Page 3531 - Week 11 - Thursday, 23 October 2014
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By 1960 he was the Deputy Leader of the Opposition under Arthur Calwell. The “faceless men” incident, where it was broadcast for the first time how much power the faceless men in the ALP had at that time on crucial party decisions, became a cause that drove Gough to reform his party.
In 1967 Whitlam became Leader of the Opposition. He did not win the next election in 1969, but the ALP did gain 17 seats, coming within four seats of victory. In 1972 he led the now famous “It’s Time” campaign and won government. He then launched a program of very significant reform—not all of it popular and not all of it well executed, but it was certainly significant. He withdrew troops from Vietnam and ended conscription. His government recognised the People’s Republic of China and established the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. University fees were abolished and the health system was forever changed, with the introduction of Medibank, now known as Medicare. The Aboriginal Land Rights Act was passed, and the Prime Minister officially handed over the title deeds of traditional lands in the Northern Territory to the people at Wattle Creek.
His stature has grown to the point now where he is part legend, part politician and part man. And the further from that period we get, the harder it is to separate the truth from the myth. But any recollection of Gough Whitlam cannot ignore the dismissal, which in my view remains the most controversial political event in our nation’s history. It still divides opinion sharply, and historians and politicians will continue to debate it through the ages. But Gough Whitlam was not a man who shied away from controversy and few prime ministers leave behind such a record of reform.
Madam Speaker, one of the ways you can sum up a person’s achievements and legacy is to look to what others say of them. In this regard I would like to add some quotes in our own Assembly from others. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Mr Whitlam’s government changed Australia and “set the tone” for the years to follow. He said:
Whether you were for him or against him, it was his vision that drove our politics then and which still echoes through our public life four decades on. In his own party, he inspired a legion of young people to get involved in public life.
The Attorney-General, George Brandis, announced the suspension of parliamentary business and said:
This is an extremely sad and consequential day in our history because regardless of one’s political views there is no doubt at all that Mr Whitlam was a giant of Australian history and Australian politics.
Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett, himself no slouch when it came to reforms, summed up Gough by saying simply, “So much achieved in such a short time.” The ABC summed him up as follows:
Until the end, Gough Whitlam was revered as the Labor Party’s elder statesman, a man of vision and energy. Famous for his “crash through or crash” style, he came to embody a period in Australian history which, for better or for worse, was one of rapid and unparalleled change.
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