Edward Gough Whitlam, AC,
QCQueen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(born 11 July 1916), known as
Gough Whitlam (icon ), served as the 21st
Prime Minister of AustraliaThe Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
. Whitlam led the
Australian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
(ALP) to power at the
1972 electionFederal elections were held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The Liberal Party of Australia had been in power since 1949, under Prime Minister of Australia William McMahon since March 1971 with coalition partner the Country Party...
and retained government at the
1974 electionFederal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution...
, before being dismissed by
Governor-GeneralThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
Sir John Kerr at the climax of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Whitlam remains the only Prime Minister to have his commission terminated in that manner.
Whitlam entered
ParliamentThe Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
in 1952, as an ALP member of the
House of RepresentativesThe House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
. In 1960 he was elected deputy leader of the ALP and in 1967, after party leader
Arthur CalwellArthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
retired, he assumed the leadership and became Leader of the Opposition. After narrowly losing the
1969 electionFederal elections were held in Australia on 25 October 1969. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Gorton with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the Australian...
, Whitlam led Labor to victory at the 1972 election after 23 years of
LiberalThe Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
-
CountryThe National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
CoalitionThe Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
government.
In his time in office, Whitlam and his government implemented a large number of new programs and policy changes, including the elimination of military conscription and criminal execution, institution of
universal health careUniversal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
and fee-free tertiary schooling (university), and the implementation of
legal aidLegal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...
programs. He won the 1974 election with a reduced majority. Subsequently, the Opposition, which controlled the Senate, was emboldened by government scandals and a flagging economy to challenge Whitlam. In late 1975, there was a weeks-long deadlock over the passage of
appropriation billAn appropriation bill or running bill is a legislative motion which authorizes the government to spend money. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending...
s, which was resolved by Kerr's dismissal of Whitlam and commissioning of Opposition leader
Malcolm FraserJohn Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
as caretaker Prime Minister. Labor lost the subsequent
1975 electionFederal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election following a double dissolution of both Houses....
in a landslide.
Whitlam resigned from the leadership after the ALP lost again at the
1977 electionFederal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1977. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election....
, and left Parliament in 1978. Over a third of a century after he left office, Whitlam continues to comment on political affairs. The circumstances of his dismissal, and the legacy of his government, remain part of Australian political discourse.
Early and family life
Edward Gough Whitlam was born on 11 July 1916 in
KewKew is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Kew had a population of 22,516....
, a suburb of
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. He was the older of two children (he has a younger sister, Freda, who is now aged 90 and still living independently) born to Martha (née Maddocks) and
Fred WhitlamHarry Frederick Ernest "Fred" Whitlam was Australia's Crown Solicitor from 1936 to 1949, and a pioneer of international human rights law in Australia...
. His father was a federal public servant who later served as Commonwealth Crown Solicitor, and Whitlam senior's involvement in human rights issues was a powerful influence on his son. Since the boy's maternal grandfather was also named Edward, from early childhood he was called by his middle name.
In 1918, Fred Whitlam was promoted to Deputy Crown Solicitor and transferred to
SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. The family lived first in the North Shore suburb of
MosmanMosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman.-Localities:In February...
and then in
TurramurraTurramurra is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Turramurra is located north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council...
. At age six, Gough began his education at Chatswood Church of England Girls School (early primary schooling at a girls' school was not unusual for small boys at the time). After a year there, he attended
Mowbray House SchoolMowbray House School was an independent, day and boarding school for boys, located in Chatswood, on the North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.-History:...
and
Knox Grammar SchoolKnox Grammar School is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Wahroonga, an upper North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
, in the suburbs of Sydney.
Fred Whitlam was promoted again in 1927, this time to Assistant Crown Solicitor. The position was located in the new national capital of
CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, and the Whitlam family moved there. Gough Whitlam remains the only Prime Minister to have spent his formative years in Canberra. At the time, conditions remained primitive in what was dubbed "the bush capital" and "the land of the blowflies". Gough, who had always attended a private school, was sent to the government-run
Telopea Park SchoolTelopea Park School is a public school in Canberra, Australia. It is named after the adjacent Telopea Park. It was founded in 1923, making it the oldest operating school in Canberra...
, since no other school was available. In 1932, Fred Whitlam transferred his son to
Canberra Grammar SchoolCanberra Grammar School is an independent, day and boarding school for boys, located in Red Hill, a suburb of Canberra, the capital of Australia....
, where, at the 1932 Speech Day ceremony, Gough Whitlam was awarded a prize by the
Governor-GeneralThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
, Sir
Isaac IsaacsSir Isaac Alfred Isaacs GCB GCMG KC was an Australian judge and politician, was the third Chief Justice of Australia, ninth Governor-General of Australia and the first born in Australia to occupy that post. He is the only person ever to have held both positions of Chief Justice of Australia and...
.
Whitlam enrolled at
St. Paul's CollegeSt Paul's College in Sydney, Australia, is an Anglican residential college for men which is affiliated with the University of Sydney. Founded in 1856 by an 1854 act of the New South Wales Legislative Council, it is Australia's oldest university college...
at the
University of SydneyThe University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
at the age of 18. He earned his first wages by appearing, with several other "Paulines", in a cabaret scene in the film
The Broken MelodyThe Broken Melody is a 1938 Australian drama film directed by Ken G. Hall and starring Lloyd Hughes, Diana Du Cane and Rosalind Kennerdale. It was based on a best-selling novel by F.J. Thwaites.-Production:...
—the students were chosen because St. Paul's required (and requires) formal wear at dinner, and they could therefore supply their own costumes. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree with second-class honours in Classics, Whitlam remained at St. Paul's to begin his law studies; he had originally contemplated an academic career, but his lacklustre marks made that unlikely.
Military service
Soon after the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Whitlam enlisted in the Sydney University Regiment, part of the Army Reserve. In late 1941, following the Japanese
attack on Pearl HarborThe attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, and with a year remaining in his legal studies, he volunteered for the
Royal Australian Air ForceThe Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
. In 1942, while awaiting entry into the service, Whitlam met and married
Margaret DoveyMargaret Whitlam AO is a prominent Australian personality and the wife of former Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam...
, who had swum for Australia in the
1938 British Empire GamesThe 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the Commonwealth Games being the modern-day equivalent. Held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from February 5–12, 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary...
and was the daughter of barrister and future New South Wales Supreme Court judge
Bill DoveyWilfred Robert 'Bill' Dovey KC was a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Australia from 1953 to 1964. He was described as colourful, slightly eccentric and irascible, although he had a brilliant legal mind and a Shakespearean vocabulary...
.
Whitlam trained as a
navigatorA navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
and bomb aimer, before serving with
No. 13 Squadron RAAFNo. 13 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron. The Squadron saw combat during World War II as a bomber and maritime patrol squadron and is currently active as a mixed regular and reserve RAAF unit located in Darwin, fulfilling both operational support and training duties.-History:No. 13...
, based mainly on the
Gove PeninsulaThe Gove Peninsula is at the northeastern corner of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. The peninsula became strategically important during World War II when an airforce base was constructed at what is now Gove Airport. The peninsula was named after Pilot Officer William Gove, who...
,
Northern TerritoryThe Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, flying
Lockheed VenturaThe Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises...
bombers. He reaching the rank of
Flight LieutenantFlight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
. While in the service, he began his political activities, distributing literature for the
Australian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
during the
1943 federal electionFederal elections were held in Australia on 21 August 1943. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin easily defeated the opposition Country Party led...
and urging the passage of the
"Fourteen Powers" referendum of 1944The 1944 Australian Referendum was held on 19 August 1944. It contained one referendum question.* Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights -Proposed Amendment:...
, which would have expanded the powers of the Federal government. Although the party was victorious, the referendum it advocated was defeated. In 1961, Whitlam said of the referendum defeat, "My hopes were dashed by the outcome and from that moment I determined to do all I could do to modernise the Australian Constitution." While still in uniform, Whitlam joined the ALP in Sydney in 1945. Whitlam completed his studies after the war, obtained his Bachelor of Laws, and was admitted to the Federal and New South Wales bars in 1947.
Candidate and backbencher
With his war service loan, Whitlam built a house in seaside
CronullaCronulla is a beachside suburb, in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Sutherland Shire....
. He sought to make a career in the ALP there, but local Labor supporters were sceptical of Whitlam's loyalties, given his privileged background. In the postwar years, he practised law, concentrating on landlord/tenant matters, and sought to build his
bona fides in the party. He ran twice–unsuccessfully–for the local council, once (also unsuccessfully) for the
New South Wales Legislative AssemblyThe Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
, and campaigned for other candidates. He also became a radio celebrity, winning the Australian National Quiz Championship in 1948 and 1949, and finishing runner-up in 1950. In 1951,
Hubert LazzariniHubert Peter Lazzarini was an Australian politician, holding the division of Werriwa as the Australian Labor Party member for most years from 1919 until his death....
, the Labor member for the Federal electorate of
WerriwaThe Division of Werriwa is a Federal Electoral Division for the Australian House of Representatives.The name Werriwa derives from a local Aboriginal name for Lake George, which was located in the division when it was established in 1900. The division was one of the original 75 divisions first...
, announced that he would stand down at the next election. Whitlam won the
preselectionPreselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties...
as ALP candidate. Lazzarini died in 1952 before completing his term and Whitlam was elected to the
House of RepresentativesThe House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
in the ensuing
by-election on 29 November 1952A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Werriwa on 29 November 1952. This was triggered by the death of Labor Party MP Hubert Lazzarini.The by-election was won by Labor Party candidate Gough Whitlam.-Results:...
. Whitlam trebled Lazzarini's majority in a 12 per cent swing to Labor.
Whitlam joined the ALP minority in the House. His
maiden speechA maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
provoked an interruption by future Prime Minister
John McEwenSir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
, who was told by
the SpeakerThe Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The presiding officer in the upper house is the President of the Senate....
that maiden speeches are traditionally heard in silence. Whitlam responded to McEwen by stating that Benjamin Disraeli had been heckled in his maiden speech, and had responded, "The time will come when you shall hear me". He told McEwen, "The time will come when you may interrupt me". According to early Whitlam biographers
Laurie OakesLaurie Oakes is an Australian political journalist, commentator, and media personality. Since 1966, he has worked in the Canberra Press Gallery, covering the Parliament of Australia and federal elections....
and David Solomon, this cool response put the Coalition Government on notice that the new Member for Werriwa would be a force to be reckoned with.
In the rough and tumble debate in the House of Representatives, Whitlam called fellow MHRs
Bill BourkeWilliam Meskill "Bill" Bourke was an Australian politician.Bourke was elected to the Australian House of Representatives seat of Fawkner at the 1949 election representing the Australian Labor Party...
"this grizzling
QuislingQuisling is a term used in reference to fascist and collaborationist political parties and military and paramilitary forces in occupied Allied countries which collaborated with Axis occupiers in World War II, as well as for their members and other collaborators.- Etymology :The term was coined by...
",
Garfield BarwickSir Garfield Edward John Barwick, was the Attorney-General of Australia , Minister for External Affairs and the seventh and longest serving Chief Justice of Australia...
(who would, as High Court Chief Justice, play a role in Whitlam's downfall) a "bumptious bastard", and stated that William Wentworth exhibited a "hereditary streak of insanity". After he stated that future Prime Minister
William McMahonSir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
was a "quean", he apologised.
The ALP had been out of office since the
ChifleyJoseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
Government's defeat in 1949, and since 1951 had been under the leadership of
Bert EvattHerbert Vere Evatt, QC KStJ , was an Australian jurist, politician and writer. He was President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1948–49 and helped draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights...
, whom Whitlam greatly admired. In 1954, the ALP seemed likely to return to power. The Prime Minister,
Robert MenziesSir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, adroitly used
the defection of a Soviet officialThe Petrov Affair was a dramatic Cold War spy incident in Australia in April 1954, concerning Vladimir Petrov, Third Secretary of the Soviet embassy in Canberra.- History :...
to his advantage, and
his coalitionThe Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
of the Liberal and
CountryThe National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
parties was returned in
the electionFederal elections were held in Australia on 29 May 1954. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, no Senate election took place...
with a seven-seat majority. After the election, Evatt attempted to purge the party of
industrial groupersThe Industrial Groups were groups formed by the Australian Labor Party in the late 1940s, to combat Communist Party influence in the trade unions....
, who had long dissented from party policy, and who were predominately Catholic and anti-communist. The ensuing division in the ALP, which came to be known as "
The SplitThe Australian Labor Party split of 1955 was a splintering of the Australian Labor Party along sectarian and ideological lines in the mid 1950s...
", sparked the birth of the
Democratic Labor PartyThe Democratic Labor Party was an Australian political party that existed from 1955 until 1978.-History:The DLP was formed as a result of a split in the Australian Labor Party that began in 1954. The split was between the party's national leadership, under the then party leader Dr H.V...
. It was a conflict that helped to keep Labor out of power for a generation, since DLP supporters chose the Liberal Party in
preferential votingInstant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...
. Whitlam supported Evatt throughout The Split.
In 1955, a redistribution divided Whitlam's electorate of Werriwa in two, with his Cronulla home located in the new electorate of
HughesThe Division of Hughes is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1955 and is named for Billy Hughes, who was Prime Minister of Australia 1915-23...
. Although Whitlam would have received ALP support in either division, he chose to continue standing for Werriwa, and moved from Cronulla to
Cabramatta Cabramatta is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cabramatta is located 30 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield...
. This meant even longer journeys for his older children to attend school, since neither electorate had a high school at the time, and they attended school in Sydney.
Whitlam was appointed to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Constitutional Review in 1956. Biographer
Jenny HockingJenny Hocking is a research professor and the director of research with the National Centre for Australian Studies at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia....
calls his service on the Committee, which included members from all parties in both chambers of Parliament, one of the "great influences in his political development". According to Hocking, service on the committee caused Whitlam to focus not on internal conflicts consuming the ALP, but on which Labor goals were possible and worthwhile in the constitutional framework. Many Labor goals, such as nationalisation, ran contrary to the Constitution. Whitlam came to believe that the Constitution – and especially Section 96 (which allowed the federal government to make grants to the states) - could be used to advance a worthwhile Labor programme.
Deputy leader
By the late 1950s Whitlam was seen as a leadership contender once the existing Labor leaders exited the scene. Most Labor leaders, including Evatt, Deputy Leader
Arthur CalwellArthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
,
Eddie WardEdward John "Eddie" Ward , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1931 until his death....
, and
Reg PollardReginald Thomas Pollard was an Australian politician.Pollard was born in Castlemaine, Victoria and educated at Woodend State School, West Melbourne Technical School and Workingmen's College. He worked as an agricultural labourer near Werribee and from 1912 to 1915 as a fitter in Melbourne...
, were in their sixties, twenty years older than Whitlam. In 1960, after losing three elections, Evatt resigned and was replaced by Calwell, with Whitlam defeating Ward for deputy leader. Calwell came within a handful of votes of winning the cliffhanger
1961 electionFederal elections were held in Australia on 9 December 1961. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives, and 31 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election...
. He had not wanted Whitlam as deputy leader, and believed Labor would have won if Ward had been in the position.
Soon after the 1961 election, events began to turn against Labor. When Indonesian President
SukarnoSukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
announced that he intended to take over West New Guinea as the colonial Dutch departed, Calwell responded by declaring that Indonesia must be stopped by force. Calwell's statement was called "crazy and irresponsible" by Prime Minister Menzies, and the incident reduced public support for the ALP. At that time, the Federal Conference of the Labor Party, which dictated policy to parliamentary members, consisted of six members from each state but not Calwell or Whitlam. In early 1963 a special conference met in a Canberra hotel to determine Labor policy regarding a proposed US base in northern Australia; Calwell and Whitlam were photographed peering in through the doors, waiting for the verdict. The photograph proved disastrous to the ALP; Menzies dubbed members of the conference "Faceless Men" who controlled the party without electoral responsibility.
Menzies manipulated the Opposition on issues that bitterly divided it, such as direct aid to the states for private schools, and the proposed base. He called an early election for November 1963, standing in support of those two issues. The Prime Minister performed better than Calwell on television and received an unexpected boost after the assassination of US President
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. As a result, the Coalition easily defeated Labor. Whitlam had hoped Calwell would step down after 1963, but he remained, reasoning that Evatt had been given three opportunities to win, and that he should be allowed a third attempt to win the Prime Ministership. Calwell dismissed proposals that the ALP leader and deputy leader should be entitled to membership of the party's conference (or on its governing 12-person Federal Executive, which had two representatives from each state), and instead ran successfully for one of the conference's Victoria seats. Labor did badly in a 1964 by-election in the Tasmanian
electorate of DenisonThe Division of Denison is anAustralian Electoral Division in Tasmania.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Sir William Denison, who was Lt-Governor of Van Diemens Land 1847-55...
, and lost seats in the 1964 half-Senate election. The party was also defeated in the state elections in the most populous state, New South Wales, surrendering control of the state government for the first time since 1941.
Whitlam's relationship with Calwell, never good, deteriorated further after a 1965 article in
The AustralianThe Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
was published. The article reported off-the-record comments Whitlam had made that his leader was "too old and weak" to win office, and that the party might be gravely damaged by an "old-fashioned" 70-year-old Calwell seeking his first term as Prime Minister. Later that year, at Whitlam's urging, and over Calwell's objection, the biennial Party Conference made major changes to the party's platform: deleting support for the
White Australia policyThe White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
and making the ALP's leader and deputy leader
ex officio members of the conference and Executive, along with the party's leader and deputy leader in the Senate. As Whitlam considered the Senate unrepresentative, he opposed the admission of its ALP leaders to the party's governing bodies.
Sir Robert Menzies retired in January 1966, and was succeeded as Prime Minister by the new Liberal Party leader,
Harold HoltHarold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
. After years of politics being dominated by the elderly Menzies and Calwell, the younger Holt was seen as a breath of fresh air, and attracted public interest and support in the run-up to
the November electionFederal elections were held in Australia on 26 November 1966. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Harold Holt with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the...
.
In early 1966, the 36-member conference, with Calwell's assent, banned any ALP parliamentarian from supporting federal assistance to the states for spending on both government and private schools, commonly called "state aid". Whitlam broke with the party on the issue, and was charged with gross disloyalty by the Executive, an offence which carried the penalty of expulsion. Before the matter could be heard, Whitlam left for
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, where he campaigned intensively for the ALP candidate in the
DawsonThe Division of Dawson is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Anderson Dawson, the first Labor Premier of Queensland and leader of the first parliamentary socialist government anywhere in the world...
by-election. The ALP won, dealing the government their first by-election defeat since 1952. Whitlam survived the expulsion vote by a margin of only two, gaining both Queensland votes. At the end of April, Whitlam challenged Calwell for the leadership; though Calwell received two-thirds of the vote, the ALP leader announced that if the party lost the upcoming election, he would not stand again for the leadership.
Holt called an election for November 1966, in which the Australian involvement in the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
was a major issue. Calwell called for an "immediate and unconditional withdrawal" of Australian troops from Vietnam. Whitlam, however, said that this would deprive Australia of any voice in a settlement, and that regular troops, rather than conscripts, should remain under some circumstances. Calwell considered Whitlam's remark disastrous, disputing the party line just five days before the election. The ALP suffered a crushing defeat in the election, falling to forty seats in the House of Representatives. At the caucus meeting on 8 February 1967, Gough Whitlam was elected leader of the party, defeating leading left-wing candidate Dr
Jim CairnsJames Ford "J. F." Cairns , Australian politician, was prominent in the Labor movement through the 1960s and 1970s, and was briefly Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam government...
.
Reforming the ALP
Gough Whitlam saw that the party had little chance of being elected unless it could expand its appeal from the traditional working-class base to include the suburban middle class. He sought to shift control of the ALP from union officials to the parliamentary party, and hoped that even rank-and-file party members could be given a voice in the conference. In 1968, controversy erupted within the party when the Executive refused to seat new Tasmanian delegate
Brian HarradineRichard William Brian Harradine , Australian politician, was an independent member of the Australian Senate from 1975 to 2005, representing the state of Tasmania. He was the longest-serving independent federal politician in Australian history, and a Father of the Senate.He was born in Quorn, South...
, a Whitlam supporter who was considered a right-wing extremist. Whitlam resigned the leadership, demanding a vote of confidence from caucus. He defeated Cairns for the leadership in an unexpectedly close 38–32 vote. Despite the vote, the Executive refused to seat Harradine.
With the ALP's governing bodies unwilling to reform themselves, Whitlam worked to build support for change among ordinary party members. He was successful in reducing union influence in the party, though he was never able to give the rank-and-file a direct vote in selecting the Executive. The Victoria branch of the party had long been a problem; its executive was far to the left of the rest of the ALP, and had little electoral success. Whitlam was able to reconstruct the Victoria party organisation against the will of its leaders, and the reconstituted state party proved essential to victory in the 1972 election.
By the time of the 1969 party conference, Whitlam had gained considerable control over the ALP. That conference passed 61 resolutions, including broad changes to party policy and procedures. It called for the establishment of an Australian Schools Commission to consider the proper level of state aid for schools and universities, recognition of Aboriginal land claims, and expanded party policy on
universal health careUniversal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
. The conference also called for increased federal involvement in urban planning, and would form the basis of "The Program" of modern socialism which Whitlam and the ALP would present to the voters in 1972.
Since 1918, Labor had called for the abolition of the Australian Constitution, with the vesting of all political power in Parliament, a plan which would turn the states into powerless geographic regions. Beginning in 1965, Whitlam had sought to change this goal. He finally succeeded at the 1971 ALP Conference in
Launceston, TasmaniaLaunceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
, which called for Parliament to receive "such plenary powers as are necessary and desirable" to achieve the ALP's goals in domestic and international affairs. Labor was also pledged to abolish the Senate; this goal would not be erased from the party platform until 1979, after Whitlam had stepped down as leader.
Leader of the Opposition
Soon after taking the leadership, Whitlam reorganised the ALP caucus, assigning portfolios and turning the Labor frontbench into a
shadow cabinetThe Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
. While the Liberal/Country Coalition had a huge majority in the House of Representatives, Whitlam energised the party by campaigning intensively to win two by-elections in 1967: first in
CorioThe Division of Corio is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for Corio Bay. It has always been based on the city of Geelong, although in the past it has also included parts of the western...
in Victoria, and later that year in
CapricorniaThe Division of Capricornia is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the Tropic of Capricorn, which runs through the Division. It is located on the central Queensland coast and its...
(Queensland). The
November half-Senate electionHalf-senate elections were held in Australia on 25 November 1967.Independent: Reg Turnbull -See also:*Candidates of the Australian Senate election, 1967*Members of the Australian Senate, 1968–1971-References:...
saw a moderate swing to Labor and against the Coalition, compared with the general election the previous year. These federal victories, in which both Whitlam and Holt campaigned, helped give Whitlam the leverage he needed to carry out party reforms.
At the end of 1967, Prime Minister Holt vanished while swimming in rough seas near Melbourne; his body was never recovered. McEwen, as leader of the junior Coalition partner, the Country Party, took over as Prime Minister for three weeks until the Liberals could elect a new leader. Senator
John GortonSir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
won the vote and became Prime Minister. The leadership campaign was conducted mostly by television, and Gorton appeared to have the visual appeal needed to keep Whitlam out of office. Gorton resigned his seat in the Senate, and in February 1968 won
the by-electionA by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Higgins on 24 February 1968. It was triggered by the presumed death of then-current Prime Minister and Liberal Party MP Harold Holt....
for Holt's seat of
HigginsThe Division of Higgins is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria.The division was created in 1949 and is named after Justice H. B. Higgins , who was a Victorian Member of the legislative assembly , president of the Carlton Football Club , Australian Member of Parliament , and justice of the...
in Victoria. For the remainder of the year, Gorton appeared to have the better of Whitlam in the House of Representatives. However, in his chronicle of the Whitlam years, speechwriter
Graham FreudenbergNorman Graham Freudenberg AM is an Australian author and political speechwriter who worked in the Australian Labor Party for over forty years, beginning when he was appointed Arthur Calwell's press secretary in June 1961....
asserts that Gorton's erratic behaviour, Whitlam's strengthening of his party, and events outside Australia (such as the Vietnam War) ate away at the Liberal dominance.
Gorton called
an electionFederal elections were held in Australia on 25 October 1969. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Gorton with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the Australian...
for October 1969. Whitlam and the ALP, with little internal dissension, stood on a platform calling for domestic reform, an end to conscription, and the withdrawal of Australian troops from Vietnam by 1 July 1970. Whitlam knew that, given the ALP's poor position after the 1966 election, victory was unlikely. Nevertheless, Whitlam scored an 18-seat swing, Labor's best performance since losing government in 1949. The Coalition was returned to office with a slim majority.
The 1970 half-Senate electionHalf-senate elections were held in Australia on 21 November 1970.Independents: Reg Turnbull , Michael Townley , Syd Negus -See also:*Candidates of the Australian Senate election, 1970...
brought little change to Coalition control, but the Liberal vote fell for the first time below 40 percent, representing a severe threat to Gorton's leadership. In March 1971, Gorton lost a vote of no confidence in the Liberal caucus. The Liberals elected
William McMahonSir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
as their new leader, and he became Prime Minister.
With the Liberals in turmoil, Whitlam and the ALP sought to gain public trust as a credible government-in-waiting. The party's actions, such as its abandonment of the White Australia policy, gained favourable media attention. The Labor leader flew to
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and pledged himself to the independence of what was then an Australian possession. In 1971, Whitlam flew to
BeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and met with Chinese officials, including
Zhou EnlaiZhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
. McMahon attacked Whitlam for the visit and claimed that the Chinese had manipulated him. This attack backfired when US President
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
announced that
he would visit ChinaU.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China was an important step in formally normalizing relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China. It marked the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC, who at that time considered the U.S. one...
the following year. His
National Security AdvisorThe Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor , serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues...
,
Henry KissingerHeinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
, had actually been in Beijing (unknown to Whitlam) at the same time as the Labor delegation. According to Whitlam biographer Jenny Hocking, the incident transformed Whitlam into an international statesman, while McMahon was seen as reacting defensively to Whitlam's foreign policy ventures. Other errors by McMahon, such as a confused ad-lib speech while visiting Washington, and a statement to Indonesian President Suharto that Australia was a "West European nation", also damaged the government.
By early 1972, Labor had established a clear lead in the polls. Unemployment was at a ten-year peak, rising to 2.14 percent in August (though the unemployment rate was calculated differently compared to the present, and did not include thousands of rural workers on Commonwealth-financed relief work). Inflation was also at its highest rate since the early 1950s. The government recovered slightly in the August Budget session of Parliament, proposing income tax cuts and increased spending. The Labor strategy for the run-up to the election was to sit back and allow the government to make mistakes. Whitlam controversially stated in March that "draft-dodging is not a crime" and that he would be open to a revaluation of the
Australian dollarThe Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
. McMahon called
a general electionFederal elections were held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The Liberal Party of Australia had been in power since 1949, under Prime Minister of Australia William McMahon since March 1971 with coalition partner the Country Party...
for the House of Representatives for 2 December 1972. Whitlam noted that the polling day was the anniversary of the
Battle of AusterlitzThe Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
—at which another "ramshackle, reactionary coalition" had been given a "crushing defeat".
Labor campaigned under the slogan "It's Time", an echo of Menzies' successful 1949 slogan, "It's Time for a Change". Surveys showed that even Liberal voters approved of the Labor slogan. Whitlam pledged an end to conscription and the release of individuals who had refused the draft, an income tax surcharge to pay for universal health insurance, free dental care for students, and renovation of aging urban infrastructure. The party was pledged to eliminate university tuition fees and to the establishment of a schools commission to evaluate educational needs. The party benefited from the support of the proprietor of
News LimitedNews Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
,
Rupert MurdochKeith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
, who preferred Whitlam over McMahon. Labor was so dominant in the campaign that some of Whitlam's advisers urged him to stop joking about McMahon; people were feeling sorry for him. The election saw the ALP increase its tally by 12 seats, mostly in suburban Sydney and Melbourne, for a majority of nine in the House of Representatives. However, the ALP gained little beyond the suburban belts, losing a seat in
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and two in
Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
Duumvirate
Whitlam took office with a majority in the House of Representatives, but without control of the Senate (elected in 1967 and 1970). The Senate at that time consisted of ten members from each of the six states, elected by
proportional representationProportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
. The ALP parliamentary caucus chose the ministers, but Whitlam was allowed to assign portfolios. A caucus meeting could not be held until after the final results came in on 15 December. In the meantime, McMahon would remain caretaker Prime Minister. Whitlam, however, was unwilling to wait that long. On 5 December, once Labor's win was secure, Whitlam had the Governor-General, Sir
Paul HasluckSir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
swear him in as Prime Minister and Labor's deputy leader,
Lance BarnardLance Herbert Barnard AO , Australian politician, was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia for most of the Labor government of Gough Whitlam....
, as Deputy Prime Minister. The two men held 27 portfolios during the two weeks before a full cabinet could be determined.
During the two weeks the so-called "
duumvirateA duumvirate is an alliance between two equally powerful political or military leaders. The term can also be used to describe a state with two different military leaders who both declare themselves to be the sole leader of the state....
" held office, Whitlam sought to fulfill those campaign promises that did not require legislation. Whitlam ordered negotiations to establish full relations with the People's Republic of China, and broke those with Taiwan. Legislation allowed the Minister for Defence to grant exemptions from conscription. Barnard held this office, and exempted everyone. Seven men were at that time incarcerated for refusing conscription; Whitlam arranged for their freedom. The Whitlam government in its first days re-opened the equal pay case pending before the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, and appointed a woman,
Elizabeth EvattElizabeth Andreas Evatt, AC , an emminent Australian reformist lawyer and jurist who sat on numerous national and international tribunals and commissions, was the first Chief Judge of the Family Court of Australia, the first female judge of an Australian federal court, and the first Australian to...
to the commission. Whitlam and Barnard eliminated sales tax on contraceptive pills, announced major grants for the arts, and appointed an interim schools commission. The duumvirate barred racially discriminatory sport teams from Australia, and instructed the Australian delegation at the United Nations to vote in favour of sanctions on apartheid South Africa and
RhodesiaRhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
. It also ordered home all remaining Australian troops in Vietnam, though most (including all conscripts) had been withdrawn by McMahon.
According to Whitlam speechwriter Graham Freudenberg, the duumvirate was a success, as it showed that the Labor government could manipulate the machinery of government, despite its long absence from office. However, Freudenberg noted that the rapid pace and public excitement caused by the duumvirate's actions caused the Opposition to be wary of giving Labor too easy a time, and led to one post mortem of the Whitlam government, "We did too much too soon."
Enacting an agenda
The McMahon government had consisted of 27 ministers, twelve of whom comprised the Cabinet. In the run-up to the election, the Labor caucus had decided that should the party take power, all 27 ministers were to be Cabinet members. Intense canvassing took place amongst ALP parliamentarians as the duumvirate did its work, and on 18 December the caucus elected the Cabinet. The results were generally acceptable to Whitlam, and within three hours, he had announced the portfolios of the cabinet members. To give himself greater control over the Cabinet, in January 1973 Whitlam established five cabinet committees (with the members appointed by himself, not the caucus) and took full control of the cabinet agenda.
The Whitlam government abolished the death penalty for Federal crimes. Legal Aid was established, with offices in each state capital. It abolished tertiary school (university) fees, and established the Schools Commission to allocate funds to schools. Whitlam founded the Department of Urban Development and, having lived in developing Cabramatta when it was largely unsewered, set a goal to leave no urban home unsewered.
The Whitlam government gave grants directly to local government units for urban renewal, flood prevention, and the promotion of tourism. Other federal grants financed highways linking the state capitals, and paid for standard-gauge rail lines between the states. The government attempted to set up a new city at
Albury-WodongaAlbury-Wodonga is the broad settlement incorporating the twin Australian cities of Albury and Wodonga, which are separated geographically by the Murray River and politically by a state border: Albury on the north of the river is part of New South Wales while Wodonga on the south bank is in...
on the Victoria—New South Wales border. "
Advance Australia Fair"Advance Australia Fair" is the official national anthem of Australia. Created by the Scottish-born composer, Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, but did not gain its status as the official anthem until 1984. Until then, the song was sung in Australia as a patriotic song...
" became the country's national anthem, in preference to "
God Save the Queen"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
". The
Order of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
replaced the British honours system in early 1975.
In 1973, the
National Gallery of AustraliaThe National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
, then called the Australian National Gallery, bought the painting
Blue PolesBlue Poles is an abstract painting from 1952 by the American artist Jackson Pollock, more properly known as Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952, and is considered to be Pollock's most important painting...
by contemporary artist
Jackson PollockPaul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
for US$2 million (A$1.3 million at the time of payment)—about a third of its annual budget. This required Whitlam's personal permission, which he gave on the condition the price was publicized. The purchase created a political and media scandal, and was said to symbolise either Whitlam's foresight and vision, or his profligate spending.
Whitlam travelled extensively as Prime Minister, and was the first Australian Prime Minister to visit China while in office. He was criticised for this travel, especially after
Cyclone TracyCyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, 1974...
struck
DarwinDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
; he interrupted an extensive tour of Europe for 48 hours (deemed too brief a period by many) to view the devastation.
Early troubles
In February 1973, the Attorney General, Senator
Lionel MurphyLionel Keith Murphy, QC was an Australian politician and jurist who served as Attorney-General in the government of Gough Whitlam and as a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1975 until his death.- Personal life :...
, led a police raid on the Melbourne office of the
Australian Security Intelligence OrganisationThe Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is Australia's national security service, which is responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically-motivated violence, attacks on the Australian defence system, and...
, which was under his ministerial responsibility. Murphy believed that the ASIO might have files relating to threats against Yugoslav Prime Minister
Džemal BijedićDžemal Bijedić was a Bosniak Communist politician from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the prime minister of Yugoslavia from 1971 until his death.- Early life :...
, who was about to visit Australia, and feared the ASIO might conceal or destroy them. The Opposition attacked the Government over the raid, terming Murphy a "loose cannon". A Senate investigation of the incident was cut short when Parliament dissolved in 1974. According to journalist and author Wallace Brown, the controversy over the raid continued to dog the Whitlam government throughout its term because the incident was "so silly".
From the start of the Whitlam government, the Opposition, led by
Billy SneddenSir Billy Mackie Snedden, KCMG, QC was an Australian politician representing the Liberal Party. He was Leader of the Opposition at the 1974 federal election, failing to defeat the Labor incumbent Gough Whitlam.-Early life:...
(who replaced McMahon as Liberal leader in December 1972) sought to use control of the Senate to balk Whitlam. It did not seek to block all government legislation; the Coalition senators, led by Senate Liberal leader
Reg WithersReginald Greive 'Reg' Withers is a former long-serving member of the Australian Senate, a former government minister, and former Lord Mayor of Perth....
, sought to block government legislation only when the obstruction would advance the Opposition's agenda. The Whitlam government also had troubles in relations with the states. New South Wales refused the government's request that it close the Rhodesian Information Centre in Sydney. The Queensland premier,
Joh Bjelke-PetersenSir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
refused to consider any adjustment in Queensland's border with Papua New Guinea, which, due to the state's ownership of islands in the
Torres StraitThe Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...
, came within half a kilometre (about one-third of a mile) of the Papuan mainland. Liberal state governments in New South Wales and Victoria were re-elected by large margins in 1973. Whitlam and his majority in the House of Representatives proposed
a constitutional referendumThe 1973 Australian Referendum was held on 8 December 1973. It contained two referendum questions.* Prices * Incomes ...
in December 1973, transferring control of wages and prices from the states to the Federal government. The two propositions failed to attract a majority of voters in any state, and were rejected by over 800,000 votes nationwide.
By early 1974, the Senate had rejected nineteen government bills, ten of them twice. With a half-Senate election due by midyear, Whitlam looked for ways to shore up support in that body. Queensland Senator and former DLP leader
Vince GairVincent Clare "Vince" Gair was an Australian politician. He served as Premier of Queensland from 1952 until 1957, when his stormy relations with the trade union movement saw him expelled from the Australian Labor Party. He was elected to the Australian Senate and led the Democratic Labor Party...
signalled his willingness to leave the Senate for a diplomatic post. With five Queensland seats at stake in the half-Senate election, the ALP would probably win only two, but if six were at stake, the party would most likely win three. Possible control of the Senate was therefore at stake; Whitlam agreed to Gair's request and had the Governor-General Sir
Paul HasluckSir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
appoint him Ambassador to Ireland. Word leaked of Gair's pending resignation, and Whitlam's opponents attempted to counteract his manoeuvre. On what became known as the "Night of the Long Prawns", Country Party members secreted Gair at a small party in a legislative office as the ALP searched for him to secure his written resignation. As Gair enjoyed beer and prawns, Bjelke-Petersen advised the Queensland Governor, Sir
Colin HannahAir Marshal Sir Colin Thomas Hannah KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force and a Governor of Queensland. Born in Western Australia, he was a member of the Militia before joining the RAAF in 1935. After graduating as a pilot, Hannah served in Nos. 22 and...
, to issue writs for only the usual five vacancies, since Gair's seat was not yet vacant, effectively countering Whitlam's plan.
With the Opposition threatening to disrupt
supplyIn a parliamentary democracy confidence and supply are required for a government to hold power. A confidence and supply agreement is an agreement that a minor party or independent member of parliament will support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation votes by voting in favour...
, Whitlam used the Senate's defeat of several bills twice to trigger a
double dissolutionA double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks between the House of Representatives and the Senate....
election, holding it instead of the half-Senate election. After a campaign featuring the Labor slogan "Give Gough a fair go",
the Whitlam government was returnedFederal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution...
, with its majority in the House of Representatives cut from seven to five. Both Government and Opposition secured 29 seats in the Senate, with the balance of power held by two independents. The deadlock over the twice-rejected bills was broken, uniquely in Australian history, with a special
joint sittingThis article is about Joint meetings of the Australian Parliament.Australia has a bicameral federal parliament, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives...
of the two houses of Parliament under Section 57 of the Constitution. This session, authorised by the new Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, passed bills providing for universal health insurance (known then as Medibank, today as
MedicareMedicare is Australia's publicly funded universal health care system, operated by the government authority Medicare Australia. Medicare is intended to provide affordable treatment by doctors and in public hospitals for all resident citizens and permanent residents except for those on Norfolk Island...
) and providing the
Northern TerritoryThe Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
and
Australian Capital TerritoryThe Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
with representation in the Senate, effective at the next election.
Second term
By mid-1974, Australia was in an economic slump. The
1973 oil crisisThe 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
had caused prices to spike, and according to government figures inflation topped 13 percent for over a year between 1973 and 1974. Part of the inflation was due to Whitlam's desire to increase wages and conditions of the Commonwealth Public Service as a pacesetter for the private sector. The Whitlam government had cut tariffs by 25 percent in 1973; 1974 saw an increase in imports of 30 percent and a $1.5 billion increase in the trade deficit. Primary producers of commodities such as beef were caught in a credit squeeze as short-term rates rose to extremely high levels. Unemployment also rose significantly. Unease within the ALP led to Barnard's defeat when
Jim CairnsJames Ford "J. F." Cairns , Australian politician, was prominent in the Labor movement through the 1960s and 1970s, and was briefly Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam government...
challenged him for his deputy leadership. Whitlam gave little help to his embattled deputy, who had formed the other half of the duumvirate.
Despite these economic indicators, the budget presented in August 1974 saw large increases in spending, especially in education. Treasury officials had advised a series of tax and fee increases, ranging from excise taxes to the cost of posting a letter; their advice was mostly rejected by Cabinet. The budget was unsuccessful in dealing with the inflation and unemployment, and Whitlam introduced large tax cuts in November. He also announced additional spending to help the private sector.
Beginning in October 1974, the Whitlam government sought overseas loans to finance its development plans, with the newly enriched oil nations a likely target. Whitlam attempted to secure financing before informing the
Loan CouncilThe Loan Council is an Australian organisation that co-ordinates the financial borrowing arrangements of the Commonwealth of Australia and also the States; including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital...
(which included state officials hostile to Whitlam), and his government empowered Pakistani financier Tirath Khemlani as an intermediary in the hope of securing US$4 billion in loans. While the
Loans AffairThe Loans Affair, also called the Khemlani Affair, is the name given to the political scandal involving the Whitlam Government of Australia in 1975, in which it was accused of attempting to borrow money illegally from Middle Eastern countries by bypassing standard procedure as dictated by the...
never resulted in an actual loan, according to author and Whitlam speechwriter Graham Freudenberg, "The only cost involved was the cost to the reputation of the Government. That cost was to be immense—it was government itself."
Whitlam appointed Senator Murphy to the High Court, even though Murphy's Senate seat would not be up for election if a half-Senate election were held. Labor then held three of the five short-term New South Wales Senate seats. Under proportional representation, Labor could hold its three short term seats in the next half-Senate election, but if Murphy's seat were also contested, Labor was unlikely to win four out of six. Thus, a Murphy appointment meant the almost certain loss of a seat in the closely divided Senate at the next election. Whitlam appointed Murphy anyway. By convention, senators appointed by the state legislature to fill casual vacancies were from the same political party as the former senator. The New South Wales premier,
Tom LewisThomas Lancelot Lewis AO is a former New South Wales politician, Premier of New South Wales and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Sir Robert Askin and Sir Eric Willis. He was made the Premier of New South Wales following Askin's retirement from politics and held it until he was replaced by...
felt that this convention only applied to vacancies caused by deaths or ill-health, and arranged for the legislature to elect
Cleaver BuntonCleaver Ernest Bunton AO OBE was a long serving Mayor of Albury, New South Wales, Australia, who came to national prominence in 1975 when he was controversially appointed to the Senate.-Early life:...
, former mayor of
AlburyAlbury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
and an independent.
By March 1975, many Liberal parliamentarians felt that Snedden was doing an inadequate job as Leader of the Opposition, and that Whitlam was dominating him in the House of Representatives.
Malcolm FraserJohn Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
challenged Snedden for the leadership, and defeated him on 21 March.
Soon after Fraser's accession, controversy arose over the Whitlam government's actions in trying to restart peace talks in Vietnam. As the North prepared to end the civil war, Whitlam sent cables to both Vietnamese governments, telling Parliament that both cables were substantially the same. The Opposition contended he had misled Parliament, and a motion to censure Whitlam was defeated along party lines. The Opposition also attacked Whitlam for not allowing enough South Vietnamese refugees into Australia, with Fraser calling for the entry of 50,000. Freudenberg alleges that 1,026 Vietnamese refugees entered Australia in the final eight months of the Whitlam government, and only 399 in 1976 under Fraser. However, by 1977, Australia had accepted over five thousand refugees.
As the political situation deteriorated, Whitlam and his government continued to enact legislation: The
Family Law Act 1975The Australian Family Law Act 1975, sometimes referred to as the FLA by legal practitioners, is an Act of the Australian Parliament. It is one of four separate Acts that provide the framework for family law in Australia...
provided for no-fault divorce while the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 caused Australia to ratify United Nations conventions against racial discrimination that Australia had signed under Holt, but which had never been ratified. In August 1975, Whitlam gave the
Gurindji peopleGurindji are a group of Indigenous Australians living in northern Australia, 460 km southwest of Katherine in the Northern Territory's Victoria River region....
of the Northern Territory title deeds to part of their traditional lands, beginning the process of Aboriginal land reform. The next month, Australia granted independence to Papua New Guinea.
Following the 1974
Carnation RevolutionThe Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
, Portugal began a process of decolonisation and began a withdrawal from
Portuguese TimorPortuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia....
(later
East TimorThe Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
). Australians had long taken an interest in the colony; the nation had sent troops to the region during World War II, and many East Timorese had fought the Japanese as guerrillas. In September 1974, Whitlam met with Indonesian President, Suharto, in Indonesia and indicated that he would support Indonesia if it annexed East Timor. At the height of the Cold War and with American retreat from Indo-China, he felt that if incorporated into Indonesia, the region would be more stable, and Australia would not risk having the East Timorese FRETILIN movement, which many feared was communist, come to power.
Whitlam had offered Barnard a diplomatic post; in early 1975 Barnard agreed to this, triggering
a by-electionA by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Bass on 28 June 1975. This was triggered by the resignation of Labor Party MP Lance Barnard.The by-election was won by Liberal Party candidate Kevin Newman.-Results:...
in his Tasmanian electorate of
BassThe Division of Bass is an Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania. The division was created in 1903 and is named for the explorer George Bass. It has always been based on the city of Launceston and surrounding rural areas, and its boundaries have changed very little in the century since its...
. The election on 28 June proved a disaster for Labor, which lost the seat with a swing against it of 17 percent. The next week, Whitlam fired Barnard's successor as deputy prime minister, Cairns, who had misled Parliament regarding the Loans Affair amid innuendo about his relationship with his office manager,
Junie MorosiJunie Morosi is an Australian businesswoman, who became a public figure in the 1970s through her relationship with Dr Jim Cairns, Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam Labor government...
. At the time of Cairns' dismissal, one Senate seat was vacant, following the death on 30 June of Queensland ALP Senator
Bertie MillinerBertie Milliner was an Australian trade unionist, politician and Senator, representing the Australian Labor Party . He would have been a minor figure in Australia’s political history but for the events that followed his sudden death...
. The state Labor party nominated
Mal ColstonMalcolm Arthur "Mal" Colston , Australian politician, was a Senator in the Parliament of Australia representing the state of Queensland between 1975 and 1999...
, resulting in a deadlock. The unicameral Queensland legislature twice voted against Colston, and the party refused to submit any alternative candidates. Bjelke-Petersen finally convinced the legislature to elect a low-level union official,
Albert FieldAlbert Patrick Field was an Australian who was a French polisher plucked from obscurity to become a Senator in 1975. The circumstances of his appointment were instrumental in precipitating the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.Queensland ALP Senator Bertie Milliner died suddenly on 30 June 1975...
, who had contacted his office and expressed a willingness to serve. In interviews, Field made it clear he would not support Whitlam. Field was expelled from the ALP for standing against Colston, and Labor senators boycotted his swearing-in. Whitlam argued that, because of the manner of filling vacancies, the Senate was "corrupted" and "tainted", with the Opposition enjoying a majority they did not win at the ballot box.
Constitutional crisis
In October 1975, the Opposition, led by
Malcolm FraserJohn Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
, determined to block supply by deferring consideration of appropriation bills. With Field on leave (his Senate appointment having been challenged), the Coalition had an effective majority of 30–29 in the Senate. The Coalition believed that if Whitlam could not deliver supply, and would not
adviseAdvice, in constitutional law, is formal, usually binding, instruction given by one constitutional officer of state to another. Especially in parliamentary systems of government, Heads of state often act on the basis of advice issued by prime ministers or other government ministers...
new elections, Kerr would have to dismiss him. Supply would run out on 30 November.
The stakes were raised in the conflict on 10 October, when the High Court declared valid the Act granting the territories two senators each. In a half-Senate election, most successful candidates would not take their places until 1 July 1976, but the territorial senators, and those filling Field's and Bunton's seats, would assume their seats at once. This gave Labor an outside chance of controlling the Senate, at least up until 1 July 1976. On 14 October, Labor minister
Rex ConnorReginald Francis Xavier "Rex" Connor , Australian politician, was a minister in the Whitlam government and promoted government investment to support national development...
, mastermind of the loans scheme, was forced to resign when Khemlani released documents showing that Connor had made misleading statements. The continuing scandal confirmed the Coalition in their stance that they would not concede supply. Whitlam on the other hand, convinced that he would win the battle, was glad of the distraction from the Loans Affair, and believed that he would "smash" not only the Senate, but Fraser's leadership as well.
Whitlam told the House of Representatives on 21 October,
Whitlam and his ministers repeatedly warned that the Opposition was damaging not only the Constitution, but the economy as well. The Coalition senators tried to remain united, as several became increasingly concerned about the tactic of blocking supply.
As the crisis dragged into November, Whitlam attempted to make arrangements for public servants and suppliers to be able to cash cheques at banks. These transactions would be temporary loans which the government would repay once supply was restored.
Governor-General Kerr was following the crisis closely. At a luncheon with Whitlam and several of his ministers on 30 October, Kerr suggested a compromise: if Fraser conceded supply, Whitlam would agree not to call the half-Senate election until May or June 1976, or alternatively would agree not to call the Senate into session until after 1 July. Whitlam rejected the idea, seeking to end the Senate's right to deny supply. On 3 November, after a meeting with Kerr, Fraser proposed that if the government agreed to hold a House of Representatives election at the same time as the half-Senate election, the Coalition would concede supply. Whitlam rejected this offer, stating that he had no intention of advising a House election for at least a year.
With the crisis unresolved, on 6 November, Kerr decided to dismiss Whitlam as Prime Minister. Fearing that Whitlam would go to the Queen and have him removed, Kerr did not give Whitlam any hint of what was coming. He conferred (against Whitlam's advice) with High Court Chief Justice Sir
Garfield BarwickSir Garfield Edward John Barwick, was the Attorney-General of Australia , Minister for External Affairs and the seventh and longest serving Chief Justice of Australia...
, who agreed that he had the power to dismiss Whitlam.
A meeting among the party leaders, including Whitlam and Fraser, to resolve the crisis on the morning of 11 November came to nothing. Kerr and Whitlam met at the Governor-General's office that afternoon at 1.00 pm. Unknown to Whitlam, Fraser was waiting in an ante-room; Whitlam later stated that he would not have set foot in the building if he had known Fraser was there. Whitlam, as he had told Kerr by phone earlier that day, came prepared to advise a half-Senate election, to be held on 13 December. Kerr instead told Whitlam that he had terminated his commission as Prime Minister, and handed him a letter to that effect. After the conversation, Whitlam returned to the Prime Minister's residence, The Lodge, had lunch and conferred with his advisers. Immediately after his meeting with Whitlam, Kerr commissioned Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister, on the assurance he could obtain supply and would then advise Kerr to dissolve both houses for election.
In the confusion, Whitlam and his advisers did not immediately tell any Senate members of the dismissal, with the result that when the Senate convened at 2.00 pm, the appropriation bills were rapidly passed, with the ALP senators assuming the Opposition had given in. The bills were soon sent to Kerr to receive
Royal AssentThe granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
. At 2.34 pm, ten minutes after supply had been secured, Fraser rose in the House and announced he was Prime Minister. He promptly suffered a series of defeats in the House, which instructed the Speaker,
Gordon ScholesGordon Glen Denton Scholes AO is a former Australian politician and Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives.Scholes was born in Melbourne, the son of Thomas Glen Denton Scholes and his wife Mary Louisa O'Brien. He was the Victorian Amateur Heavyweight Boxing Champion in 1949...
, to advise Kerr to reinstate Whitlam.
By the time Kerr received Scholes, Parliament had been dissolved by proclamation. Kerr's Official Secretary,
David SmithSir David Iser Smith, KCVO, AO, is a retired Australian public servant. He was the Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia between 1973 and 1990, serving Sir Paul Hasluck, Sir John Kerr, Sir Zelman Cowen, Sir Ninian Stephen and Bill Hayden.-Biography:David Smith was born in 1933,...
came to
Parliament HouseOld Parliament House, known formerly as the Provisional Parliament House, was the house of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988. The building began operation on 9 May 1927 as a temporary base for the Commonwealth Parliament after its relocation from Melbourne to the new capital, Canberra,...
to proclaim the dissolution from the front steps. A large, angry crowd had gathered, and Smith was nearly drowned out by their noise. He concluded with the traditional "God save the Queen". Former Prime Minister Whitlam, who had been standing behind Smith, then addressed the crowd:
Well may we say "God save the Queen", because nothing will save the Governor-General! The Proclamation which you have just heard read by the Governor-General's Official Secretary was countersigned Malcolm Fraser, who will undoubtedly go down in Australian history from Remembrance Day 1975 as Kerr's cur. They won't silence the outskirts of Parliament House, even if the inside has been silenced for a few weeks ... Maintain your rage and enthusiasm for the campaign for the election now to be held and until polling day.
Out of office
Return to Opposition
As the ALP began the 1975 race, it seemed that its supporters would maintain their rage. Early rallies saw huge crowds, with attendees handing Whitlam money to pay election expenses. The crowds greatly exceeded those in any of Whitlam's earlier campaigns; in Sydney, 30,000 partisans gathered for an ALP rally in
The DomainThe Domain is 34 hectares of open space in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the eastern edge of the Sydney central business district, near Woolloomooloo. The Domain adjoins the Royal Botanic Gardens and is managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens Trust, a division of the New South...
below a banner: "Shame Fraser Shame". Fraser's appearances saw protests, and a letter bomb sent to Kerr was defused by authorities. Instead of making a policy speech to keynote his campaign, Whitlam made a speech attacking his opponents and calling 11 November "a day which will live in infamy".
Polls from the first week of campaigning showed a nine point swing against Labor. Whitlam's campaign disbelieved the results at first, but additional polling were clear: the electorate was turning against the ALP. The Coalition attacked Labor for economic conditions, and released television commercials including "The Three Dark Years" showing images from Whitlam government scandals. The ALP campaign, which had concentrated on the issue of Whitlam's dismissal, did not address the economy until its final days. By that time Fraser, confident of victory, was content to sit back, avoid specifics and make no mistakes. On election night, 13 December, the Coalition enjoyed the largest victory in Australian history, winning 91 seats to the ALP's 36, and taking a 37–25 majority in the Senate in a 6.5 percent swing against Labor.
Whitlam stayed on as Opposition Leader, defeating a leadership challenge. In early 1976, an additional controversy broke when it was reported that Whitlam had been involved in ALP attempts to raise $500,000 during the election from the pre-
Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
government of Iraq. No money had actually been paid, and no charges were filed.
The Whitlams were visiting China at the time of the
Tangshan earthquakeThe Tangshan Earthquake also known as the Great Tangshan Earthquake, was a natural disaster that occurred on July 28, 1976. It is believed to be the largest earthquake of the 20th century by death toll. The epicenter of the earthquake was near Tangshan in Hebei, People's Republic of China, an...
in July 1976, though they were staying in
Tianjin' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
, 90 miles away from the epicentre.
The AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
printed a cartoon by Peter Nicholson showing the Whitlams huddled together in bed with Margaret Whitlam saying, "Did the earth move for you too, dear?" This cartoon prompted a page full of outraged letters from Labor partisans and a telegram from Gough Whitlam, safe in Tokyo, requesting the original of the cartoon.
In early 1977, Whitlam faced a leadership challenge from his final Treasurer,
Bill HaydenWilliam George "Bill" Hayden AC was the 21st Governor-General of Australia. Prior to this, he represented the Australian Labor Party in parliament; he was a minister in the government of Gough Whitlam, and later became Leader of the Opposition, narrowly losing the 1980 federal election to the...
, and won by a two-vote margin. Fraser called
an election for 10 DecemberFederal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1977. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election....
, and though Labor gained slightly, the Coalition still enjoyed a majority of 48. According to Freudenberg, "The meaning and the message were unmistakable. It was the Australian people's rejection of Edward Gough Whitlam." Whitlam's son
TonyAntony Philip Whitlam QC, is an Australian lawyer who has served as a politician and judge. He is the son of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and Margaret Whitlam.-Early life and education:...
, who had joined his father in the House of Representatives at the 1975 election, was defeated. Shortly after the election, Whitlam resigned as party leader and was succeeded by Hayden.
Ambassador and elder statesman
Whitlam was made a Companion of the
Order of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
in June 1978, and resigned from Parliament on 31 July of the same year. He took various academic positions, and when Labor was restored to power under
Bob HawkeRobert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
in 1983, Whitlam was appointed Ambassador to
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, based in Paris. He served for three years in this post, defending UNESCO against allegations of corruption. In 1985, he was appointed to Australia's Constitutional Commission.
Whitlam was appointed chairman of the National Gallery of Australia in 1987, after his son Nick (then managing director of the
State Bank of New South WalesThe State Bank of New South Wales was a bank that was owned by the Government of New South Wales. It existed from 1933 until 2000, when it was taken over by the Commonwealth Bank....
) turned it down. In 1995, Gough and Margaret Whitlam were part of the bid team which was successful in getting the
International Olympic CommitteeThe International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
to host the
2000 Summer OlympicsThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney.
Kerr died in 1991; he and Whitlam never reconciled. However, Whitlam and Fraser put aside their differences, campaigning together in support of
the 1999 referendumThe Australian republic referendum held on 6 November 1999 was a two-question referendum to amend the Constitution of Australia. The first question asked whether Australia should become a republic with a President appointed by Parliament following a bi-partisan appointment model which had...
which would have made Australia a republic. In March 2010, Fraser visited Whitlam at his Sydney office while on a book tour to promote his memoirs. Whitlam accepted an autographed copy of the book, and presented Fraser with a copy of his 1979 book about the dismissal,
The Truth of the Matter.
In 2003,
Mark LathamMark William Latham , an author and former Australian politician, was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005....
became the leader of the ALP. Although Latham was more conservative than Whitlam, the former Prime Minister gave Latham much support, according to one account "anointing him as his political heir". Latham, like Whitlam, represented Werriwa in the House of Representatives. Whitlam supported Latham when he opposed the invasion and occupation of Iraq, despite Prime Minister
John HowardJohn Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
's warning that Latham risked endangering an alliance with the United States. Labor lost the 2004 election and Latham resigned from the House of Representatives the following year.
Whitlam has been a supporter of fixed four-year terms for both houses of Parliament. In 2006, he accused the ALP of failing to press for this change. In April 2007, Gough and Margaret Whitlam were made life members of the Australian Labor Party. This was the first time anyone had been made a life member at the national level of the Party organisation.
In 2007, Whitlam testified at an inquest into the death of Brian Peters, one of
five Australia-based TV personnelThe Balibo Five was a group of journalists for Australian television networks based in the town of Balibo in East Timor where they were killed on 16 October 1975 during Indonesian incursions prior to the invasion....
killed in
East TimorThe Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
in October 1975. Whitlam indicated that he had warned Peters' colleague, Greg Shackleton (who was also killed) that the Australian government could not protect them in East Timor, and that they should not go there. The former Prime Minister also alleged that Shackleton was "culpable" if Shackleton had not passed on Whitlam's warning.
Whitlam joined three other former Prime Ministers in February 2008 in returning to Parliament to witness the Federal Government apology to the Aboriginal Stolen Generations by Prime Minister
Kevin RuddKevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
. On 21 January 2009, Whitlam achieved a greater age than any other Prime Minister of Australia, surpassing the previous record holder
Frank FordeFrancis Michael Forde PC was an Australian politician and the 15th Prime Minister of Australia. He was the shortest serving Prime Minister in Australia's history, being in office for only eight days.-Early life:...
. If Whitlam is still alive on 27 May 2013, he would surpass Forde's record (37 years, 6 months, 15 days) as the longest living former Prime Minister after the end of his tenure. The Whitlams have now been married for more than two-thirds of a century. On the 60th anniversary of their marriage, Gough Whitlam called it "very satisfactory" and claimed a record for "matrimonial endurance". In 2010, it was reported that Gough Whitlam had moved into an aged care facility in Sydney's inner east in 2007. However, the former Prime Minister goes to his office three days a week. Margaret Whitlam remains in the couple's nearby apartment.
Legacy
Now in his mid-nineties, Whitlam remains well remembered for the circumstances of his dismissal. It is a legacy he has done little to efface; he wrote a 1979 book,
The Truth of the Matter (the title is a play on that of Kerr's 1978 memoir,
Matters for Judgment) and devoted part of his subsequent book,
Abiding Interests, to the circumstances of his removal. According to journalist and author Paul Kelly, who penned two books on the crisis, Whitlam has "achieved a paradoxical triumph: the shadow of the dismissal has obscured the sins of his government".
More books have been written about Whitlam, including his own writings, than about any other Australian prime minister. According to Whitlam biographer
Jenny HockingJenny Hocking is a research professor and the director of research with the National Centre for Australian Studies at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia....
, for a period of at least a decade, the Whitlam era was viewed almost entirely in negative terms, but that has changed. Still, she feels that Australians take for granted programs and policies initiated by the Whitlam government, such as recognition of China, legal aid, and Medicare. Ross McMullin, who wrote a book on the history of the ALP, notes that Whitlam remains greatly admired by many Labor supporters because of his efforts to reform Australian government, and because of inspiring leadership.
Wallace Brown describes Whitlam in his book about his experiences covering Australian Prime Ministers as a journalist:
Whitlam was the most paradoxical of all prime ministers in the last half of the 20th century. A man of superb intellect, knowledge, and literacy, he yet had little ability when it came to economics ... Whitlam rivalled Menzies in his passion for the House of Representatives and ability to use it as his stage, and yet his parliamentary skills were rhetorical and not tactical. He could devise a strategy and then often botch the tactics in trying to implement that strategy ... Above all he was a man of grand vision with serious blind spots.
See also
- First Whitlam Ministry
The First Whitlam Ministry, often known as the "two-man Ministry" or the "Duumvirate", was the forty-eighth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 5 to 19 December 1972....
- Second Whitlam Ministry
The Second Whitlam Ministry was the forty-ninth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 19 December 1972 to 12 June 1974.Australian Labor Party*Hon Gough Whitlam, QC MP: Prime Minister. Minister for Foreign Affairs...
- Third Whitlam Ministry
The Third Whitlam Ministry was the fiftieth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 12 June 1974 to 11 November 1975. It was dismissed in the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.Australian Labor Party...
- The Whitlams
The discography of The Whitlams consists of six studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, and eighteen singles.-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Compilation albums:-Singles:-Videos:-Music videos:-Awards:...
External links