. He called the two-man government "the duumvirate", or "the triumvirate" when Sir Paul Hasluck, the governor-general, signed necessary documents. They ended military conscription, released conscientious objectors from jail, recognised China, abolished knighthoods and moved towards Aboriginal land rights.

The full ministry, sworn in six days before Christmas, kept up the pace. Believing education to be the key to equal opportunity, Whitlam abolished tertiary fees and greatly increased spending for schools, universities and colleges. Pensions were increased and indexed and Medibank established as Australia's first national health insurance system. Urban and regional development programs were boosted. No Australian government has been so determined to implement without delay such comprehensive reform. Yet many reforms only brought Australia into line with modern social democracies.

[...]

Few Australians in public life can have had such a passion for their country and such a vision of its possibilities. He said in his 1997 book, Abiding Interests, his "epistle to the Australians", that his abiding interests for Australia would end only "with a long and fortunate life". Margaret Whitlam, whom he described as his best appointment and most constant critic, died in 2012, a month before their 70th wedding anniversary. Gough Whitlam is survived by his sons Tony, Nick and Stephen; daughter Catherine and sister Freda.

 

[Old Hippy]

RIP your a legend mate

 

[classical_hero]

The only PM to be ever dismissed b the GG.

 

[Arwon]

Hell of a list of achievements in three short years, essential to the creation of modern Australia.

Taken from Reddit and modified for clarity:

Established universal Healthcare (Medibank/Medicare)

Ended the death penalty

Invested in social housing, sewage systems, public transport. Particularly brought sewerage infrastructure to the neglected outer suburbs.

Increased school funding, establishing the needs-based funding system

Established free university education, enabling a generation of low income Australians to get education and get ahead in life

Returned land to the Gurindji people, the gesture of pouring sand through Vincent Lingiari's hands being the symbolic start of the land rights process

Granted independence to PNG

Established diplomatic relations with China before any other western leader

Increased foreign aid

Pulled the last of the troops out of Vietnam

Ended conscription and freed imprisoned draft dodgers

Introduced multiculturalism as an official policy and put the last nails in the coffin of the White Australia policy

Advocated against Apartheid (including the start of the sport boycott) and atmospheric nuclear testing

Introduced no-fault divorce laws, the family court and the single mother's benefit

Passed the trade practices act, cutting tariffs unilaterally by 25%

Stopped the QLD Nationals and Liberals from drilling for oil in the Barrier Reef

Established the Australian Heritage Commission, the Australian Council for the Arts, the National Gallery of Australia

Kick started the Australian film and television industry and started Triple J, the national youth radio station.

Passed the Racial Discrimination Act

Equal pay for equal work for women and Aboriginal people, 1972.

Lowered the voting age to 18

Ended malaportionment by introducing one vote one value to federal electorates

Established the Law Reform Commission and the Legal Aid Office

Enabled people from the ACT and NT to vote for the Senate for the first time

Established the Order of Australia honours system

And gave us our current national anthem.

Vale Edward Gough Whitlam.

 

[warmonger]

Without a doubt, Gough was the greatest Australian politician post WWII. He changed Australia from a "little Britian" to an independent minded nation - all in 3 years.

Pretty much everything I have achieved in life is because of this man. I owe my health to his Medibank; my education to his free university policy; my sanity to his no-fault divorce policy and perhaps my life to his withdrawl of Australian troops from Vietnam.

I met him once - he was the keynote speaker at a conference in Sydney in the early 80's at which I was a very non- key speaker. There was an speakers buffet dinner organised where we could all mingle and chat. His intellect, wit, and passion for life was so much greater than us mere mortals and now he shows that he is mortal too.


Thanks Gough.

 

[luiz]

From Arwon's list I agree with about 80% of his "achievements", which is more than I can say about most politicians. If that's an Australian leftist, it's no wonder the country is so developed and progressive. RIP.

 

[bhsup]

I didn't really know of this guy. I knew at one point the GG down under hand sacked a PM, but I didn't know the facts surrounding it. Can't say I would have necessarily agreed with all of his policies, but agree or not, he sounds like a man who always strove to do right by Australia as best he could as he saw it. Respect for that kind of leader.

 

[classical_hero]

From Arwon's list I agree with about 80% of his "achievements", which is more than I can say about most politicians. If that's an Australian leftist, it's no wonder the country is so developed and progressive. RIP.

But the thing is he nearly bankrupted the country doing so. many of his ideas were grand, but they were never paid for and as a result the next election he was thrown out of office with the lowest seats ever by a major party.

 

[luiz]

But the thing is he nearly bankrupted the country doing so. many of his ideas were grand, but they were never paid for and as a result the next election he was thrown out of office with the lowest seats ever by a major party.

Yeah I can see that. The ideas seem good, but some are known to be pretty bad in practice (like free superior education - a terrible policy).

 

[Old Hippy]

But the thing is he nearly bankrupted the country doing so. many of his ideas were grand, but they were never paid for and as a result the next election he was thrown out of office with the lowest seats ever by a major party.

notice that our mate malcom never changed most of what Gough did when he took power
the right are still trying to change most of what was done in 1972/75...
have you been to the doctors lately...
one current politcal issue is about medicare, and a part payment

so thanks again Gough, you knew it is not how long you keep the seat warm, but what you do while you do while you have it.

 

[Farm Boy]

Yeah I can see that. The ideas seem good, but some are known to be pretty bad in practice (like free superior education - a terrible policy).

It's a hell of an investment to try and make. If you can swing it though you might be able to pull off the richest average citizenry in the world.

 

[Hygro]

Whitlam sounds like a man to aspire to be.

But the thing is he nearly bankrupted the country doing so. many of his ideas were grand, but they were never paid for and as a result the next election he was thrown out of office with the lowest seats ever by a major party.

The solution would have been to free float the currency in 1973 instead of 1983 which is when you actual did. Problem solved.

 

[Arwon]

It's funny, the net debt to GDP ratio and the federal budget as a percentage of GDP (the dreaded SIZE OF GOVERNMENT bogeyman) were both lower in 1975 than they are now.

We had zero net debt in 1975, in fact. I'm pretty surprised by that, all the bleating about "bankrupting and rooning the country" I'd have at least expected some net debt to be left behind.

 

[Hygro]

So problem never-even-happened-in-the-first-place

 

[Arwon]

I guess after causing the constitutional crisis that lead to the Dismissal the tories had to justify it somehow?

I'm actually really shocked at how non-big those debt ratios were given the "rooned the economy" meme that's do popular here. Probably just the mid 70s oil turmoil getting blamed on his government.

 

[classical_hero]

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/The-year-the-economy-went-bung/2004/12/31/1104344983057.html

After years of plenty, in 1974 Treasury lost its influence on government decision-making. Tim Colebatch reports.

It was the year the Australian economy went bung. It began with unemployment at 2 per cent, but ended with it heading for 5 per cent. A generation of jobs for everyone was over.

It was the year wages and prices soared out of control. Consumer prices rose 16 per cent, yet wages topped that, rising 28 per cent as powerful unions came back for a second or even a third round of pay rises.

It was the year Australia's current account slid into deficit, never to return. From a surplus of 1.5 per cent of GDP in mid-1973, the balance of Australia's transactions with the world crashed to a deficit of 3.2 per cent by the end of the 1974.

It was the year when profits collapsed; industrial disputes escalated; and a housing boom gave way to the steepest bust on record. For the economy, 1974 was the end of the good times.

It was the year the Commonwealth budget exploded. As the Whitlam government pressed on with its big-spending reforms despite Treasury pleas for restraint, Commonwealth spending surged 46 per cent in 1974-75, dwarfing the 20 per cent rise the year before.

As Julia Gillard said about the man, we are forever in his debt. She didn't mean it the way I am taking it but he left the country in a position we haven't recovered from. Labor plus unions will always destroy the economy they are working on. From that time for full unemployment has never been achieved and many of his so-called achievements are on the back of others who did the work.
His Betrayal of the South Vietnamese is one of the greatest blights on this country, amongst the numerous failures that occurred. I man his government didn't car if thousands of South Vietnamese could have been saved from their death. He certain was very "generous" of his thoughts about them by cllng them &*%^&*& Vietnamese Balts. Lovely fellow.

He is basically living off the Great Robert Menzies. http://www.afr.com/p/lifestyle/review/robert_menzies_stolen_legacy_3toWgG4FN6Zi0sF5NOQRRL The free education was already free for those who had the grades, all he did was remove the incentive for having good grades to go to uni. It was such a disaster that a later Labor government introduced HECS to cover the costs and force people to pay for some of their education and not allow those who didn't work hard enough to get get the grades. We are reaping the rewards of such ideology.

 

[Old Hippy]

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/The-year-the-economy-went-bung/2004/12/31/1104344983057.html


As Julia Gillard said about the man, we are forever in his debt. She didn't mean it the way I am taking it but he left the country in a position we haven't recovered from. Labor plus unions will always destroy the economy they are working on. From that time for full unemployment has never been achieved and many of his so-called achievements are on the back of others who did the work.
His Betrayal of the South Vietnamese is one of the greatest blights on this country, amongst the numerous failures that occurred. I man his government didn't car if thousands of South Vietnamese could have been saved from their death. He certain was very "generous" of his thoughts about them by cllng them &*%^&*& Vietnamese Balts. Lovely fellow.

He is basically living off the Great Robert Menzies. http://www.afr.com/p/lifestyle/review/robert_menzies_stolen_legacy_3toWgG4FN6Zi0sF5NOQRRL The free education was already free for those who had the grades, all he did was remove the incentive for having good grades to go to uni. It was such a disaster that a later Labor government introduced HECS to cover the costs and force people to pay for some of their education and not allow those who didn't work hard enough to get get the grades. We are reaping the rewards of such ideology.

I like gough, but I think you are giving him to much credit,I don't see how he was responsible for the world wide recession in the mid 70's

starting with the 73-74 stock market crash
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973%E2%80%9374_stock_market_crash

or the 73-75 recession in the US and UK and by chance? Australia...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973%E2%80%9375_recession

or the 73-74 oil crissis embargo...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis

yes he was a gaint of Australian politics, but are you not over doing all the things he could make happen just a little perhaps ...

 

[Arwon]

You can tell a lot about the quality of a man by the people who hate him.

 

[Hygro]

Or let's not forget that a current account deficit is a term that refers to international trade.

It's a circumstance in which other countries take your printed money in exchange for their real stuff.

 

[Arwon]

Oh man you're right he totally though the CAD meant Budget Deficit and thus debt wow.