Bringing the light on the hill into family homes

Rebecca Turnbull

In 2005 Rebecca is starting her third year of a Bachelor of Arts/ Bachelor of Teaching degree at UWS. She looks forward to a career in the public education system as a high school English and history teacher.

Gough Whitlam is, perhaps, most remembered for the sensational way in which his government was removed from power, and this should not be forgotten for it marks a dark period in the democratic history of Australian government. However to sum up the Whitlam government by this event alone would be a great injustice, for the Whitlam period marks the beginning of many great reforms that benefited, and in deed many continue to benefit, not just the Labor Party, but Australian politics and the Australian people. To ask, 'what is the legacy of the Whitlam government?' is unanswerable unless we change 'legacy' to the plural, legacies, for there are many.

In terms of the Labor Party the Whitlam government can be credited for the invention of a new Labor tradition - a modernised Party - focused on 'steering the Party away from old class politics and in the direction of state power.'(1)

Years of internal struggles were impeding the success of the Party, so Whitlam embarked on a reform program that, according to Paul Kelly, 'was instrumental in Labor's return to office in 1972 after its longest exile.'(2) One reform apportioned shadow portfolios to the Labor front bench which 'increased the leader's authority, since he has shadow portfolio's to bestow, and it promoted party discipline since it meant that each portfolio had only 1 shadow minister and not a dozen.' (3) This legacy is still in operation today.

Another part of these reforms included the expansion of the voter base as 'Whitlam pressed the need for the party to secure the support of white collar workers as well as the traditional votes of blue collar workers.'(4) It also included a new ALP immigration platform that emphasised that there would be 'no discrimination based on grounds of race or colour or nationality.' (5) Some have said that this was a 'sell out' of the traditional union based voters, I would argue that it was the actions of a leader who recognised the need to move his Party politics out of the local sphere and onto a national platform, if not international.

With this new tertiary educated voter base came 'the emergence of issues encompassing civil liberties, the 'quality of life', feminism, and better service delivery in education, health and welfare.' (6) These are still at the forefront of Labor Policy today. The Whitlam government's legacies in these areas are immense. Of civil liberties, perhaps the greatest Whitlam legacy is the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 which 'made potentially available for transfer to Aborigines, just over 40 per cent of the land area of the Northern Territory.' (7) The handover of Wattie Creek in 1975 is just one example of the Whitlam government's commitment to this cause. The Racial Discrimination Act 1976 and the Immigration (education) Act 1973 are also good examples of the Whitlam commitment to an inclusive Australia based on equal opportunity.

In health and welfare, the Whitlam legacies include Medibank, which paved the foundations for our current system of national health insurance, Medicare. Whitlam's commitment to Medibank was so strong that he began researching strategies for it in the 1960's, even before he became opposition leader. (8)

His legacies for welfare include: the Supporting Mother's Benefit, the establishment of Women's refuges and health care centres, and the welfare benefit for the homeless. (9)

The Whitlam government's commitment to education is well documented. Although it is unfortunate that his policy of free tertiary education has not continued, the Whitlam legacy to education still prevails in his establishment of universities in the outer metropolitan areas, and by converting 'education from a marginal concern to a central one, and it has remained central ever since.' (10) According to Kim Beazley (Snr), who was Education Minister under Whitlam, one of the most important legacies of the Whitlam government was their commitment to Aboriginal education, including 'the decision to provide for the education of Aboriginal children in their own traditional language, as well as the teaching of traditional arts, crafts, music, dancing and skills.' (11) According to Beazley: '..The existence of this educational option means that..Australia has ceased to treat Aborigines as a conquered people.' (12)

One of Whitlam's greatest achievements and legacies for Australia was his efforts in positioning Australia within the international community. Under Whitlam Australia resumed relations with China, stood in the United Nations against apartheid in South Africa, banned racially selected sporting teams from entering Australia, and withdrew Australian troops out of Vietnam. (13)

Even the current Liberal government could not argue against the importance of Whitlam's efforts in placing Australia within the international community.

This essay has not even touched on the Whitlam government's legacies in urban planning, the arts, heritage, and humanitarian commitments, however, suffice to say that there are many. Although the Whitlam government's achievements have been overshadowed by their dramatic ending, and the economic difficulties of the time, one can hardly ignore the Whitlam government's 'light on the hill.'

In the words of Ken Parish:

For a brief moment in history, Gough Whitlam managed to unite and inspire Australia in a way that no leader in either party, either before or since, has ever approached...I even include Labor icons Curtin and Chifley. The light might have been on the hill back in those days, but they never brought it down into people's lives in a positive way, as so many of the Whitlam government's enduring reforms have done (14)

P. Beilharz. Transforming Labor. Tradition and the Labor Decade in Australia, Cambridge: CUP, 1994, 105.
P. Kelly, 'Caucus under Whitlam: 1967-75' in J. Faulkner & Macintyre. S (eds), True Believers: The Story of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 2001, p. 105.
Ibid., 107.
R. Johnston, Australian Prime Ministers. Vic: Thomas Nelson, 1976, p. 104.
Whitlam Institute, 'Hon E.G. Whitlam, AC QC'. [http://www.whitlam.org/people/whitlam_gough.html]. 24 August 2004.
Kelly, op. cit., p. 1056.
M. Gumbert, 'Whitlam, Wran and Aboriginal Land Rights' in Whitlam, Wran and the Labor Tradition. Sydney: Pluto Press, 1988, p. 32.
Beilharz, op. cit., p. 105.
G. Freudenberg, 'Whitlam, Wran & Labor History: The Struggle for Legitimacy' in Whitlam, Wran and the Labor Tradition. Sydney: Pluto Press, 1988, p. 7.
S. Encel. 'Whitlam, Wran & Education Policy' in Whitlam, Wran and the Labor Tradition. Sydney: Pluto Press, 1988, p. 34.
Encel, op. cit., p. 34.
Ibid.
Whitlam Institute, 'Hon E.G. Ehitlam, AC, QC', op. cit.
K. Parish [http://www.ntu.edu.au/faculties/Iba/school/law/apl/blog/stories/natpolitics/67.htm]. 2004.

Bibliography

Beilharz, P. Transforming Labor. Tradition and the Labor Decade in Australia, Cambridge: CUP, 1994.

Encel, S. 'Whitlam, Wran & Education Policy' in Whitlam, Wran and the Labor Tradition. Sydney: Pluto Press, 1988.

Freudenberg, G. 'Whitlam, Wran & Labor History: The Struggle for Legitimacy' in Whitlam, Wran and the Labor Tradition. Sydney: Pluto Press, 1988.

Gumbert, M. 'Whitlam, Wran and Aboriginal Land Rights' in Whitlam, Wran and the Labor Tradition. Sydney: Pluto Press, 1988.

Johnston, R. Australian Prime Ministers. Vic: Thomas Nelson, 1976.

Kelly, P. 'Caucus under Whitlam: 1967-75' in J. Faulkner & Macintyre. S (eds), True Believers: The Story of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 2001.

Parish, K. [http://www.ntu.edu.au/faculties/lba/school/law/apl/blog/stories/natpolitics/67.htm]. 2004.

Whitlam Institute, 'Hon E.G. Whitlam, AC QC'. [http://www.whitlam.org/people/whitlam_gough.html]. 24 August 2004.