Politics
-
John Coleman. How things changed in 1972.
As a journalist-bureaucrat 42 years ago, for me nothing illustrated more the bewildering speed of Gough Whitlam’s rollercoaster reforms than the removal of the last vestiges of the White Australia policy. I was publications editor for the Australian Information Service in Canberra, then Australia’s apolitical, overseas information agency. Part of my job was to produce Continue reading »
-
John Mant. Tribute to Gough Whitlam
It is difficult to make this speech – so much to say about this great man and his times. I observed him from a number of angles: Working with Tom Uren and Gough Whitlam on urban policy proposals before the elections. Assisting my friends Peter Wilenski and James Spigelman in their work on the administrative Continue reading »
-
Walter Hamilton. Japan and China: agreeing to disagree
In diplomacy, sometimes a nod is as good as a wink. You can argue later over the question of who nodded first (if at all). The leaders of Japan and China are maneuvering towards their first face-to-face meeting after two years of chilly and occasionally belligerent relations. To enable the meeting to happen officials on Continue reading »
-
Graham Freudenberg. Bjelke Petersen was an innocent.
What is the real meaning of the G20 security farce in Brisbane? It is a massive exercise in political intimidation. It is a demonstration of the power of government to prevent or limit the most basic democratic rights of free speech, protest and assembly. Perhaps the worst thing about it is that, in the Continue reading »
-
Antony Whitlam. Tribute to Gough Whitlam
The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam, AC QC State Memorial Service The Honourable Antony Whitlam QC Sydney Town Hall 5 November 2014 Auntie Millie Ingram gave a moving Welcome to Country. I also wish to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation on whose land this notable building stands. I pay respect to Gadigal elders – Continue reading »
-
Noel Pearson. Tribute to Gough Whitlam.
The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam, AC QC State Memorial Service Noel Pearson Sydney Town Hall 5 November 2014 Paul Keating said the reward for public life is public progress. For one born estranged from the nation’s citizenship, into a humble family of a marginal people striving in the teeth of poverty and discrimination, today Continue reading »
-
John Faulkner. Tribute to Gough Whitlam
The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam, AC QC Senator John Faulkner State Memorial Service Sydney Town Hall 5 November 2014 “Dying will happen sometime. As you know, I plan for the ages, not just for this life.” As those words show, Gough Whitlam always thought – and planned – on a grand scale. In the past Continue reading »
-
Graham Freudenberg AM. Tribute to Gough Whitlam.
The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam, AC QC State Memorial Service Graham Freudenberg AM Sydney Town Hall 5 November 2014 This is the greatest privilege of my very privileged life. And I thank the Whitlam Family for it. Gough Whitlam sets Time itself at defiance. Can it really be 45 years ago, he stood right Continue reading »
-
As the Berlin wall fell, checks on capitalism crumbled.
The Economics Editor of the Guardian, Larry Elliott, describes how capitalism is facing an increasing crisis. He says that after the fall of the Berlin wall, we have seen the dark side of the post-Cold War model. Instead of trickle-down, there has been a trickle-up. Instead of the triumph of democracy there has been the Continue reading »
-
John Menadue. ‘No eulogy is equal to such a name’
In a celebratory Mass for Gough Whitlam, Fr Ed Campion recalled the brief inscription to Machiavelli in the Franciscan Church of Santa Croce in Florence. ‘Tanto nomini nullum par elogium, 1527’. Look around and we see monuments to Gough Whitlam everywhere – Medicare, needs-based education funding, recognition of China, no-fault divorce, university education, land rights, Continue reading »
-
Michael Keating. Rebalancing government in Australia. Part II
Taxation Reform and Vertical Fiscal Imbalance Another third and final reason for national government pre-eminence over the States in our federal system is of course the national government’s domination of taxation, widely described as ‘vertical fiscal imbalance’ or VFI. Paul Keating called VFI the glue that holds our nation together, but for the States and Continue reading »
-
Michael Keating. Rebalancing government in Australia. Part I.
The Future of Federalism Tony Abbott recently announced that he wants ‘to create a more rational system of government for the nation that we have undoubtedly become’. As Abbott describes it, achievement of this more rational system is dependent on developing a consensus based on ‘a readiness to compromise and mutual acceptance of goodwill’. Understandably the Continue reading »
-
Eric Walsh. Gough Whitlam – Australia’s greatest reforming Prime Minister.
Australian media had never seen anything like it. Suddenly print, radio, television and social media were overwhelmed – blanket coverage of a single event. Edward Gough Whitlam, Australia’s 21st and greatest reforming Prime Minister, was dead. Newspapers were turned over to almost complete coverage ,not only of the fact that the former PM had died, but Continue reading »
-
Kelvin Canavan. Gough Whitlam: a tribute to an education visionary.
I first met E. G. Whitlam when he spoke at a series of ‘State Aid’ rallies in Sydney prior to the 1969 federal election. He was in full voice before a Catholic community that had packed halls and cinemas on eight Sunday evenings, demanding financial support for their schools from federal and state governments. The Continue reading »
-
Annabelle Lukin. When governments go to war, the Fourth Estate goes AWOL.
A year after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the University of California, Berkeley, conducted a postmortem of the media coverage of the so-called “Iraq war”. The conference included academics, journalists, UN weapons inspectors and diplomats. UC Berkeley also invited Lieutenant Colonel Rick Long, whose job it had been to prepare journalists to be embedded with Continue reading »
-
Ian Verrender. Think Whitlam ruined our economy? Think again.
There has been much comment about Gough Whitlam’s performance as an economic manager. Ian Verrender, the Economics Editor at the ABC, presents an alternative view. See link below. John Menadue http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-27/verrender-think-whitlam-ruined-our-economy-think-again/5842866 Continue reading »
-
Adam Kamradt-Scott. Mining companies must dig deep in the fight against Ebola.
The current outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa shows no signs of halting. More than4,500 people have died and many thousands more are infected. Despite the creation of a new United Nations mission to tackle Ebola and commitments of thousands of western military personnel to help combat the disease, the virus is still “winning Continue reading »
-
Mike Steketee. Whitlam: the power of persuasion.
This article was first published by The Drum. Gough Whitlam’s sheer presence, drive and ambitions disguised some deep flaws. But his vision and achievements stand in stark contrast to the politics we often have seen since, writes Mike Steketee. “It’s time”. It seemed like a modest slogan for a momentous event – after 23 years, Continue reading »
-
John Menadue. Winners in the privatisation of Medibank Pte
Many would expect that the 3.8 million members or policy-holders of MBP who are arguably the owners of the company, would be the financial winners in the proposed privatisation. But not a bit of it. Some of the 3.8 million members will seemingly get some preferential issue of shares. But it will be chicken feed. Continue reading »
-
Race Mathews. Whitlam eyed our conscience, not our wallet.
Gough Whitlam’s objective was equality for all. He believed the proper business of politics was to secure informed public consent for necessary change, through objective information from trusted sources. He gave back hope to my generation of Labor Party members. Chifley’s “light on the hill” was re-kindled. The party’s electability was restored. His political career Continue reading »
-
Hugh White on Australians and War from Honest History.
In my blog of 20 October ‘It is becoming much easier to go to war’ I highlighted the reasons and the background to developments since the Vietnam War that are making it much more likely that we will commit ourselves to war. In an earlier posting of March 23 – see below – I carried Continue reading »
-
Claire Higgins. International legal obligations once shaped our refugee policy
The refugee policy of the Fraser government is often invoked in debates about Australia’s current approach to asylum seekers. While the small number of boat arrivals between 1976 and 1981 cannot be compared to the many thousands who arrived between 2009 and 2013, the political difficulties in that era were far greater than simply the Continue reading »
-
George Lekakis recalls meeting Gough Whitlam.
Dear John I just wanted to share a memory or two with you before this day is over. My father came to Australia in 1954 and he always told me that he never felt Australian until Gough was elected in 1972. In 1993, at the tail-end of my first visit to Greece, my uncle Continue reading »
-
John Menadue. Some personal reflections – a light has gone out.
Gough Whitlam’s death has prompted a quite remarkable bipartisan response in the parliament. And rightly so, for he was a great parliamentarian for over 26 years along with 70 years of public life. His forum was the parliament rather than the street or the protest march. He had great respect for the parliament and that Continue reading »
-
Frank Brennan. My tribute to Gough
Gough Whitlam once asked me why there were so many social reformers to emerge from Queensland in the early 1970s. I told him it was simple. We had someone to whom we could react: Sir Joh Bjelke Petersen; and we had someone to inspire us: him. I have written elsewhere about his contribution to Aboriginal Continue reading »
-
John Faulkner. Gough Whitlam – Academy awards and Passiona!
At the ALP Caucus today John Faulkner spoke movingly of Gough Whitlam as a towering figure in the ALP. The link to his speech follows: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/edward-gough-whitlam-labor-party-caucus-condolence-motion-20141021-119b4y.html John Menadue Continue reading »
-
John Menadue. Farewell to Gough Whitlam, 21 October 2014
Few public figures have left their mark on Australia like Gough Whitlam. I knew him for fifty years. He was the most exciting and challenging public person I have met. Australians owe him a great debt for giving them new opportunities and linking the aspirations of working people with those of the university educated. For Continue reading »
-
Faith in coal.
In my blog of 5 January 2013, ‘A Canary in the Coal Mine’, I said that ‘The future of new thermal coal mines is doubtful. Would any sensible investor take not only the political risk but also the financial risk of investing in new thermal coal mines in Australia?’ The canary warning is getting Continue reading »
-
John Menadue. Post-script from France.
My wife and I and quite a few members of our family, have been summering in France for a week or two. We have enjoyed the history, the architecture and the beauty of the countryside. Not for nothing, France has 37 sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Many other Australians also feel the attractions Continue reading »
-
The Failure of the South Korean National Security State – The Sewol Tragedy.
Earlier this year, the Sewol ferry sank off Korea’s southern coast with 304 passengers drowned, mainly school children. An article by Jae-Jung Suh draws attention to an abdication of responsibility by the Korean Government and many others. He says ‘The whole tragedy serves as a reminder of how neoliberal deregulation and privatisation puts people’s safety Continue reading »
