Page 3537 - Week 11 - Thursday, 23 October 2014
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We will legislate to give aborigines land rights—not just because their case is beyond argument, but because all of us as Australians are diminished while the aborigines are denied their rightful place in this nation.
He achieved much in the three years and we will never see the likes of him again.
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Minister for Planning, Minister for Community Services, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations, Minister for Children and Young People and Minister for Ageing): I thank Ms Gallagher for moving this motion today. It is with a mind full of some cherished memories that I rise this morning to pay tribute to Gough Whitlam. I was standing in front of Old Parliament House on 11 December 1975 when Gough proclaimed these famous words:
Ladies and gentlemen, well may we say “God Save the Queen”, because nothing will save the Governor-General.
If it were not for that day, Gough’s dismissal and the effect it had on my political thinking, I may not be here today as a member for Brindabella. Gough’s dismissal acted as the catalyst for my own entry into the political world and sparked my passion for progressive politics, showing me that I was not alone in my active beliefs in social justice and equity.
At 20 years of age at the time, I was working in the dispatch section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. My friend and then union organiser David Lamont, who later became a member of this Assembly, came to get me from work to go to this historic event, advising me that the Prime Minister had been dismissed by the Governor-General. In fact I believe that most of if not the entire admin building accompanied Mr Lamont to hear that historic speech, as well as probably half of Canberra.
This part of Gough’s prime ministership is probably the only one which is most mentioned and remembered. However, it is certainly not what we would consider the most important aspect of his considerable legacy. The Hon Gough Whitlam achieved significant social reforms throughout his years as Prime Minister. Gough was, more importantly, one of the most revolutionary prime ministers of recent times. Through dramatic social reforms such as Medicare, legal aid assistance for those most vulnerable and free tertiary education, Gough Whitlam created a level footing for all Australians, no matter their family or socioeconomic background.
Gough was also a visionary in his views towards infrastructure and local government’s role in its implementation. Whitlam founded the Department of Urban Development and, having lived in developing Cabramatta when it was largely unsewered, set a goal to leave no urban home unsewered. The Whitlam government gave grants directly to local government units for urban renewal, flood prevention and the promotion of tourism.
Gough also initiated and funded the renewal of inner city areas as part of the government’s policy of providing affordable urban housing for working people and
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