#whitlam

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

Whitlam House (c1959)

Cabramatta home of the Whitlam family until 1972

Whitlam’s commissioning of architect Roy Appleton to design a modern house in (then semi-rural) Cabramatta in 1956 certainly tells us something about the nature of suburban development in Sydney at that time. It provides a means of measuring how developmental practices and attitudes to architecture have changed over time, and it indicates the aesthetic values of a future prime minister for whom a major policy initiative established the idea of a national estate, that there exists cultural heritage, both natural and built, that should be recognised and managed for future generations. Charles Rice, unionmagazine.com

Seismic political shake-ups, international upheaval that reverberated across the nation and a vivid cultural renaissance – 1975 was one of Australia’s most pivotal years of the 20th century. Five decades on, the National Library of Australia in Canberra is about to unveil a new exhibition spotlighting the year the prime minister was sacked, the Vietnam war came to an end and how, despite…

The unelected Governor General Sir John Kerr secretly conspired for months to sack the twice-elected Whitlam government. This fact had been widely surmised. Now it has been confirmed by the release of the long-suppressed letters between Kerr and the Queen.

Kerr staged his coup on 11 November 1975 to install the arch reactionary Malcolm Fraser in office at the behest of an Australian ruling class determined to remove the Labor government. He did so despite the fact that the Queen’s secretary, Sir Martin Charteris, advised Kerr that there were other options to end the constitutional crisis, such as Kerr giving consent to the supply bill even if the Liberal dominated senate refused to pass it.

Why was the establishment so ready to dispense with the mask of democracy that normally disguises their class rule?

Jenny Hocking was live outside the High Court registry in Sydney where she had just been granted Special Leave to appeal the Palace Letters case. The High Court will now decide on access to the secret letters between Sir John Kerr and the Palace regarding the Whitlam dismissal. 

Watch here: https://www.facebook.com/100013659319252/videos/699690293829608/UzpfSTExMjYzNjM1Njc0NDQ0NjY6MjM3MjIwNzAwOTUyNjc3Ng/

Whitlam had it easier on China policy

When Labor statesman Gough Whitlam opened relations with China it was a Maoist tyranny, extra like at the moment’s North Korea than at the moment’s China. It was sunk in poverty. Its folks couldn’t journey abroad. They couldn’t transfer from village to village with out occasion permission. It was unlawful to personal a small enterprise. And China ran revolutionary actions in Southeast Asia.

No…

J.C. Whitlam Manufacturing Company has been the industry standard in many quality Plumbing and HVAC products for over 100 years. J.C. Whitlam, based in Wadsworth, Ohio, is still owned and operated by the Whitlam family. Although J.C. Whitlam is famous for the best pipe thread compound in the industry, they make and produce several other quality products, including pipe and fittings solvents, hand cleaners and drain cleaners, quality tools and much more. 

In February 2017, Mark Whitlam helped create a new Low VOC Heavy Duty PVC Cement, for use on all schedules and classes of PVC pipe and fittings up to 6” diameter. This new product comes with the industry standard green label for easy identification. Please call your W.R. Bristow representative for more information or visit www.joinpipe.com to view all of J.C. Whitlam’s quality products.

For more please visit www.wrbristow.com.