Tribute: Gough Whitlam

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pazza said:
There has been no greater Prime Minister than him. The country today is better for the efforts he made. Shame our politicians today don't have the same focus on the country as he did. RIP.
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Exactly. People complain about how he handled the economy but in truth there are no real economic effects left from that time. His social policies however are still gratefully affecting this nation and things he brought in in the early 70's are the types of things that people these days would scream bloody murder if the government tried to take it away from the.

Whitlam was the most progressive Prime Minister Australia has ever seen and was more concerned with the good of the nation than the polls.
 
Maggie5 said:
Because of him I became interested in social justice and first time ever I voted labor.
A great visionary, one more term with the right people in his cabinet would have been very interesting.
Positives
Medicare
Education
Arts and Music
Brought our soldiers back from Vietnam
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Free Education for all
Welfare reform
Strengthened Ties with China
AAA rating for Australia

Negatives
East Timor
Poor choice in a couple of Ministers

Doubt that we will see any Prime Minister achieve what he did in such few years.

Oh and I forgot - Blue Poles

RIP Gough.
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These were the downfall and ludicrous.
 

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mottrain said:
These were the downfall and ludicrous.
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Yes how dare he believe that Australia could be better educated and more cultured.

My teachers in High School who were teachers in the 70's all had nothing but amazing things to say about Gough Whitlam. They all said the improvements in education was huge when he was Prime Minister.
 
RUNVS said:
Yes how dare he believe that Australia could be better educated and more cultured.

My teachers in High School who were teachers in the 70's all had nothing but amazing things to say about Gough Whitlam. They all said the improvements in education was huge when he was Prime Minister.
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I was never really interested in politics before he came along, just voted along the same lines as my family (Liberal).
Wasn't until I heard him speak and began to see his vision for Australia that I became more politically aware.
I think that the "Its Time" message really swept up a young generation of Australian. Really powerful.
 
Asia-Pacific politics has been one of my main academic interests, particularly Deng Xiaoping and Chinese politics, so I always took special interest in how Gough (as well as others like Malcolm Fraser) interacted with and glimpsed that turbulent 70s era in Chinese politics. The idea of Gough and Mao together in the same room always made me lol.
 

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On Whitlam, Holt is another that I felt exited power in unfortunate circumstances. Imagine if the 60s/70s had all been Whitlam vs. Holt, it would have been somewhat of a golden period of Australian politics (Howard/Keating was pretty good as well imo, as briefly as it was).
 
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madmug said:
Education is not ludicrous, unless you come from a selfish, wealthy family. The Broadening of education to the population gave & gives great benefits to our community, our economy & to the individual.
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The way which Whitlam did was.
 
I was only four when he was dumped so I don't remember any of his time in government, but in his short reign he left an amazing legacy that created huge social change in Australia. Not our greatest Prime Minister, but one of our most important Prime Ministers.

RIP Gough.
 
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louismaxwell said:
Gough tried hard but made such a hash of things regarding the economy, causing a great deal of pain to the Australia people is my main memory of him in government. But it was all so long time, another era really.
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One could argue the reason for his economic failures was because he pushed through costly reforms and policies - ones that changed the country forever for the better. Short term pain for long term gain.
 
Jiska said:
One could argue the reason for his economic failures was because he pushed through costly reforms and policies - ones that changed the country forever for the better. Short term pain for long term gain.
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Bit like Keating then.

It's a curious situation really...I would be appalled to see anyone sticking the boot into Gough today....having said that, if John Howard was to fall under a bus tomorow etc etc.

Moral dilemmas hey.
 
In less than three years:

- Created Medibank (now known as Medicare)
- Introduced Legal Aid
- Introduced free University
- Started work on the establishment of new hospitals in suburban Australia including Sunshine Hospital
- Increased schools' funding
- Increased social security spending on pensions and unemployment benefits
- Established Commonwealth funding responsibility for Universities
- Provided 'state aid' to non-Government schools
- Returned land to the Gurindji people and drafted the Land Rights Act
- Granted independence to PNG
- Established diplomatic relations with China
- Withdrew Australian troops from Vietnam
- Abolished the White Australia Policy
- Introduced Multiculturalism as Australian Government policy
- Fought for equal pay for women
- Instituted no-fault divorce
- Unilaterally cut Australian tariffs
- Introduced the Trade Practices Act banning anti-competitive conduct
- Ratified the World Heritage Convention and protected the Great Barrier Reef from oil drilling
- Created the Australia Council for the Arts
- Founded Triple J (then Double J)
- Connected suburban homes to sewerage
- Funded urban public transport projects and rail electrification
- Introduced Advance Australia Fair as the national anthem

If only we could find a politician these days, from either side of politics, willing to stick to his convictions and make fundamental change happen instead of talking about it.
 
RisingPhoenix said:
Bit like Keating then.

It's a curious situation really...I would be appalled to see anyone sticking the boot into Gough today....having said that, if John Howard was to fall under a bus tomorow etc etc.

Moral dilemmas hey.
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Very much like Keating actually.
 
Besides Keating I'm not sure any other Australian PM has ever had such a large ego as Gough did.
 
Jiska said:
One could argue the reason for his economic failures was because he pushed through costly reforms and policies - ones that changed the country forever for the better. Short term pain for long term gain.
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It was just so disappointing that he and his numerous treasurers were so incompetent that we almost became the next Argentina, but hey it 40 years ago lets not dwell on it, his era is irrelevant now
 
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