People Power and Politics in the Post-War Period

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People Power and Politics in the Post-War Period

• Prime Ministers and Policies

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Edward Gough Whitlam
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Gough Whitlam (1916 - )

• Born 11 July 1916 at Kew, Victoria
• B.A. LLB, (Syd.).
• Barrister
• Queens Counsel since 1962

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Military Service

• Whitlam enlisted in R.A.A.F General Duties Branch
  1941.
• Discharged 1945 with rank of Flight Lieutenant.

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Parliamentary Service

• Elected to the House of Representatives for
  Werriwa, New South Wales, at by-election on 29
  November 1952, following the death of H.P.
  Lazzarini.
• Deputy Leader of Opposition from March 7, 1960 to
  February 8, 1967.
• Leader of Opposition from February 8, 1967 to
  December 5, 1972.
• Prime Minister from December 5, 1972 to November
  11, 1975.
• Leader of Opposition from January 27, 1976 to
  December 22, 1977.

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Background to the Whitlam Era
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The Menzies Era

• Australia had been governed since 1949 by the
  Liberal/Country Party coalition. Led by Robert
  Menzies, the coalition won seven consecutive
  elections (1951, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1961 1963).
  Menzies became the longest-serving Prime Minister
  in Australias federal history and retired in
  January 1966.
• The Vietnam War was by then becoming the dominant
  issue of the decade. Menzies had taken Australia
  into the war in 1965. Following his retirement,
  the United States President, Lyndon Baines
  Johnson, visited Australia and was confronted by
  rowdy protests wherever he went. Now led by
  Harold Holt, the coalition had a landslide
  victory at the elections that year.

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The Menzies Era

• The 1966 election saw the end of the leadership
  of the ALPs (Labor Party) Arthur Callwell. In
  February 1967, Edward Gough Whitlam, who has
  served as Deputy Leader since 1961, became Leader
  of the Opposition.
• But the focus was on the coalition government
  which had started a steady decline. Amidst
  leadership speculation, Prime Minister Harold
  Holt disappeared at Cheviot Beach in Portsea in
  1967 and was succeeded by John Gorton.

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John Gorton - the larrikin PM

• Gortons accession to the prime ministership was
  marked by acrimony (hostility). The Country Party
  Leader, John McEwen, vetoed (prohibited) the
  election of William McMahon, threatening the walk
  out of the coalition and thus bring down the
  government if the Liberals elected his longtime
  economic policy opponent.
• Amidst this turmoil, John Gorton moved from
  Senate to take Holts vacant seat of Higgins and
  the nations top political office.
• In 1969, Gorton was returned to office in the
  general elections, but lost 17 seats to the
  Australian Labor Party opposition led by Whitlam.

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John Gorton -
the larrikin PM

• Whitlam had established himself as a formidable
  campaigner, winning a number of by-elections and
  taking a stand for internal reform of the ALP.
  The 1969 election resulted in the ALP winning a
  majority of the two-party-preferred vote, but
  failing to win enough seats.
• Gortons leadership was challenged after the
  election by Paul Hasluck, later to be appointed
  Governor-General, and others.

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John Gorton - the larrikin PM

• Gortons demise came in 1971, when the Defence
  Minister, Malcolm Fraser, resigned from Cabinet,
  claiming that Gorton had a maniac determination
  to get his own way and alleging disloyalty in
  Gortons treatment of Fraser. A challenge to
  Gortons leadership was mounted resulting in a
  tied vote. Gorton used his own casting vote to
  give leadership to William McMahon.
• Gorton was subsequently elected deputy leader of
  the party, but was sacked by McMahon a few months
  later, following the publication of a series of
  newspaper articles by Gorton, entitled I did it
  my way.

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Gough Whitlam The Party,The Policies

• In this climate of political decay, Whitlam had
  embarked on a three-year program to reform his
  Party, develop new policies, and persuade the
  People that it was time for a change in
  government.
• The Vietnam continued to divide Australians.
  Protests over conscription were widespread. In
  1970, Dr. Jim Cairns led a massive Moratorium
  march again the war in the streets of Melbourne.

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Gough Whitlam The Party, The Policies

• Whitlam visited China in 1971, promising to
  establish diplomatic relations if elected to
  government. The attacks on Whitlam by the
  coalition were severely blunted during the visit
  by the announcement that US President Richard
  Nixon was working towards his own rapprochement
  with China.
• Throughout 1972, Whitlams accession to the prime
  ministership seemed increasingly inevitable,
  although the eventual marking of victory was
  comparatively narrow, the major gains having been
  made in 1969.

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Gough Whitlam The Party, The Policies

• In the elections of December 2, 1972, against the
  onslaught of the ALPs Its Time campaign,
  McMahons Government lost office to Whitlam, the
  first change in Federal Government on Australia
  for 23 years.
• In a whirlwind of activity, Whitlam was appointed
  Prime Minister on December 5, governing on tandem
  with his deputy, Lance Barnard until December 19.

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The Whitlam Government

• In 1967 Whitlam became the leader of the
  Australian Labor Party, in 1972, after 23 years
  of Liberal-Country Party government, Whitlam led
  the ALP to victory with the election slogan Its
  Time, and became Prime Minister.
• The now famous Its Time slogan prompted the
  idea that it was time for change and reform. The
  Whitlam Government did make significant changes.
  One of the first things it did was to withdraw
  Australian troops form the war in Vietnam.

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Reforms

• Reforms were made, among others, in the areas of
  education health care, Aboriginal land rights,
  womens rights and family law. The voting age was
  reduced from 21 to 18 and the death penalty for
  federal crimes was abolished.

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Reforms

• An important reform in education was the
  abolition of university fees, which allowed many
  young people, and, importantly women, an
  opportunity to obtain a university degree and
  broaden their career choices. By introducing
  Medibank, the Whitlam Government also ensured
  that all Australians would have free access to
  health care. In 1972, the Whitlam Government took
  the important foreign policy step of establishing
  diplomatic relations with the government of the
  Peoples Republic of China.

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After the Dismissal

• Gough Whitlam remained in parliament as Leader of
  the Opposition for two years and retired from
  political life in 1978. After his retirement he
  accepted academic positions at the Australian
  National University and at Harvard University in
  the United States, and was Australias Ambassador
  to UNESCO in the 1980s. He has also received
  several honors, including honorary degrees, for
  his public work. Through the Whitlam Institute he
  continues to maintain an involvement in current
  political and social debates, and, as a former
  leader of the Labor Party, his views are often
  sought on the progress of the party.

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Scandals

• Whitlams dismissal as Prime Minister is one of
  the most controversial events in Australian
  political history. Following government financial
  scandals, the Opposition led by Malcolm Fraser,
  used its Senate majority to defer passing the
  Budget. As a result the Whitlam Government did
  not have sufficient funds to run the nation. On
  November 11, 1975 the Governor-General, Sir John
  Kerr, dismissed Whitlam as Prime Minister and
  appointed Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime
  Minister until an election was held on December
  13, 1975. The election resulted in the defeat of
  the Whitlam Government.