Tribute: Gough Whitlam

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OK so want us to stay on topic. Isn't Gough's time as PM and what he had done on the topic?
 
A genuine agent of change for the better. Created Medibank. Introduced measures to help the disadvantaged. Abolished University tuition fees and increased funding for education. Drafted the first Bill to grant Aborigines land rights. Established diplomatic relations with China. Brought troops home from Vietnam. Abolished the White Australia Policy. No fault divorce. Established the Family Court. Enacted the Racial Discrimination Act. Abolished death penalty. Established Legal Aid.To name a few.

To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw: Most see things; and say “Why?” Gough would dream of things that never were; and say “Why not?”

A life well lived.
 
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Vale Gough Whitlam. His social democratic reforms played a decisive role in dragging a dull and backward looking nation into the latter part of the 20th century. It's now rare in politics, but Whitlam clearly believed our parliamentary democracy had a responsibility to address issues of social justice. Better still, he possessed true wit and intellect - all PM's since have been light weights in comparison. Keating may be an exception there, though his was more appearance and less the substance, less the belief, that we had in Whitlam. This image is great:

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RUNVS said:
I found Abbott's swipe at Whitlam rather unpleasant as well when he said something like "he may not have been the greatest Prime Minister" definitely implying he thought Whitlam was one of the worst.
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Turned the tele off when I realised he was going give a dead bloke a good ideological kicking.All class our Tone:eek:

Mr Pyne was eight years old when the dismissal happened: "My mother was doing the ironing and I was watching Adventure Island. My mother started crying. I have to let you in on a secret, she was crying out of joy."
Didn't you predict something like this RisingPhoenix ??:rolleyes:
 
Just as an aside, I woke up this morning to the news that Gough had died. On Sunrise, Channel 7 ran a piece on his life and achievements. In that piece, they included this gem (not exact wording but close enough):
"In 1972 he toppled Sir Robert Menzies to lead Labor out of 23 years in the wilderness".

They are a quality source of accurate information our commercial TV channels.............
 
mottrain said:
Did he?
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Yep he did, without question.
The title of the thread is tribute-you might like to make a separate thread that evaluates his time in office.
ps but my advice is do some research beforehand ;)
 
Illinois Nazi said:
So because he is the Premier of WA he should lie and say he thinks everything about Gough was just swell?
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On such an occasion, he isn't speaking as Colin Barnett. He's speaking as the Premier of WA, and that's why what he said was inappropriate. Understand?
 

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scon said:
Turned the tele off when I realised he was going give a dead bloke a good ideological kicking.All class our Tone:eek:

Mr Pyne was eight years old when the dismissal happened: "My mother was doing the ironing and I was watching Adventure Island. My mother started crying. I have to let you in on a secret, she was crying out of joy."
Didn't you predict something like this RisingPhoenix ??:rolleyes:
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Called it.
 
Mead said:
It's on topic provided you are willing to post that you agree he was a wonderful PM.

This could be the single most absurdly moderated thread in the history of bigfooty.

You have a moderator of the political discussion board deleting and banning people for civilly and rationally engaging in political discussion about the topic of the thread, and who has since changed the title of the thread to reflect his absurd decisions. The whole point of 'discussion' is people discuss things.

Jiska have a think about what you are doing because you are totally in the wrong here.
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It's not discussion about the Whitlam years pro and con, it's a thread to pay tribute to the man a mere 24 hours afters he has died. There is good reason for the thread also, as he is a national icon many hold dear, and view as having had a seminal influence on contemporary Australian identity. Is that so ******* hard to understand?

If you want to critique the Whitlam years, then you are very welcome to. Start a thread about it. 'The Whitlam Years: a Critique' - there you go, there's a simple title for you. But this thread pays the man some modicum of respect and allows posters to celebrate what he achieved and what is significant about his legacy. It does so as for the majority there is an obvious need for that outlet/tribute.

I'm sorry that is so painful for you. Start another thread.
 
little graham said:
https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/25310855/barnett-angers-alp-with-whitlam-comments/
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Yeah I read that, was not impressed at all. The hypocrisy is mind blowing.

Barnett: “It was a very tumultuous time, it was a time of Governments spending lots of money, and I think there was a fair bit of waste"
Umm, what have you done since you entered office Barnett? Of course, you wasted a lot of taxpayers money on your so called monuments to yourself.

Barnett: “I don’t think Gough should really be remembered as a great prime minister."
You won't be remembered as a great Premier Colin. You have caused a lot of pain for those less off, and you will never be mentioned in the same breath as Whitlam.

Barnett: “There were grand spending programs that didn’t really come off"
Bit like yourself Barnett...

Barnett: “He certainly was a visionary, he certainly changed Australia but he did not run a competent Government."
Your Liberal Govt would have to be the worst Liberal government ever in WA

Colin Barnett - Arseclown and hypocrite.
 
pokerspiv said:
If we actually did have a politician from the right side of politics who made fundamentalist changes as radical as Whitlam's, you lot would go absolutely mental.
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Maybe, but it might depend on whether they irrevocably improved our society, for the majority of the public, as Whitlam's changes did.
 
pokerspiv said:
Mods did absolutely nothing about the conga-line of haters in the Margaret Thatcher thread. Nothing at all.

Yet they are already talking about banning people here for suggesting Whitlam wasn't the 2nd coming.

The bias on this forum is pathetic.
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It doesn't change the fact that Malifice has no powers here. The moderator list is available for you to peruse at the top right hand corner of the thread list. Malifice's views do not reflect the views of the SRP mods like Jiska.
 
The Cryptkeeper said:
A truly great Australian. Despite his economic failings, Gough perhaps had a more profound effect on the fabric of Australian society than anyone before him. Or since.

Thanks Gough. Vale.
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Yep, this echoes my views very closely. Undoubtedly controversial and he wasn't perfect (but which PM was?), but also undoubtedly a massive influence on modern Australia. He did so much and they resonate today 40 years on. It's remarkable for a one-term PM.

He deserves every accolade.
 
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