Tuesday, October 21, 2014

A Towering Legend

“…there is every reason why Australia, wealthy and well-endowed, in many respects incomparably so, should be giving a lead to other nations in the equality of opportunities and the quality of the opportunities we make for our own citizens and in the help we can give to others. Twenty years ago, Australia was indeed a pioneer and a leader; now we lag behind. It is not for lack of resources; it has been for lack of resourcefulness on the part of a national leadership, bogged down in its own past, shackled by the dogmas of an outdated, doctrinaire philosophy.” – Gough Whitlam election speech 1969
 
November 11th 1975 was a hot day and I awaited my father getting home from work so I could, somewhat gleefully, announce to him that ‘Kerr sacked Whitlam’. After a couple of weeks of posturing and stalemate the unelected Governor General had downed a few brandies and sacked the popularly elected Prime Minister. Dad was gutted and a little fearful ‘this could lead to a civil war’. I was not and continue to not be against the dismissal, I felt a circuit breaker was needed and, if the Government would not go to the electorate, this was seen as the ‘best’ option. Over the years I have come to doubt the motivations of the GG and am suspicious of the mechanics behind it. I sometimes think if not for the fact that the wrong man was given the job of Governor General or if our country was enlightened enough not to have a Governor General then things might have been quite different.
Gough Whitlam was a visionary and a man with a strong enough sense of self and his country to deliver his vision. It is remarkable that he was Prime Minister for less than three years and yet did so much. Suddenly a country that had been a bit worn out and maybe under dim lights suddenly found an extra light switch and a good strong cuppa and woke up in the light. We’d seen off Menzies (a bit like having had grandpa staying at your place for years and suddenly moved off to a nursing home in another state), then Harold Holt went for a swim after sin and along came Gorton who offered a spark but voted himself out to give us Billy McMahon and the writing was on the urinal wall…

Gough gave us so much. Universal health care (Medibank/Medicare) and suddenly anyone who was sick no longer had to juggle their bills to afford lifesaving care, no longer died of cancer because they simply didn’t have the money for surgery and ‘minor’ viruses spread far less because you could go to a GP and get treatment relatively cheaply (in those days you were out of pocket about $2). ‘Free’ university education meant that, regardless of income, regardless of ‘class’, regardless of where you lived and if you had the desire and ability you could go to University. GPs, lawyers, psychiatrists and even politicians we have today are all thanks to their privilege of free university education. The Family Law Act was introduced giving ‘no blame’ divorce and many people stifled and subsumed in loveless relationships could now get on with their lives. I have philosophical problems with easy divorce (although truthfully I’d be happier if it was much harder to get married) but no one should be entrapped in sadness by any law. Land rights gave our first Australians hope. The Trade Practices Act brought shonky businesses and misleading advertising to account. He even brought many of us in from outdoor toilets with sewerage being introduced to many (most) places. We threw away the British Imperial Honour system (memo Mr Abbott that was 40 years ago!!!) and gained a new National Anthem but not quite a republic but FM radio grew out of Whitlam legislation. And Legal Aid opened the doors for many more to at least get a look in to our Legal mysteries and miseries. All this while ending conscription, giving the vote to 18 year olds, being the first Western leader to go to China and shaking hands with Mao and accelerating the withdrawal of troops in Vietnam. And all this (plus more) in less than three years.
These were things that mattered and I don’t know why they don’t matter as much anymore.

There were dumb, stupid, dangerous mistakes also. Borrowing money from shady regimes, obscenely high inflation, a blowout in the public service numbers and the married Treasurer having a ‘close’ relationship with his PA were not the mark of a government that had a solid hold on the reins.  And ultimately it burnt out and had to go.
Gough and his government changed the way we saw politics and parliament.  His mantra was ‘equality of opportunity’; now why isn’t that on our coat of arms, why isn’t that our abiding philosophy, our (God help me) vision statement?  

He was a great man, a one off; he had an incredible wit, god he was funny, and a huge brain. I saw him in person twice and he was a huge bloke who taught me what charisma is, I’ve only experienced that a handful of times and it is rare but palpable when you experience it.
He was a good man and he did good things. This country is all the better for his being Prime Minister. He wasn’t the best, he was too human for that but he did what he could, it was probably his best and what more can we ask of anyone, especially our leaders.

98 years is indeed a lifetime but it seems it was time for him to go.
My sympathies to his family, his admirers, friends and colleagues.

Thanks comrades

No comments:

Post a Comment