In an article on the ABC's The Drum, Jonanthan Green gives us a reminder of the achievements of the Whitlam Government:
"It was, after all, the Whitlam government (and here we are grateful to various sources) that ended conscription and withdrew Australian troops from Vietnam, implemented equal pay for women, launched an inquiry into education and funded government and non-government schools on a needs basis, established a separate ministry responsible for Aboriginal affairs, established the single department of defence, withdrew support for South Africa, granted independence to Papua-New Guinea, abolished tertiary education fees and established the Tertiary Education Assistance Scheme, increased pensions, established Medibank, established controls on foreign ownership of Australian resources, passed the Family Law Act establishing no-fault divorce, passed a series of laws banning racial and sexual discrimination, extended maternity leave and benefits for single mothers, sought to democratise the electoral system by introducing one-vote-one-value, implemented wide-ranging reforms of the Labor Party's organisation, initiated Australia's first federal legislation on human rights the environment and heritage, established the Legal Aid Office, established the National Film and Television School, launched construction of National Gallery of Australia, established the Australian Development Assistance Agency, reopened the Australian Embassy in Peking after 24 years, established the Prices Justification Tribunal, revalued the dollar, cut tariffs across the board, established the Trade Practices Commission, established the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, established the Law Reform Commission, established the Australian Film Commission, established the Australia Council, established the Australian Heritage Commission, established the Consumer Affairs Commission, established the Technical and Further Education Commission, implemented a national employment and training program, created Telecom and Australia Post to replace the Postmaster-General's Department, devised the Order of Australia to replace the British Honours system, abolished appeals to the Privy Council, changed the national anthem to Advance Australia Fair and instituted Aboriginal land rights."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/01/3179966.htmA true statement of what Labor is supposed to stand for. And they did all this in just three years.
True, they were lousy financial managers, and it still haunts Labor today, but as a statement of absolute fairness and intregrity, how could we go past this?
And looking at the Gillard Government today, one can only weep as they try to outdo the economic rationalists of the Right.
Gough is the only one I'd stand in the street for, when he finally leaves us. I doubt we will ever see his like again.