topic Re: Gough Whitlam in Community Spirit

Gough Whitlam

twinkles**stars — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 21:29:02 GMT

Passed away aged 98

Re: Gough Whitlam

azureline** — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 21:30:21 GMT

O that is a good age, didn't realise .

RIP Gough.

Re: Gough Whitlam

polksaladallie — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 21:39:13 GMT

Very sad. RIP Gough.

A "one off'. Never to be duplicated. Hopefully some younger posters will read the accolades and realise how he changed Australia forever, and, in doing so, made their lives better.

Re: Gough Whitlam

imastawka — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 21:39:26 GMT

98 is certainly a good age.

Margaret went in 2012 aged 93.

RIP Gough

Re: Gough Whitlam

katydidthat — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 21:55:16 GMT

RIP Gough, you will be missed.

Re: Gough Whitlam

village_person — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:08:25 GMT

Do we carry on like the morons did when Thatcher died or do we show our humanity and say "vale Gough Whitlam".

Re: Gough Whitlam

debra9275 — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:11:35 GMT

RIP Gough

98 was a good old age.

what I remember him for the most was getting rid of conscription ~ well done Gough

Re: Gough Whitlam

boris1gary — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:13:29 GMT

@village_person wrote:
Do we carry on like the morons did when Thatcher died or do we show our humanity and say "vale Gough Whitlam".

what has one of the UK's most hated prime ministers got to do with Gough Whitlam, Australia's most loved PM?

Re: Gough Whitlam

imastawka — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:16:17 GMT

Yes, Gough ended 60 years of conscription for our young men

and lowered the voting age to 18.

Gough was my first vote (but I was already 21 by then anyway)

Re: Gough Whitlam

lightningdance — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:41:54 GMT

Gough; arguably the most divisive PM and the biggest failure in government after Gillard. We will be afforded all the fantasy of his short political life, all the" legend" but the true facts are he couldn't rule, like Rudd couldn"t rule and Gillard failed to rule.

RIP Gough, will you be be missed?

Re: Gough Whitlam

debra9275 — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:49:45 GMT

he did some good things stawka

Re: Gough Whitlam

alexander*beetle — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:57:50 GMT

Some of Gough's achievements in 3 short years. And most of them changed the country forever. Whatever your politics, he was a reformer and had great vision for Australians. After 23 years of a conservative government, many found the reforms too difficult and the rest, as they say, is history.

Ended conscription during Vietnam War.
Created new government departments including Aboriginal Affairs, Environment and amalgamation of armed forces into Defence.
Aboriginal Land Fund Commission, Australian Legal Aid Office, National Employment and Training Scheme.
The Health Insurance Act 1973 established 'Medibank', a national health scheme funded by levy which provided free public hospital treatment and medical benefits totalling at least 85 per cent of the cost of doctor and hospital services.
The Trade Practices Act 1974 outlawed restrictive trade practices and ensured consumer protection and product and manufacturing liability.
The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975 established a service to plan and manage national parks in line with international standards.
The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 enabled Australia to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination.
The Family Law Act 1975 replaced the existing grounds for divorce with a single ground, irretrievable breakdown of marriage (for example, having separated and lived apart for 12 months or more) and the extension of federal jurisdiction to maintenance, custody and property matters.
Tertiary Education Act.
Diplomatic Recognition of China

Re: Gough Whitlam

boris1gary — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:57:57 GMT

and got rid of the shameful white Australia policy once and for all and introduced the concept of a multicultural Australian society which became government policy for the first time. He also took a stand against apartheid in South Africa - the list of achievements is long and something we can all be very proud of. Did I mention medibank?

Gough Whitlam

Re: Gough Whitlam

polksaladallie — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:05:50 GMT

And put the oral contraceptive on the free list, and thereby gave the choice of pregnancy to women.

Re: Gough Whitlam

freddie*rooster — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:07:55 GMT

You were one of a kind Gough you were a game changer.

Re: Gough Whitlam

purplecarrot-top — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:16:07 GMT

RIP Gough.

Re: Gough Whitlam

bluecat*dancing — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:19:15 GMT

RIP Gough.

Re: Gough Whitlam

polksaladallie — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:39:41 GMT

And free university education, moves to equal pay for women (not achieved yet).

Re: Gough Whitlam

boris1gary — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 00:36:22 GMT

October 19, 1989: Whitlam wrote for the London Daily Telegraph - "The punters know that the horse named Morality rarely gets past the post, whereas the nag named Self-interest always runs a good race."

The Whitlam Government 1972-1975 by Gough Whitlam, published 1985: "A conservative government survives essentially by dampening expectations and subduing hopes. Conservatism is basically pessimistic, reformism is basically optimistic."

August 16, 1975: Whitlam formally handed the Gurindji people at Wattie Creek in the Northern Territory title deeds to part of their traditional lands, symbolically pouring red dust into the hands of an elder with the words "Vincent Lingiari, I solemnly hand to you these deeds as proof, in Australian law, that these lands belong to the Gurindji people and I put into your hands this piece of the earth itself as a sign that we restore them to you and your children forever". Lingiari replied "we are all mates now".

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/gough-whitlam-dead-his-memorable-quotes-20141021-1193jd.html#ixzz3GjdEHZ00

Re: Gough Whitlam

alexander*beetle — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 00:42:27 GMT

Gough treated the citizens of Australia as intelligent people who could assess the policies and situations and make up their own mind. That was one of his great legacies. He wasn't moralistic or paternalistic and didn't ever claim that he knew best. That's why he was so respected.

It is good to see partisanship from both sides at the moment. Pollies from both sides are acknowledging what he achieved. He wasn't perfect and he took risks for the betterment of the country and he can only be applauded for that.