I had a really insightful and well thought out piece to write tonight, but as I was scrolling through Fakebook I came across a quote from Gough Whitlam that I really liked, so i have decided to do a small piece on the Grand Old Gough and some of his achievments.
During the Whitlam years, the government cut costs by forcing the government to travel my the most economic route, and travel economy class only. This obviously angered the entire cabinet. But Gough responded with this amazing, and truly Australian quote:
"I fly economy and I am a great man, I could fly economy for the rest of my life and I'd still be a great man. But most of the people around this table are pissants and they could fly first class the rest of their lives, and they'd still be pissants"
This is the mark of a true leader, he wasn't afraid of his cabinet, he told it as it was and called out the BS when he could see it.
A few of the Whitlam governments achivements:
- Ended conscriptions
- Removed aussie troops from Vietnam
- Implemented Equal Pay for Women
- Established the Aboriginal Affairs ministry
- Streamlines the Department of Defence
- Withrew support for apartheid in South Africa
- Gave independence to PNG
- Established the Tertiary Education Assistance Scheme
- Established Medicare
- Developed "No Fault" divorce laws
- Outlawed Racial and Sexual discrimination
- Established Legal Aid
- Created Telecom and Australia Post
- Changed national anthem
- Set up Aboriginal Land Rights.
Plus there are a million more achievments.
The thing to note though, all of this took the government only 3 years to do, not 3 terms but 3 years!!!
I honestly believe the Gough Whitlam was the last of our great leaders, I'm very much a Liberal supporter but I can honestly say in the last 50years the Whitlam Labor government was in a league of its own, it achieved more in 3 years than the Hawke/Keating and then Howard governments did in the 25years they were in power.
