Whitlam government
The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 federal election, ending a record 23 years of continuous Coalition government. It was terminated by Governor-General Sir John Kerr following the 1975 constitutional crisis and was succeeded by the Fraser government—the sole occasion in Australian history when an elected federal government was dismissed by the governor-general.
The Whitlam government was highly controversial during its short tenure but achieved some major reforms. Formal relations with China were established, conscription laws were repealed, all remaining Australian forces were withdrawn from the Vietnam War, universal healthcare was introduced and some remaining discriminatory provisions of the White Australia policy were abolished. Tertiary education fees were abolished. However, these and other ambitious reforms corresponded to a crisis: "By mid-1975, inflation hit 17.6 per cent and wage rises hit 32.9 per cent. The economy boomed in 1973 and the first half of '74, but then suffered a severe recession." The Whitlam government was re-elected for a second term at the 1974 double-dissolution election but, following the dismissal, was heavily defeated by the new Fraser government in the 1975 election.
Background
The Australian Labor Party had entered opposition in 1949, following the loss of the Chifley government to the Robert Menzies-led Liberal-Country Party Coalition. The Coalition then governed continuously for 23 years. Gough Whitlam became deputy leader of the Labor Party in 1960, and Arthur Calwell subsequently retired as leader in 1967 following Labor's poor result in the 1966 election. Whitlam was elected party leader in April 1967, with Lance Barnard as deputy leader. Labor reduced the Gorton government's majority and came within 4 seats of government in the 1969 election. Whitlam then led the Labor Party to victory against the McMahon government at the 1972 election.First term
Duumvirate
Whitlam took office with a majority in the House of Representatives, but without control of the Senate. The Senate at that time consisted of ten members from each of the six states, elected by proportional representation. The ALP parliamentary caucus chose the ministers, but Whitlam was allowed to assign portfolios. A caucus meeting could not be held until after the final results came in on 15 December. In the meantime, it was expected that McMahon would remain caretaker prime minister. Whitlam, however, was unwilling to wait that long. On 5 December, once Labor's win was secure, Whitlam had the Governor-General, Sir Paul Hasluck, swear him in as prime minister and Labor's deputy leader, Lance Barnard, as deputy prime minister. The two men held 27 portfolios between them during the two weeks before a full cabinet could be determined.During the two weeks the so-called "duumvirate" held office, Whitlam sought to fulfill those campaign promises that did not require legislation. Whitlam ordered negotiations to establish full relations with the People's Republic of China, and broke those with Taiwan. Legislation allowed the Minister for Defence to grant exemptions from conscription. Barnard held this office, and exempted everyone. Seven men were at that time incarcerated for refusing conscription; Whitlam arranged for their freedom. The Whitlam government in its first days re-opened the equal pay case pending before the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission led by Sydney barrister Mary Gaudron, and appointed a woman, Elizabeth Evatt, as presidential member of the commission. Whitlam and Barnard eliminated sales tax on contraceptive pills, announced major grants for the arts, and appointed an interim schools commission. The duumvirate barred racially discriminatory sport teams from Australia, and instructed the Australian delegation at the United Nations to vote in favour of sanctions on apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia. It also ordered home all remaining Australian troops in Vietnam, though most had been withdrawn by McMahon.
According to Whitlam speechwriter Graham Freudenberg, the duumvirate was a success, as it showed that the Labor government could manipulate the machinery of government, despite its long absence from office. However, Freudenberg noted that the rapid pace and public excitement caused by the duumvirate's actions caused the Opposition to be wary of giving Labor too easy a time, and led to one post mortem verdict on the Whitlam government, "We did too much too soon."
Enacting an agenda
The McMahon government had consisted of 27 ministers, twelve of whom comprised the Cabinet. In the run-up to the election, the Labor caucus had decided that should the party take power, all 27 ministers were to be Cabinet members. Intense canvassing took place among ALP parliamentarians as the duumvirate did its work, and on 18 December the caucus elected the Cabinet. The results were generally acceptable to Whitlam, and within three hours, he had announced the portfolios of the cabinet members. To give himself greater control over the Cabinet, in January 1973 Whitlam established five cabinet committees and took full control of the cabinet agenda.During its time in office, the Whitlam government embarked on an ambitious program of social reform in keeping with the promise of change that the ALP campaign emphasised. As noted by one historian, "Labor’s extensive reforms during its first term in office were the high water mark of Australian postwar social democracy." On coming to office, the Whitlam government granted federal public servants paid maternity leave, a thirty-six-and-a-quarter-hour workweek, large wage rises and four weeks annual leave. Free tertiary education was introduced, together with a universal health care system and a sole parent pension. Laws were also passed providing for equal pay for women and national land rights, divorce laws were made more liberal, and legislation against racial discrimination was introduced. In addition, the principle of equal pay was extended, occupational health and safety was improved, annual leave loading was introduced, trade union education was established, four weeks of annual leave was achieved as a national standard military conscription was abolished and Australian troops were withdrawn from Vietnam, a separate ministry responsible for Aboriginal affairs was established, controls on foreign ownership of Australian resources were put in place, laws against sexual discrimination were passed, maternity leave and benefits for single mothers were extended, an attempt was made to democratise the electoral system through the introduction of one-vote-one-value, and a Community Health Program was introduced. The social services were also significantly expanded, with big improvements in the real value of social security payments, spending on housing quadrupled, education outlays doubled, and federal health expenditure rising by 20% A Department of Aboriginal Affairs was also established, while Australia's first federal legislation on human rights, the environment and heritage was initiated.
The Women's Electoral Lobby, founded in 1972, had helped Whitlam win government. In 1973, Elizabeth Reid was appointed the world's first adviser on women's affairs to a head of government. Through Reid's work in this role, the government took a greater role in the protection of women and increasing their rights; and, through the 1974 establishment and later recommendations of a Royal Commission on Human Relationships, a feminist reform agenda was put on the agenda for future action by the government. Among other reforms, the Whitlam government introduced three months' paid maternity leave, along with a week's paid paternity leave, for public servants, as well as the Supporting Mother's Benefit, in 1973.
A significant amount of legislation was passed altogether from 1972 to 1975, with 221 acts passed by parliament in 1973 alone, while the welfare state was significantly extended. Public spending was raised significantly, with the 1973 budget quadrupling spending on housing, tripling outlays on urban development, and doubling spending on education. Through initiatives such as the Australian Assistance Plan and the Regional Employment Development scheme, employment opportunities were expanded and funds allocated towards improving services and amenities in deprived areas, as characterised by the construction of new health centres, community houses, legal services, footpaths, sewers, streetlights, and public libraries.
In 1978, one observer praised the Australian Assistance Plan for generating
"much more general acceptance of the concepts of welfare for the community and local participation. Moreover, a great deal had actually happened. During the year 1975-76, 1408 grants for community welfare projects were approved by the Social Security Department. A detailed list of AAP projects includes projects relating to citizens' advice bureaus, community centres, and resource centres, projects to aid families, women, children, young people, the aged, the handicapped, migrants and the needy. It would be difficult to refute the conclusion that the sum of $6.6 million granted to Regional Councils of Social Development in 1975-76 promoted a very large amount of constructive welfare activity because it was spent in support of local and often voluntary efforts".
Broadcast and television licence fees were abolished, while a wide range of new benefits were introduced, such as a handicapped child's allowance, a special orphan's pension, and the Supporting Mothers Benefit. Rates of sickness and unemployment benefits were increased to bring them in line with other social security benefits, while funding was provided for child care, women's refuges, and community health programs. The means test for pensioners over the age of seventy-five was abolished in 1973, and in 1975 the means test was abolished for all pensioners over the age of seventy. As a result of the welfare measures undertaken by the Whitlam government, social expenditures as a percentage of GDP rose from 12.5% to 17.6% during its time in office.
Needs-based funding for schools was implemented, spending on technical colleges was significantly increased, and special initiatives for the handicapped, Indigenous Australians, and isolated children were introduced. Farmers benefited from tariff cuts and additional markets established by the Whitlam government's trade and diplomatic initiatives, together with higher spending on regional education and health, rural research, and other upgraded country facilities. A number of measures were also undertaken to enhance women's rights. International conventions on equal pay, discrimination, and the political rights of women were ratified. New health centres and many women's refuges were established throughout Australia, together with a pre-school and child care program which catered for 100,000 children.
In March 1973, the service pension was extended to war widows, and in September 1973 the means test on service pensions was abolished for recipients over the age of 74. In May 1975 the means test was abolished for the age group 70–74 years. Free artificial limbs were also made available through the repatriation artificial limb and appliance centre to all amputees, while free medical and hospital treatment was introduced for veterans of both the Great War and the Boer War and for ex-prisoners of war. The Mental Health and Related Community Services Act of 1973 made grants available to the states for the provision of community-oriented services for drug, alcohol, and mental problems. In 1973, the age limit of 21 years was removed for the payment of additional pension for full-time students and for the payment of guardian's allowance or mother's allowance, and provision was made for payment of additional benefit for a child to continue after their 16th birthday and without limitation on age if the child was a dependent full-time student.
The government introduced reforms for the superannuation arrangements of its own employees. In July 1973, for instance, the government financed element of pensions was properly indexed against changes in the cost of living for the first time. In August 1973, fair rent provisions for houses and flats were introduced, while a separate housing list for in need families was introduced. In 1974, a generous rental rebate scheme and improved concessions on government loans were introduced to benefit low income earners. Funds were provided to improve the education of handicapped children, while money was also made available for upgrading accommodation in homeless persons' centres, while finance was also made available to centres on a pro rata basis for the provision of meals and accommodation. An Office of Women's Affairs was established to help women achieve equality, while the Legal Aid Office was set up to provide legal representation for those who could not afford it. The Trade Practices Act, passed in 1974, was aimed at promoting competition in the economy and to improve consumer safeguards. Funding on the arts was doubled, and both FM radio and radio station 2JJ were introduced, the latter in Sydney as part of a plan for a national youth radio network.
A number of amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act were also made. The Act was revised to require the democratic control of unions by their rank-and-file members, to require that a union's rules should provide for full participation of its members in its affairs, and prohibited the dismissal of an elected official "unless he is found guilty of misappropriation of funds, gross misbehaviour or gross neglect of duty". The Act was also revised to prevent returning officers from rejecting a defective nomination "without giving the candidate seven days in which to correct the defect", to debar union officials from rejecting a rival's nomination for office, and to prohibit a union official or employee "being appointed as that union’s returning officer".
Tariffs for farming implements and equipment were reduced, and farm incomes more than trebled during Whitlam's time in office. In 1973, a payment of emergency adjustment assistance was initiated to benefit canning-fruit growers and growers of pears and apples, while the Dairy Adjustment Act of 1974 provided generous assistance for financially unsound dairy farms. A number of environmental measures were also implemented by the Whitlam government. In 1974, the Environment Protection Act was passed, which was the first piece of Commonwealth legislation to specifically address environmental issues, and set up procedures to review the environmental impact of development proposals which involved Commonwealth Government decisions. In 1973, the federal government awarded $100,000 in grants to environmental centres throughout Australia, the first action of its kind in Australia. In 1975, the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act was passed, which allowed for the establishment of the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service.
The Supporting Mother's Benefit was introduced in 1973 to alleviate financial deprivation among women whose de facto husbands were in jail, deserted de facto wives, unmarried mothers and other wives separated from their husbands who, for other reasons, were not eligible for the widows' pension. The Double Orphans' pension was introduced that same year, providing $10 a week to the guardian of an orphan who had lost both parents. The Handicapped Children's Allowance, introduced a year later, provided $10 a week to the guardians of severely physically or mentally handicapped children who had not been placed in an institution. A special discretionary benefit was introduced for lone fathers in August 1974, payable at the unemployment benefit rate. In February 1973, eligibility for the standard rate of pension, payable to widow pensioners with children and single age and invalid pensioners, was extended to Class B widow pensioners. A change was also made ensuring that pensioners would not lose their extra benefits when a student turned twenty-one. The standard age pension rate was increased from 19.5% of average weekly earnings in September 1972 to 24.4% by December 1975. Social welfare administration was also made more efficient and equitable via the establishment of a Social Welfare Commission and benefit appeals tribunals.
The sales tax on artificial contraceptives was removed, while grants were made for family planning organisations. Maternity leave provisions for the Public Service were introduced consistent with the requirements of ILO Convention No. 103 – Maternity Provisions, 1952. The Aged or Disabled Persons' Homes Bill of 1974 increased the Federal subsidy for aged persons' homes from two dollars for every dollar provided by a non-profit or local government association to four dollars, while also extending the provisions of the Aged Persons' Homes Act of 1954 to handicapped adults. The Handicapped Persons' Assistance Act of 1974 extended the government's program of assistance to voluntary organisations responsible for the welfare of handicapped people. While spending on education increased from 4.83% of GDP in 1972–73 to 6.18% in 1974–75, the Federal government's share of funding went up from 22.6% in 1972–73 to 42.5% in 1975–76. The Defence Service Homes Act of 1973 extended eligibility for a loan to current servicemen who had not served overseas but who had served for more than three years, to those who had served overseas under the banner of recognised welfare organisations, and to certain unmarried females with qualifying service. In addition, the maximum loan available under the scheme was increased from $9000 to $12000. For veterans, an expanded system of repatriation benefits was introduced, together with improved resettlement allowances, wider eligibility for defence service housing loans, a $1000 free-tax bonus for re-engagements, an attractive new retirement and death benefit scheme, and a more generous system of remuneration.
The Whitlam government also sought to extend to Federal public servants the conditions that their state counterparts had long enjoyed. Among the benefits that the Whitlam government introduced for federal public servants included a reduction in the qualifying time for long-service leave from 15 to 10 years, the removal of job discrimination provisions against women, ample redundancy provisions, a minimum of 12 weeks paid maternity leave with six weeks of paid leave following confinement, one week of paid paternity leave for any employee required to stay at home to care for his wife during or following her confinement, and entitlement to four weeks of annual leave with a 17.5% loading.
The government also financed a wide range of new local government programs through the State, including tourism, urban transport, national estate, leisure facilities, sewerage backlog, flood mitigation, area improvement, growth centres, and senior citizens' centres. Outlays on Aboriginal affairs programs were significantly increased with expenditure rising in real terms by 254.6% for legal aid, employment by 350.9%, education by 97.1%, health by 234.6%, and housing by 103.7%. The Australian Citizenship Act of 1973 established Australian citizenship for the first time on the basis of "one criteria, one national allegiance, one citizenship and one ceremony," while the Roads Grants Act 1974 provided funds for the building of rural arterial roads, urban arterial roads, minor traffic engineering and road safety improvements, rural local roads, developmental roads, urban local roads and beef roads.
In 1973, an improved scheme of allowances was introduced to assist parents of children who did not have reasonable access to school services as a result of their geographic location. The quality of health care in rural areas was also improved via the development of a regional hospitals program and promotion of community-based health services. The Trade Union Training Authority Act of 1975 set up a national college and state centres designed to educate trade union leaders in various aspects of industrial relations. The Commonwealth Secondary Scholarship Scheme was replaced by a system of secondary allowances which were made available on the basis of financial need. An isolated children's allowance was introduced to compensate the educational disadvantages faced by children living in remote parts of the country. Greater spending was allocated to the arts, while spending on urban and regional development was accelerated, which contributed to a significant rise in the number of Australian households connected to a sewerage services. A School Dental Service Scheme was also introduced, providing free dental care for schoolchildren. Via grants to the states, the Whitlam government funded the construction of 18,500 homes for low income earners from 1973 to 1975.
Various measures were also introduced to enhance educational opportunities. A disadvantaged school program was introduced that provided additional financial assistance for more than 1,000 schools whose students suffered special socio-economic disadvantages. In 1973, capital funds and assistance with running costs were made available for the education of handicapped children while a large training program was initiated for teachers and basic training and research financed for the area of special education. A program of innovative educational projects was successful in providing parents, teachers, and community groups with the first opportunity to try out their ideas for improving education. Over 1,000 projects were funded, ranging from bee-keeping and remedial reading to computers, while a network of educational innovators was set up to exchange experiences and to provide mutual support among people who wanted to be active in improving schools. In 1975, the quality of school curricula was enhanced by the establishment of the Curriculum Development Centre. For those in higher education, the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme was abolished and replaced by the Tertiary Education Assistance Scheme, which offered means-tested and non-competitive financial assistance for all tertiary students.
Initiatives were introduced to assist teacher training. Following the delivery of a report by the Special Committee on Teacher Education in March 1973, the Whitlam government introduced various measures to implement its recommendations for special grants to the States for the building of teachers' college libraries, fostering research into teacher education, increasing the number of students training to become teachers for handicapped children, and improving facilities in existing colleges of advanced education. The States Grants Act 1973 allocated $188 million for the development of teacher education in pre-school teachers' colleges, state teachers' colleges, and colleges of advanced education throughout 1973–75, while the States Grants Act of 1974 provided recurrent financial assistance for non-government teachers' colleges for 1974 and 1975. The first national program for technical and further education resulted from the recommendations of the Committee on Technical and Further Education, established in early 1973. This committee produced an interim report in April 1974 which led to the payment of capital and recurrent grants to the states for building and planning new technical colleges and improving facilities at existing ones, especially with respect to teacher training, library services, research facilities, and student accommodation. The sum total of federal grants increased from $18.1 million in 1972–73 to $81.1 million in 1975–76. Expenditure on state government schools increased more than sixfold, and more than doubled on non-government schools.
The death penalty for federal crimes was also abolished. Legal Aid was established, with offices in each state capital. It abolished tertiary school fees, and established the Schools Commission to allocate funds to schools. Whitlam founded the Department of Urban Development and, having lived in developing Cabramatta when it was largely unsewered, set a goal to leave no urban home unsewered.
The new government gave grants directly to local government units for urban renewal, flood prevention, and the promotion of tourism. Other federal grants financed highways linking the state capitals, and paid for standard-gauge rail lines between the states. The government created a new city at Albury-Wodonga on the New South Wales-Victoria border. "Advance Australia Fair" became the country's national anthem, in preference to "God Save the Queen". The Order of Australia replaced the British honours system in early 1975.
Resources were also allocated towards a program for migrants. In August 1973, an Immigration Act was introduced to provide supplementary class-room accommodation in schools with special programs for migrant children. In 1973–74, the number of teachers for special migrant classes increased from 1,000 to 1,500 and the number of children receiving instruction went up from 40,000 to 60,000. Migrant education centres were established in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, while a home tutoring scheme was established, designed to instruct migrant women in the English language. In migrant communities in all the states, 48 multilingual welfare officers were employed to overcome the social isolation of underprivileged groups. Portable benefit rights were also introduced, with respect to age, invalid, wives' and widows' pensions. Whereas under previous arrangements a pensioner had to live in Australia for 20 years after reaching the age of 16 and only had portability rights in Malta, Turkey, Greece, and Italy, the new provisions allowed a person drawing a pension to take up that benefit anywhere in the world after 10 years of Australian residence in the case of an age pension and after 5 years for most invalid pensions, while no period of residence was required for widows permanently resident in Australia when their husbands died. The voting age was also lowered to eighteen. During its last year in office, the Whitlam government carried out measures such as the introduction of a national employment and training scheme, the first no fault divorce procedure in the world via the Family Law Act 1975, and a welfare payment for homeless Australians. In the field of communications, the Whitlam government removed the limitations on the amount of non-English-language programming on radio and television and established the experimental ethnic radio stations 2EA in Sydney and 3EA in Melbourne. In addition, emergency telephone interpreter services were initiated in all community languages. 382 capital projects were also launched, while scholarships were provided to 1700 preschool teachers.
Whitlam was a vocal advocate for Indigenous rights. His government created the Aboriginal Land Fund to help Indigenous groups buy back privately owned lands. The Aboriginal Loans Commission was initiated to assist Indigenous Australians with the purchase of property with a view to home ownership, as well as to help establish Indigenous-owned businesses and pay for health and education expenses,. A number of other initiatives were carried out to improve socio-economic conditions for First Nations Australians. The rate of training Aboriginal teachers and teachers' aides was increased, while the Aboriginal Secondary Grants Scheme was introduced to provide allowances to all students of Aboriginal descent attending secondary schools. An Aboriginal Study Grants Scheme was introduced to assist Aboriginal students in tertiary education institutions, while a scheme was introduced for Aboriginal children living in Aboriginal communities to receive primary school instruction in their own language and in their traditional arts and crafts. To grant First Nations Australians fairer representation within the legal system, the Whitlam government significantly expanded the terms of the Aboriginal Legal Service established in 1970. $7.8 million was allocated between 1973 and 1976 to establish 25 offices throughout the country which provided free legal aid to Aborigines irrespective of the seriousness of the case. The offices had a majority of Indigenous Australians on their governing bodies and, as a result, were integrated into local Aboriginal communities and provided trustworthy and effective legal representation. In addition, a change was made whereby Indigenous Australians no longer needed to acquire permission to leave the country.
Outlays on Aboriginal affairs programs were considerably increased, with expenditure increasing from $61.44 million in 1972–73 to $185.79 million in 1975–76, representing a real increase of 105.8%. Expenditure in real terms went up by 254.6% for legal aid, 350.9% for employment, 97.1% for education, 234.6% for health, and 103.7% for housing. Federal grants to the States for the purpose of Aboriginal health care increased from $4.4 million in 1972–73 to $21.5 million in 1975–76. An Aboriginal Health Service was set up, whereby health and social workers were trained to provide community-based services either at local clinics or as mobile teams in the field. According to Whitlam, this initiative was successful "in eliminating the barriers that exist between Aborigines and primary health institutions". The Housing Society Scheme allowed Aboriginal communities to formulate their own budgets in spending departmental grants, and by June 1975 over 100 housing societies had been set up and 450 houses had been completed under the scheme. The Aboriginal Loans Commission was set up in December 1974 to make personal and housing loans to First Nations Australians at a discounted rate of interest, and encouraged the incidence of Aboriginal home ownership while helping to overcome discrimination in finance markets whereby Aborigines with steady employment and incomes were often refused loans for reasons related to their race. In June 1973, the Whitlam government set up Aboriginal Hostels Limited as a public enterprise designed to provide the Aboriginal population with essential and urgent accommodation. By 1975, 74 hostels had been set up, with a combined capacity of 1,677 beds.
Federal grants to schools also went up sixfold, while existing study grants for Aboriginal children were extended and a wide-ranging scholarship scheme according to need was established for handicapped and isolated children. The residence test that applied to invalid pension was also abolished “for persons whose permanent incapacity or blindness occurred in Australia.” Also, by early 1975, the standard rate of pension went up by 80% and the combined married rate by nearly 74%. Various changes were also made to unemployment and sickness benefit rates. In 1973, a married rate of unemployment benefit as introduced, while in March 1975 eligibility for additional benefits was extended to children 16 years and over in full-time education. On 1 November that year, a special rate for single recipients under the age of 18 was introduced.
After visiting the then Australian colony of Papua and New Guinea as opposition leader in 1970 and 1971 and calling for self-governance. This was granted in late 1973, before full Independence was legislated in September 1975, creating the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, ending Australia's time as a coloniser.
In 1973, the National Gallery of Australia, then called the Australian National Gallery, bought the painting Blue Poles by 20th-century artist Jackson Pollock for US$2 million —about a third of its annual budget. This required Whitlam's personal permission, which he gave on the condition the price was publicised. In the conservative climate of the time, the purchase created a political and media scandal, and was said to symbolise either Whitlam's foresight and vision, or his profligate spending.
Whitlam travelled extensively as prime minister, and was the first Australian prime minister to visit China while in office. He was criticised for this travel, especially after Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin; he interrupted an extensive tour of Europe for 48 hours to view the devastation.