2014-10-21
Greens leaders
On the passing of Gough Whitlam
by Christine Milne
This is a significant moment for Australia as we remember Gough Whitlam and his momentous contribution to our nation. He was Prime Minister for only three years but he swept all before him. We all mourn his passing and celebrate his great life.
He was a larger than life figure whose leadership profoundly changed the nation for the better, forever.
Mr Whitlam made us a progressive nation and put us on the global map. After decades of conservative government, in came Gough.
His passion for social justice, education and the arts was legendary. He improved Australia's humanitarian and cultural standing in the world by ratifying the Human Rights Convention and the World Heritage Convention.
Mr Whitlam was a champion for the environment, establishing the National Parks and Wildlife Service and protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
I remember it keenly, being at university at the time, with so many young people who had lived in fear of being 'called up' that he ended conscription and completed the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam.
Mr Whitlam ended university fees and brought about federal funding on a needs basis for public schools. For the first time it didn't matter how much your family earned, you could access quality education. He brought the Commonwealth into housing and health for the first time.
His significant work on land rights and establishing the Department of Aboriginal Affairs set us on the path to further recognition of Australia's first people.
Internationally, his recognition of China and his visit there was critical to the redefinition of Australia as an Asian nation.
Rest in peace Gough Whitlam. On behalf of the Australian Greens I send our deepest thoughts, sympathies and thanks to the Whitlam family and to all those who knew and loved him.
Remembering Gough
by Hall Greenland
Gough was the loveable giant in Australian politics. He was that rare Labor figure – a reformist who believed in reforms. As Prime Minister he was a huge surprise; he'd risen through Labor's ranks as a right-winger and yet as PM he turned out to be our most reforming PM ever. He ended conscription, completed our withdrawal from Vietnam, appointed the first-ever women's advisor and the first minister for environment, honoured our indigenous population with the first land rights, made the liveability of Australia's cities a federal responsibility and presided over a major redistribution of income downwards. Labour's share of GDP rose to 64% during his tenure; it is now about 50%.
His government was also responsible for major social reforms like the abolition of university fees, no-fault divorce and the introduction of single parent pensions. Just to begin to list the achievements of Gough and his ministers is to throw into sad relief the derisory performance of federal Labor governments since.
He assembled and worked with the most remarkable set of ministers in Australia's history – Jim Cairns, Tom Uren, Rex Connor, Lionel Murphy, Jim McClelland, Clyde Cameron and Moss Cass to name just a few.
Of course, such reforming zeal aroused the wrath of Australia's Establishment and they sought – and eventually succeeded – in bringing him down. That in itself is testimony to the refreshing radicalism he brought to Australian politics. Yes, there were unforgivable black spots in his time – his abandonment of East Timor was the worst by far. But it is his bold reforming measures that he is rightly remembered for.
The Greens NSW salute a life well lived. He made Australia a much, much better place to live. As Greens we are proud to be the party that takes up where Gough Whitlam left off. The future belongs to what might be called Gough's children.
Memories of the Dismissal
by Jo Vallentine
Along with millions of others, I shared the excitement of the 1972 election outcome. Wow, was it ever “time” for change, which is what we got, in bucketloads.
Having been overwhelmed with the speed of the Vietnam withdrawal, impressed with the introduction of free university education and delighted with the arts funding injection which saw local voices encouraged almost beyond our wildest dreams… I was off to Europe for an extended period, so that I missed much of the Gough years, which included significant changes to be appreciated later, like the Medibank roll out, women's issues being firmly planted on the agenda, and the historic sands through the hands of Vincent Linguari.
Sitting on the French border, waiting for news of Franco's death, prior to visiting Spain, Peter Fry and I (in our then rather new Kombi van, which has just now completed a 9,000 km trip across Australia), were horrified to hear on BBC World Service that the Australian Governor-General had sacked Prime Minister Whitlam. Were we dreaming? The news item was very succinct. No further details, except that Malcolm Fraser had been sworn in as caretaker Prime Minister until fresh elections were organised. It was days before there was any further reference to this momentous event! It was one time in my life, when I was overseas, that I wished I was back home, to share the outrage, and to understand what had led to this dreadful exit of a great man, flawed as he was, who had set a new direction for this country.
As an advocate for an independent foreign policy for Australia, I was very aware of the role of Pine Gap in our country's compliance with the Government of the United States. We'd heard from U.S. whistleblower Christopher Boyce (“The Falcon and the Snowman”), and our own investigative journalists Bill Pinwill, Brian Toohey and John Pilger had come close to “proving” that we were being spied upon by that base in the heart of Australia, that the CIA might have contributed to the de-stabilising of the Whitlam Govt. (how unpopular he was, having challenged U.S. policy), as well as helping the U.S. military in its nefarious undertakings. But it was still unclear EXACTLY what went on inside Pine Gap.
What most people don't know, is that on the very day of the dismissal (which occurred around lunchtime), Gough Whitlam had scheduled a speech in Parliament, after Question Time, about the role of Pine Gap. Of course, that speech was never made. Years later, I made sure that I had an opportunity to ask Gough about the content of the un-delivered speech. Could I have a copy please? He was very charming, of course, and acknowledged my efforts to try to uncover the truth about this monstrosity in our midst, but politely declined to oblige, and deftly turned the conversation to other matters. I tried again, but to no avail; he was not going back there, much to my disappointment.
Interesting footnote to that story is Malcolm Fraser's recently published “Dangerous Allies” referring to the United States, of course, and arguing for a more independent Australian foreign policy stand!
From Adam
Image is of Gough Whitlam attending the Apology to the Stolen Generation in 2008. From HREOC.