Over the years there has been a constant campaign to belittle the Whitlam government of l972-75 as having been inept , accident prone and unable to handle the exchequer . Even the ALP itself, giving the impression that it would just like discussion of the Whitlam years to fade into the past, did little to explain the achievements and the global economic stresses which impacted on Australia in the l970s. Recently , the Coalition’s attack dog, " Mad Monk " Tony Abbott, barked on TV that the Rudd Government’s stimulus packages were like a Whitlam deficit.Yet again the Whitlam years were being used to cudgel the ALP, a banshee wail which will seemingly never end.
It was therefore both refreshing and a joy to see Robert Manne in the June edition of The Monthly magazine declare PM Gough Whitlam achieved more in his three year reign than PM Robert Menzies in 16. Right on . Here in one simple sentence was the message that the ALP has constantly failed to present to the nation. Manne went on to say most of Whitlam’s reforms –Medibank ; university expansion ; the creation of national cultural institutions ; the expansion of the welfare state ; the initiation of Indigenous land rights; the passage of the Racial Discrimination Act-made Australia a distinctly better place. (There were many other reforms. )
Little Darwin adds the following . In explaining the present global financial crisis there has been much reference in journals, lectures , documentaries and essays to the causes of the great Depression and the subsequent recessions . One of the global economic blows of the Western world occurred during the Whitlam government ,when the first oil hike took place. In Japan , the oil spike was billed as a “shoku” and the populace began hoarding all kinds of commodities, including toilet paper, in anticipation of massive price increases. The stock market dived, inflation was off and running , unemployment increased. The Whitlam government , though not perfect and full of reformist zeal , was hit like most other countries.
It was therefore both refreshing and a joy to see Robert Manne in the June edition of The Monthly magazine declare PM Gough Whitlam achieved more in his three year reign than PM Robert Menzies in 16. Right on . Here in one simple sentence was the message that the ALP has constantly failed to present to the nation. Manne went on to say most of Whitlam’s reforms –Medibank ; university expansion ; the creation of national cultural institutions ; the expansion of the welfare state ; the initiation of Indigenous land rights; the passage of the Racial Discrimination Act-made Australia a distinctly better place. (There were many other reforms. )
Little Darwin adds the following . In explaining the present global financial crisis there has been much reference in journals, lectures , documentaries and essays to the causes of the great Depression and the subsequent recessions . One of the global economic blows of the Western world occurred during the Whitlam government ,when the first oil hike took place. In Japan , the oil spike was billed as a “shoku” and the populace began hoarding all kinds of commodities, including toilet paper, in anticipation of massive price increases. The stock market dived, inflation was off and running , unemployment increased. The Whitlam government , though not perfect and full of reformist zeal , was hit like most other countries.
When the Coalition government came into power PM Malcolm Fraser and Treasurer John Howard faced the same difficult realities and performed badly,there being high interest rates , high unemployment. So, at this belated stage , happy birthday Gough Whitlam . To the modern day ALP , please take every opportunity to repeat what Robert Manne had to say in The Monthly to better inform the populace and annoy sanctimonious , yapping dogs.
