What Gough did
101 years ago today, Gough Whitlam was born. This is what Gough did:
Basics - Introduced universal healthcare - Introduced no-fault divorce - Introduced Racial Discimination Act - Introduced the Trade Practices Act - Established Family Court - Established Legal Aid - Made unis free - Sewered poor suburbs - Abolished (federal) death penalty - Replaced ‘God Save the Queen’ with ‘Advance Australia Fair’ - gave the NT and ACT representation in the Senate
International stuff - Scrapped the draft - Freed those guilty of refusing the draft - Ordered home all Aussie troops in Vietnam - Started relations with China - Forbid ‘whites only’ sports teams - Voted for sanctions on apartheid South Africa at UN - Granted independence to PNG - Scrapped White Australia policy - Established Multiculturalism policy - Got France to stop Nuclear tests nearby
Women - Reopened the equal pay case at the Arbitration Commission - Set up women’s shelters - Made The Pill easier to get - Introduced single-mum welfare support - Established a “Women’s Adviser” to the PM (first in the world!)
Arts - Funded arts bigtime - Raised minimum local content standards - This meant more Aussie stuff on TV/movies/radio/stage - Established Triple J, multicultural radio stations and FM radio. - Established Australian Film Commission - Established Australian Council for the Arts - Established National Gallery of Australia
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People - Established Department of Aboriginal Affairs - Funded existing Aboriginal Legal Services - Set up new ones - Gave the Gurindji people deeds to part of their land - Pushed for more ATSI land reform
Environment - Introduced environmental protection laws - Ratified World Heritage Convention - Established protections for the Great Barrier Reef - Established Australian Heritage Commission
That ain’t even all of it. Thank you Gough Whitlam.




















