The doctrine of positive equality

by Whitlam Institute

Rebecca Fleming has begun her fourth and final year of a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching combined degree at the University of Western Sydney. Her majors in Arts are English and Australian history.

Much of what is written about the Whitlam government revolves around the dismissal of Gough Whitlam by Governor General Kerr, the record legislation passed during the government's tenure (1) and controversies of the time such as the 'Loans affair'. This essay is not concerned with listing successes and failures, rather it aims to trace the legacy of the Whitlam Government.

Legislations can, and have been, dismantled, controversies abound in government, but the commitment to social justice advocated by Whitlam in his 'doctrine of positive equality' (2) is a legacy left by the Whitlam administration which can not be undone by successive governments.

This essay will highlight how, through its commitment to reform, the Whitlam Government demonstrated to the Australian public that social justice is not a political policy, but a basic human right.

The legacy of social justice left by the Whitlam Government is evident in the nation's healthcare system. The Whitlam Government established Medibank based on the belief that 'there should be a medical service, which is largely free, for the whole of the Australian people.'(3) Medibank was dismantled by the Fraser government (4), however the Whitlam government had left the Australian people with the belief that they had a right to the services provided by Medibank.

Whitlam suggested that this principle was 'firmly entrenched in the thinking of the overwhelming majority of the Australian people.'(5)

It is evident then, that the legacy of the healthcare system was not the legislation itself, but the ideology behind it which remained with the Australian public even when Medibank did not.

The steps made towards improving the lives of women and indigenous Australians are also evidence of the Whitlam governments commitment to social justice whilst in power. The government made substantial steps towards gaining equality for women, Ross McMullin suggests, 'Coalition governments from 1950 to 1972 had, despite pressure from the FPLP, repeatedly refrained from endorsing international conventions on discrimination, equal pay and political rights of women. The Whitlam government ratified them all.'(6)

The Whitlam government also made important steps in advancing Aboriginal land rights, with two significant examples being the establishment of the Aboriginal land fund (7) and returning Wattie Creek to Vincent Lingari in August 1975 (8).

Through its enthusiastic commitment to the achievement of equal rights for women and Indigenous communities the Whitlam government foregrounded the centrality of these issues in society. The Whitlam government had a somewhat paradoxical relationship with the Australian nation. While many historians assert the difficulties the government had in communicating the benefits of its policies to the electorate, others also highlight the innovations in campaigning established by the government.

Paul Beilharz refers to Whitlam's campaign tactics as representing 'the personalisation , or Americanisation of Australian politics'(9), while Michelle Gratten suggests 'His [Whitlam's] campaign style impressed because he moulded it to specific regional interests and needs.' (10) Yet Whitlam himself has asserted that the government 'failed to convince the public' of the benefits of his social reforms.(11) It can not be doubted then that the political legacy left by the government is one that reveals the importance of engaging closely with the community.

The legislation of the Whitlam government was wide ranging. It included bills directly related to the social justice program such as free tertiary education and access to a national legal aid service which the government asserted was the 'birthright of every Australian' (12). However, other issues were also covered ranging from the abolishment of national service to legislation protecting the Great Barrier Reef.

The legacy of the government is thus also reflected in more than an ideology, it is reflected in the adults who received a tertiary education because of the Whitlam governments policies, and in the environmental sites which were protected as a result of legislation enacted under the Whitlam government. The legacy is also evident internationally, the most clear example being Papua New Guinea's status as an independent nation (13).

As Massey has pointed out the Whitlam government also represents a legacy of change within the Australian Labor Party's traditions. Massey reminds us that "the Whitlam government began the process of dismantling the long established protectionist framework."(14)

The Whitlam program attempted to reform the nation to create an Australia in which everyone had equal access to services. Not all of its achievements are visible today, certainly space has precluded the mention of all in this essay, but what does remain is a commitment to social justice, an understanding that equality in society is possible. In the final page of his book on the government Whitlam says "It is now a question of maintaining the faith." (15) This faith in social justice is the central legacy bequeathed to the nation.

Gough Whitlam pointed out in Hansard that the legislation in the first two years of government "surpassed all records since Federation." Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, vol H. of R, 5 June 1975, p.3437.
G. Whitlam. The Whitlam Government:1972-1975. Ringwood: Viking, 1985, p.3. (hereafter Whitlam, The Whitlam Government)
Spoken by Senator Wheeldon Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates, Senate, vol. S. 64, 4 June 1975, p.2176.
R. Scotton. "Medibank: from conception to delivery and beyond." MJA; vol. 173: p. 11, 2000. Scotton points out the Medicare established by Hawke is a very similar system.
G. Whitlam, The Whitlam Government, p.739.
R. McMullin, The Light on the Hill: Australian Labor Party 1891-1991, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1991, p. 354.
Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, vol H. of R, 5 June 1975, p. 3447.
G. Whitlam, The Whitlam Government, p. 470
P. Beilharz, Transforming Labor: Labor Tradition and the Labor Decade in Australia, 1994, p.91.
M. Gratten Australian Prime Ministers. Sydney: New Holland, 2000, p. 333.
E. G. Whitlam. The Whitlam Government, p.743.
Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, vol H. of R, 5 June 1975, p. 3472.
Gratten, op. cit., p.339.
R. Massey. "A century of Laborism, 1891-1993: An historical interpretation" Labor History, vol. 66, 1994, p.60
G. Whitlam. The Whitlam Government, p. 744.

Bibliography

Secondary Sources

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

Kelly, P. "Caucus under Whitlam: 1967-75" In J. Faulkner and S. MacIntyre (eds), True Believers, Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2001, pp 105-121.

Gratten, M. Australian Prime Ministers. Sydney: New Holland, 2000.

Hollier, N. "From Hope to Disillusion? The Legacy of the Whitlam Government in Australian Policy and Culture." In J. Hocking and C. Lewis (eds), Whitlam and Modern Labor, Melbourne: Melbourne Publishing group, 2003, pp 414-443.

Massey, R. "A century of Laborism, 1891-1993: An historical interpretation" Labor History, vol. 66, 1994, pp 45-71.

McMullin, R.The Light on the Hill: Australian Labor Party 1891-1991, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Scotton, R. "Medibank: from conception to delivery and beyond." MJA; vol. 173, 2000, pp.9- 11.

Walter, J. "Gough Whitlam: bursting limitations." In Judith Brett (ed) Political lives, Sydney: A&U, 1997, pp 28-51.

Whitlam, G. The Whitlam Government:1972-1975. Ringwood: Viking, 1985.

Primary Sources

Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, vol H. of R, 19 May - 9 July 1975, Canberra: Government Printer, 1975.

Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates, Senate, vol. S. 64, 13 May- 22 July 1975, Canberra: Government Printer, 1975.

The Australian, 27 June, 1975.

The Australian, 28 June, 1975

The Australian, 30 June, 1975.