Gough Whitlam

The Whitlam Government implemented a large number of reforms in the 1071 days it held office between December 5, 1972 and November 11, 1975 . Gough Whitlam changed Australia indefinitely not only through its laws and establishments, but by the way it was viewed by other countries and by itself. During the reign of the Gough Whitlam government, more bills were passed in its first year than any other federal government had passed in a single year with a total of 203 bills passed (e.g. the Trade Practices Act 1974, the Health Insurance Act 1973 and The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 ). So what were the succusses and failures of the Whitlam Government during its time in power? The successes of the Whitlam Government were plentiful, as “they stirred…

for the Gurindji people, led his fellow Gurindji compatriots and walked off their worksite and began a seven year strike. The strike was first assumed to be a strike by the Gurindji people about conditions and pay upon the station but it was quickly realised it was something far more important, Vincent and the Gurindji people wished to be given their land back, including Wave Hill station. In the end, Vincent Lingiari and his people achieved the goal they had set out to achieve after 8 years of…

involvement in the Vietnam War, Labour was remaining tight lipped on the issue. From the infamous speech then Prime Minister Harold Holt gave which notably stated “all the way with LBJ” the Liberal party throughout the Vietnam War never swayed from notion that Australia should and would be involvement in Vietnam, throwing in their full support behind the United States. Where among the Labour party numerous Labour leaders remained cautious about both the policies and the politics of the…

2,000 Vietnamese-born people in Australia; however, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, things changed dramatically. In 1958, the Dictation Test was abolished, which saw Australia begin to relax its White Australia Policy. At a debate at the House of Representatives in March 1966, Sir Keith Cameron Wilson (MP) said, “From now on there will not be in any of our laws or in any of our regulations anything that discriminates against migrants on the grounds of colour or race.” This can also be…

“More than ever before TV showed the terrible human suffering and sacrifice of war.” (Australia and the Vietnam war, 2007) This statement made by Richard Nixon highlights the impact of media coverage of the war on Australians. Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam war between the years of 1962-1972 was a very polarising issue in Australia’s history. In the early stages of war, there seemed to be a lack of interest among the public, however, this disinterest turned into growing opposition and…

later towards government provisions for private and or for-profit commercial child care in the years of the early 1990s (Adamson & Brennan, 2012, p. 261) were a series of market-driven public policies that paved the response for families requiring ECEC as the increased demands for affordable child care in the 44 years following the operation of the Act and it’s legislation, paired with the ‘large scale involvement’ (Bowes, et al., 2012, p. 238) by the Australian Commonwealth Government. Although…

Lesson Plan 3 Why is the poppy a universal symbol? Date/Time: Learning area(s): History, English Year(s): 3 Learning objectives - Why is the poppy a universal symbol? - Poppies are worn at a certain time of the year - The meaning of Remembrance Curriculum links History (ACARA, 2014a) • Australia (Including Remembrance Day) and the importance of symbols (ACHHK063) • Use historical terms (ACHHS066) • Pose a range of questions about the past (ACHHS067) • Locate relevant information from sources…

according to Environment Minister Moss Cass, they “sat there like stunned mullets” (Whitlam: Power and the Passion, 2013, Ep.2). Once the media was informed the sentiment of the ministers were shared by most of the general public. Quickly crowds began to…

theirs (Source 9). The image was taken at a student activist march on the 13th of July, 1968, which is protesting land rights for the Gurindji people, which was almost two years after the original petition was sent to the Australian Governor General. Seven years after the march, the voice of the Gurindji people has been heard by the Prime Minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam, during his speech. Gough Whitlam states that “. [he] speaks on behalf of the Australian people who honour and love [the]…

Entry to Federal Politics On October 15th 1975, Malcolm Fraser played a role that led to Gough Whitlam’s dismissal by the Governor-General. Fraser led the opposing team and he announced that the opposition would not pass the Budget Bills through the Senate until Whitlam called an election. Australia went through its most intense constitutional crisis. Malcolm Fraser said that the opposition would only grant supply if the government called a general election. The constitutional and financial…