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Extract from Hansard [ASSEMBLY Extract from Hansard [ASSEMBLY — Tuesday, 21 October 2014] p7575d-7589a Mr Colin Barnett; Mr Mark McGowan; Mr Terry Redman; Mr Ian Britza; Mr Roger Cook; Mr Bill Johnston; Mr Dave Kelly; Mr David Templeman; Ms Rita Saffioti; Ms Margaret Quirk; Mr Chris Tallentire; Dr Tony Buti; Mr Peter Tinley; Mr Peter Watson; Ms Janine Freeman HONOURABLE EDWARD GOUGH WHITLAM, AC, QC — TRIBUTE Statement by Premier MR C.J. BARNETT (Cottesloe — Premier) [2.04 pm]: It is appropriate that this Parliament and this house in particular mark the passing of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. He has a unique place in Australian politics and, indeed, Australian history. I begin by extending the sympathy of the Western Australian government to the family and friends of the late Gough Whitlam. The 1972 federal election saw Gough Whitlam lead the Labor Party to government after 23 years in opposition. It was probably the most famous election in Australian political history—the “It’s Time” campaign election; I remember it well. It was an election campaign that was different from anything that came before it, and there is no doubt that it captured the minds and emotions of Australians, particularly the then young generation of Australians—the baby boomers, of which I am one. It was a time when emotions were running high in Australia. This was after the 1960s, and all that the 1960s represented in post-war Australia to a new younger generation. It was a time in which there was high immigration to Australia by people from all around the world, the time of the Vietnam War, the moratorium demonstrations and, indeed, the time of conscription. Gough Whitlam was certainly a conviction politician; he said what he believed, he stood for what he believed in, and there is no doubt that he changed Australia. In my mind, reflecting on those times, he changed Australia from a postcolonial mentality and took Australia into a modern, contemporary society. He brought us into Asia and gave pride to our nation. It was an extraordinary period in Australian history—economic history, but particularly social history. Many people today, particularly in the federal Parliament, have talked about Gough Whitlam’s achievements, and they were many. In thinking about that, I have listed what I see as his seven most important achievements, not necessarily in order. Certainly, the introduction of universal health care, through what was then known as Medibank, was a transformational policy and gave health care to all Australians. Free university education was important in itself for both students and universities, but it also gave equality of opportunity to Australians who did not previously have it. I remember that when I first began at university, it was a fairly exclusive institution; not many people came from, if you like, the wrong side of the tracks to get into university, which at that time in Western Australia meant only the University of Western Australia. Whitlam changed that and gave people the aspiration and opportunity of a tertiary education. The diplomatic recognition of China was immensely important, particularly for Western Australia, where we dominate the Australia–China trade relationship. Promotion of the arts and, indeed, arts identities, was very visible during the “It’s Time” campaign; some of us can remember those ads running almost continuously on television during that era. There was the recognition of Aboriginal land rights and, more particularly, recognition of the place of Aboriginal people in Australia’s society. That was an important social reform. There was also recognition of the contribution made by migrants to Australia—again, a real feature of that period of the Whitlam government—and making all Australians understand their contribution and respecting a multicultural Australia. Equal pay for women was also a major reform within the workplace, and there were other reforms. It was a government that was led with an idealistic and inspirational approach for a new and modern Australia. Unfortunately, that idealism, aspiration and optimism was progressively replaced by a number of scandals and failures within government. The Whitlam government was in office for only three years, and they were turbulent years; I remember them well. There were a whole series of scandals of various sorts, none more infamous than the Khemlani affair, which ultimately probably brought down the Whitlam government. From my recollection, and from thinking about it this morning, I do not think those problems were created by Gough Whitlam himself; I think he was let down by ministers who had maybe been in opposition for too long, had become too impatient, and did not have the experience to manage their agencies, and it was a period of instability in Australian government and Australian politics as result. Unfortunately, Gough Whitlam was unable to restore stability to his government, and the demise of the Whitlam government is probably the most infamous episode in Australian political history. There was the chaos in the years towards the end of the Whitlam government, including the blocking of supply. People will argue whether it was appropriate or not for the then opposition to block supply in the Senate. Then, of course, there was the dismissal of the government in [1] Extract from Hansard [ASSEMBLY — Tuesday, 21 October 2014] p7575d-7589a Mr Colin Barnett; Mr Mark McGowan; Mr Terry Redman; Mr Ian Britza; Mr Roger Cook; Mr Bill Johnston; Mr Dave Kelly; Mr David Templeman; Ms Rita Saffioti; Ms Margaret Quirk; Mr Chris Tallentire; Dr Tony Buti; Mr Peter Tinley; Mr Peter Watson; Ms Janine Freeman November 1975. That is without a doubt the most controversial episode in Australian political history. I believe that Australia still does not feel comfortable about the dismissal. I do not think Australians felt comfortable at the time, whichever side of politics they were on, and to this day I think many Australians, myself included, are not convinced that that was necessarily the right course of events to have taken place. Whatever one may conclude about Gough Whitlam and his government, there is no doubt that in every respect he was a huge figure in Australian politics. He was a brilliant person—a conviction politician who had his agenda for Australia, and maybe had he been surrounded by stronger ministers and more capable people, he may not have been restricted to just three years as Prime Minister. I conclude by acknowledging that Gough Whitlam changed Australia. He changed Australia from postcolonial thinking into a contemporary country and a more tolerant society. Again, I extend my sympathy to his children, family and friends. Statement by Leader of the Opposition MR M. McGOWAN (Rockingham — Leader of the Opposition) [2.10 pm]: I am pleased to stand here as leader of the state Parliamentary Labor Party to acknowledge a great Australian. Edward Gough Whitlam was a man who transformed this country. I have admired him virtually since I can remember. Although I do not remember the Whitlam government, I have a vague recollection of the dismissal of his government and my father’s unhappiness on that particular day. I have met him and I have read a lot about the Whitlam government in the time since. One of the biographies I read was by his speech writer, Graham Freudenberg—himself a great writer and a great Labor icon as well. He described Whitlam in his biography as “the greatest living Australian” and “the greatest Australian to have ever lived”. I think many of us believe that; I certainly believe that he was a wonderful, transformational and important historic figure for this country. Although I think his last few years have been unfortunate and unpleasant in many ways for him, and so therefore his passing for many and perhaps even himself is a relief, I am still sad to be standing here today acknowledging that event. He was asked what he wanted to be remembered for. Although he was flamboyant and had a lot of flair, and had a unique media savvy in the days before “media savvy” was commonplace, he wanted to be remembered as an achiever. When he was asked, “What do you want to be remembered for?” he always said, “An achiever—someone who actually did things in life.” If one ever wants an example of someone who fulfilled their ambition, Gough Whitlam is one of those people. Gough was guided by a range of principles, but equality of opportunity was always the one principle that he quoted most of all. At his 1972 campaign launch and in all of his speeches he would say “equality of opportunity for all Australians”. When he was asked, “What does that mean?” he said, “I want every kid to have a lamp on their desk”, which basically meant people had the opportunity to study and do something educational with their life. Equality of opportunity, democracy, and fairness for all meant an Australia that could hold its head high in the world, and an Australia that was independent and took its proper place amongst the nations of this planet. I believe that if Gough Whitlam had been born in Britain, he could have been Prime Minister. If he had been born in the United States of America, he could have been President. I am pretty confident that he believed that too! He was the sort of person who could mix it with world leaders. He met and mixed on an equal basis with Mao Tse-tung, Lee Kuan Yew, Zhou Enlai, Lyndon Baines Johnson and Harold Wilson, and he had the respect of them all. During his time as Prime Minister and, for a period, Minister for Foreign Affairs, we, as Australians, knew that we could hold our head high because we had a Prime Minister who could mix it with world leaders and represent this country properly.
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