Posts published in “Whitlam”

Whitlam’s Message To The Liberal Party’s Killen Dinner

July 24, 2004

Jim Killen served in the House of Representatives as the Liberal member for Moreton from 1955 until 1983.

Killen was famous for having won his seat on Communist Party preferences at the 1961 election, saving the Menzies government from defeat. He invented a famous story that Robert Menzies told him: “Killen, you’re magnificent.”

Killen was Minister for Navy in the Gorton government from 1969 until 1971, and Minister for Defence in the Fraser government from 1975 until 1982.

Throughout their parliamentary careers, Whitlam and Killen maintained a jocular friendship, that is reflected in the message shown below.

Maintain the Rag, A Celebration of the Whitlam Years

June 30, 2003

This is the text of Gough Whitlam’s speech to the Australian Institute of Music, in Sydney.

Thank you, Peter Calvo, for your introduction and your invitation to the John Painter Hall at the Australian Institute of Music. John Painter was a former director of the Canberra School of Music and is currently Senior Academic Advisor to this Australian Institute of Music.

I am happy that the most common question asked by reviewers of this CD is not “why celebrate the Whitlam years?” but rather “why celebrate them in rag?” The rag’s most distinctive feature is its syncopated melody. As a noted Italophile I point out “syncopation” is known to Italian musicians as alla zoppa, meaning “limping”, or literally, “as a cripple”. I trust my advancing years did not influence the choice.

It was a century ago this year that the first ever rag opera was performed; it was called “The Guest of Honour”. Perhaps that most famous of ragtime melodies, Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer”, could serve as an alternate title for this collection. I am told that even those who have never liked politics have at least found me entertaining. I take comfort that they come from near and far when I turn to vaudeville.

The Relevance Of The Whitlam Government Today

December 2, 2002

This is the text of the keynote speech given by Gough Whitlam at a conference held by the National Key Centre for Australian Studies and the Parliamentary Studies Unit, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Faculty of Arts, Monash University.

Download the speech in Word format

Keynote Address by the Hon E.G. Whitlam AC QC

Thirty Years Later: the Whitlam Government as Modernist Politics

Old Parliament House, Canberra

Throughout my public life, I have tried to apply an overarching principle and a unifying theme to all my work. It can be stated in two words: contemporary relevance. It was the fundamental test I applied, in particular, to the development of Labor policy in the years before 2 December 1972. There is a case to be argued that my Government faltered whenever we lost sight of the principle or allowed the rush of events to subsume it. However that may be, contemporary relevance is certainly the thread of my remarks today, albeit in the way described by Winston Churchill in the preface to his World Crisis: “a contribution to history strung upon a fairly strong thread of personal reminiscence.”

We meet under the auspices of the Faculty of Arts in Monash University and, more specifically, the National Key Centre for Australian Studies and the Parliamentary Studies Unit of the School of Political and Social Inquiry. The Conference title is Thirty Years Later – the Whitlam Government as Modernist Politics. The auspices, the title and the distinguished speakers listed to follow me over the next two days guarantee that this will be no exercise in mere nostalgia, however powerful the associations of this anniversary and this building may be for us all.

Whitlam In His Own Words

November 10, 2002

SBS Television has broadcast a significant interview with Gough Whitlam.

The interview, conducted by the ALP Senate Leader, John Faulkner, was an 84-minute production culled from over 20 hours of discussion conducted over 3 days.

The interview came on the eve of three anniversaries:

Birthday Boy Proposes Major ALP Reforms

July 11, 2002

The former Labor Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, who turns 86 today, has proposed major internal reform for the ALP, including rank-and-file election of national conference delegates.

Gough Whitlam The man responsible for fundamental internal reform of the ALP in the 1960s and 1970s, a campaign that saw him nearly expelled from the party, says the changes are needed to overcome the “friction of the factions”.

Whitlam, whose three-year term as Prime Minister ended with a vice-regal dismissal on November 11, 1975, calls for the ALP’s National Conference delegates to be voted for on an electorate-by-electorate basis by the party membership. At present, delegates to the National Conference are chosen by the State Conferences along rigid factional and union lines.

Quoted in the Financial Review, Whitlam delivers a “scathing assessment” of the ALP machines in the various states, pointing to the ALP’s abysmal showing in Queensland (7 of 26 House of Representatives seats in 2001), NSW (20/50) and South Australia (3/12) as evidence that “the predominant factions in those states cannot win federal elections”.

Centenary Of ALP Caucus 1901-2001: Whitlam Speech

May 8, 2001

This is the text of a speech given by Whitlam to a Federation Anniversary Dinner in Melbourne celebrating the centenary of the Federal ALP Caucus.

The event was part of the centenary celebrations of Federation. The first Commonwealth Parliament met in Melbourne on May 9, 1901.

Whitlam was 84 years old at the time he made this speech.

Text of Gough Whitlam’s speech to the ALP’s Federation Anniversary Dinner, May 8, 2001.

For once, Shakespeare got it wrong. His Henry V said: “Old men forget.” My problem is the multitude of vivid memories brought about by the grandeur of the occasion, the association with my birthplace, the presence of so many colleagues and your warm and enthusiastic welcome. Maintain your zeal and your enthusiasm through the coming campaign and until polling day.

The Caucus I joined in 1953 had as many Boer War veterans as men who had seen active service in World War 11, three from each. The Ministry appointed on 5 December 1972 was composed entirely of ex-servicemen: Lance Barnard and me.

Constitutional Changes After 1975

November 11, 2000

This is the text of a speech by Gough Whitlam.

The speech was delivered to the Australian National University Law Faculty Dinner at the Lobby Restaurant, opposite Old Parliament House.

Whitlam deals with the political and constitutional nature of the 1975 crisis and proposes a series of constitutional, parliamentary and electoral reforms.

Five years ago I and many other participants and observers wrote books and articles and spoke in conferences and programs on the coup d’état of 11 November 1975. For the 25th anniversary I chose a forum and symposium under the auspices of the Law Faculty of the ANU.

The Faculty, however, chose this venue. There have probably been more post-mortems on the events of November 1975 held here at the Lobby than anywhere else in Australia, although wine and truth do not necessarily go together. Old hands tell me that lunch at the Lobby has never recaptured its former civility or capaciousness since luncheon was so suddenly curtailed on the eleventh of the eleventh. In any case, two decisions during my Government’s second term irrevocably altered the Lobby’s geographical and institutional status. For more than a decade, the proposed site for the new and permanent Parliament House wandered futilely between the lakeside, Capital Hill and Camp Hill; on 26 September 1974 the ALP member for Burke, Keith Johnson, successfully initiated a private member’s bill, The Parliament Bill, to build the new House on Capital Hill. On 29 September 1975 I unveiled a plaque to commemorate the start of construction of the building for the High Court of Australia. This plaque, on the insistence of Chief Justice Barwick, has been set flush with the floor in the court building.

Opening The Dismissal Exhibition: Speech By Gough Whitlam

November 11, 2000

This is the text of Gough Whitlam’s speech at the opening of The Dismissal exhibition at Old Parliament House.

Peter, fellow subjects –

I thank you and your excellent staff for inviting me to this exhibition. You are the pleasant face of conservatism and conservation in Australia. I could not say that if I had been invited by graven images in the Senate, such as Alston or Herron. Even in this King’s Hall I must say that Russell Crowe would look better than George V does in the uniform of a Roman emperor.

Thank you all for coming to this presentation of the end of the brief golden age for which Australians voted on 2 December 1972 and again on 18 May 1974. It was a golden age. As the better Fairfax writers have noted, it ended when the Australian dollar was worth one and a half US dollars. The Aussie dollar is now worth barely 50 US cents. We were given Moody’s top rating (Aaa) in 1974 and Standard and Poor’s top rating (AAA) in 1975.

I have only one quibble with my friend Malcolm Fraser’s presentation. The Senators would have cracked at the end of the week. Check the winning positions on the Coalition Senate ballot papers in May 1974 and December 1975.

That Politicians Have Lost Their Sense Of Humour

May 24, 2000

This is the text of Gough Whitlam’s contribution to a debate at the Sydney Town Hall.

The Order in the House debate was on the topic: “That politicians have lost their sense of humour.”

Ma’am, Prime Minister, Men and Women of Australasia –

I unsuccessfully stood for the New South Wales Parliament in 1950. A year later a Labor MLA named Howard was caught in bed with another man’s wife. A private inquiry agent gave evidence that Howard was wearing only his sox. When Howard next spoke in the House there were constant interjections: “Why were you wearing sox for sex?” At last he replied “So I wouldn’t catch a social disease”. Immediately there were cries “What social disease did she have?” He replied “Tinea”. I couldn’t again stand for a Parliament where the humour was so vulgar. I should add that Howard’s conduct made him very popular in the cattle country he represented. He survived till 1968. His surname was Fowles. The judge who heard the case said he had barnyard morals.

Whitlam’s Speech At The 175th Anniversary Of The Supreme Court Of NSW

May 17, 1999

This is Gough Whitlam’s speech at the 175th anniversary of the Supreme Court of NSW.

Gough Whitlam’s speech at the 175th anniversary of the Supreme Court of NSW.

May it please the court, I have the honour and the privilege of speaking today on behalf of the Bar of New South Wales.

At Government House, on the corner of Bridge and Phillip Streets, on the 17 May 1824, Francis Forbes Esquire took the oath of office as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. We are gathered together to remember gratefully that day and its consequences. New South Wales had a Chief Justice before it had a Legislative Council or a Legislative Assembly or a Premier. For 175 years the Supreme Court has been primarily responsible for ensuring that the executive, legislature and judiciary of New South Wales obey the rule of law.

In Australia we do not learn and discuss our history as much as we should. For too many of us history happens in other countries. Except in New York State and a few of the other original States in the United States, no common law court in the world bears a name as old as the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Seven days before Chief Justice Forbes took his oath, John Lewes Pedder took the oath of office as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Van Diemen’s Land. After the colonies of New Zealand, Victoria and Queensland were separated from the colony of New South Wales, Chief Justices of the new Supreme Courts took their oaths of office in January 1842, June 1852 and February 1863. The Supreme Court of Van Diemen’s Land became the Supreme Court of Tasmania in November 1855.