Labor retained government at the subsequent general election on 18 May but still lacked control of the Senate. While in office, the Whitlam government implemented its huge program of reform.
Among its many initiatives were:. National Library of Australia obj With a great interest in international affairs, Whitlam travelled more widely than any previous Prime Minister or opposition leader.
Whitlam thus became the only prime minister in Australian history to have been removed from office while commanding the confidence of the lower house. This resounding victory gave the coalition a record majority in the House of Representatives, and a six-seat majority in the Senate.
After Labor was defeated at the general election, Whitlam quit the party leadership and was succeeded by WG Hayden. He resigned from parliament in July In Whitlam become a visiting fellow at the Australian National University. He later held visiting professorships at Harvard and Adelaide Universities. In he published a book about the events leading to his dismissal, The Truth of the Matter.
In retirement Whitlam continued to lecture and comment on political and constitutional issues. Whitlam died on 21 October in Sydney. The legislative program of the Whitlam government was groundbreaking and fast-paced.
A whole raft of legislation covering existing and new areas of government activity was passed. In , for example, Bills were passed, 46 more than the previous record of in The National Museum of Australia acknowledges First Australians and recognises their continuous connection to country, community and culture. Prime Ministers of Australia Gough Whitlam. She plans to travel from Melbourne to Canberra to access the letters once coronavirus-related travel restrictions are lifted, local media reported.
Her legal challenge, which initially failed in a lower court last year, had been crowdfunded by a "Release the Palace Letters" campaign. Obituary: Gough Whitlam. Image source, Getty Images. What happened to Gough Whitlam? Gough Whitlam raged against his sacking in What are the letters? Related Topics. Queen Elizabeth II Australia. After standing unsuccessfully in council and state politics, Whitlam was elected in a by-election for the federal seat of Werriwa in Whitlam was dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr on 11 November , who appointed Malcolm Fraser as prime minister until an election was called.
Whitlam suffered a heavy loss in that election and stayed on as opposition leader. After losing the election he resigned on 31 July The Whitlam government is remembered as a period of significant reform which responded to the needs of a changing Australia, but was also characterised by political and economic uncertainty.
The Australian government recognises the communist state of China on 21 December Whitlam had proposed this as early as , and in travelled to China as leader of the opposition. The Commonwealth Electoral Act is amended to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 on 28 February This was influenced by the fact that Australians had been eligible for conscription at the age of 18 yet not considered mature enough to vote at the same age.
The service is to provide free legal advice on Federal law to any Australian who requires it. On 1 January the government abolishes university and technical college tuition fees and shortly after increased Commonwealth funding for universities to improve access. It outlaws all forms of racial discrimination in Australia and overrides state and territory laws. The Family Law Act introduced on 12 June establishes no-fault divorce, and stresses equal responsibility between parents to care for their children, the division of property after divorce based on assets and needs, and creates the Family Court of Australia to deal with all related cases.
A national health insurance scheme called Medibank is introduced on 1 July It is designed to offer affordable health care and place pressure on private companies to do the same. The election was a landmark victory for the Labor Party and presented an opportunity for Whitlam to bring an end to what he viewed as a long period of policy inertia by previous governments.
Whitlam and deputy leader Lance Barnard set to work immediately, sworn in after just three days and operating as a duumvirate ministry that divided every position between them and made 40 decisions within two weeks. Whitlam had a strong commitment to parliament and its conventions and a great ability to use it as his stage. In the House of Representatives sat for over hours, the greatest number in half a century. The Liberal opposition continued to block government bills in the Senate and Whitlam requested a double dissolution election.
After the election held on 18 May , Whitlam still did not have control in the Senate and so invoked an unused provision of the Constitution to call an historic joint sitting of both Houses to vote on the rejected bills. The bills were passed on 6 August , but the ongoing turmoil in parliament did not abate.
Having led the Labor Party to office after 23 years in the political wilderness, Whitlam pursued his reform agenda with unrestrained urgency.
In , the Minister for Labour Clyde Cameron raised concern about the faltering economy. Following the double dissolution election in May , party tension increased as the government lurched from crisis to crisis. This became the infamous Loans Affair and led ultimately to the sacking of Connor by Whitlam. Lance Barnard was defeated by Jim Cairns for the deputy leadership after the election, and was given a diplomatic post by Whitlam against the advice of many in the party.
This resulted in a by-election routing for Labor in his Tasmanian seat of Bass in June Cairns also became embroiled in allegations of an inappropriate relationship with Junie Morosi his private secretary.
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