Dismissal Of The Whitlam Government example essay topic

The Whitlam Government (1972-1975) introduced many ideas that impacted on all the people of Australia. There may have been impediments that prevented the Whitlam Government from introducing new ideas, such as the Senate. Nevertheless in three years the Whitlam Government managed to win the hearts of many Australians. In their three year reign the Whitlam Government managed to create Medibank, establish firm relations with People's Republic of China, establish the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (Giving all Aboriginals a 'voice'), obtained responsibility for tertiary education over from the states and eradicated tertiary fees, and establishing Supporting Mother's Benefit's. These were only a few of their achievements.

Gough Whitlam had previously seen and heard of the Medical health scheme systems based at U.K. which he favoured. The constitution was the barrier to introducing a health scheme in Australia, and the civil conscription clause. Medibank and other health schemes were designed to avoid civil conscription and provide healthcare service based on Government finance. Whitlam's aim in creating this system was to break the connection between healthcare and money.

Whitlam wanted to break free from the hindrance of money; he wanted healthcare system based on health needs of people rather than the importance of money requirements. In 1972, the introduction of universal health insurance system known as Medibank (now Medicare) was born. It provided significant benefits to the population of Australia who had previously not been able to afford sufficient medical care; it declined private medicine and commenced to pay 85% of medical and hospital fees. Medibank provided inexpensive treatment by hospitals and doctors to all permanent citizens of Australia. Medicare is publicly funded tax surcharge that comes under the title of Medicare levy which add to the scheme. People with low income are excluded which follows a good example.

People earning a high income pay a higher tax therefore compensating the loss of low paid workers. Medibank made a vast impact on all the Australian society, as now many people could afford sufficient medical care chiefly people who were still tormented from poverty. The disadvantages might to some people be that the higher they earn the more they have to pay in tax for the Medicare levy. The Whitlam Government had established a Department of Aboriginal Affairs and established the National Aboriginal Consultative Committee to promote interest of Aboriginal people in Australia and reduce the discrimination experienced by some. The leaders of the Aboriginal community proposed the issue to the government to develop a "black parliament" which would be responsible for dealing with issues affecting Aboriginals or part Aboriginals. The idea was developed and the Whitlam Government established the organization.

The advantage of this was to have an organization dealing with the rights of the Aboriginals. The system is based on the decisions of the Aboriginal council members which run along 27 divisions, running along Australia to hear the issues of Aboriginals and then act upon it. This would put more concern to the issue as you would be talking about only one ethnic group, making it a bigger issue. The basic impact it had on Aboriginals was that it gave them a voice in parliament, and they could act on their basis of belief.

Australia's entrust ment to the UN, was told to stop its support for South Africa and obtain a position in support of Third World policies in the UN, Whitlam had made contact with the Government of the Chinese Republic, ending contravene and warfare between China and Australia. Whitlam was able to begin a personal understanding with the Chinese Prime Minister Chou En Lai during his first year of office. For Australia this was a first that an Australian Prime Minister was able to develop a close bond between the leaders of China. Diplomatic trade relation had been created with the People's Republic of China.

A Chinese Embassy was opened in Canberra to expand the relations between the two countries including the aspect of trade. Chinese culture was widely introduced to promote its diversity among Australians. Trading relationships opened opportunities with Australia to trade amongst China and develop a diverse relationship. Students were able to travel to China to study, just in the same way students from China were able to study in Australia. The advantages would be the diversity among both of the cultures and the bonding of relationships with trade, leading to more jobs and economic growth. The Australian government gained a beneficial ally, and students were able to take advantage to study in China.

Some resentment was shown, such as the communist threat of China in Australia, the thought of Australia in danger. Chinese were known to work harder, for less when they first migrated to Australia in the 1840's during the Gold rush. In 1973, the funds that supply for the establishment of Schools Commission and granted considerable sums for educational research, improvement and transformation, brought an open movement of harassment and opposition. The Senate was under stress to overcome this budget crisis, and when they withdrew, the Schools Commission became the first major reform of the Whitlam Government in education. The Whitlam Government sought to make all education in Australia, from junior to senior level, free and open to all. Whitlam believed that a students merit is the factor that should benefit for the communities vast financial commitment to tertiary education rather than the wealth of parents.

The Government would pay for the fees of the student in University. The Whitlam Government brought new standards in education. Teachers and students were satisfied, all in all bring opportunities. The advantage of this policy would be that there would be more participants in University and therefore a more advanced society. More students would attend and the affordability rate is by all parents so it can apply to all students. The disadvantages include that the universities might be more selective during their entry examinations, to fill certain number of students.

The money has to come from another place to fulfil the policy. High tax could be the solution; this is a major disadvantage for low income earning families. The Whitlam Government introduced supporting benefits for single-parent families. The supporting Mother's Benefit was introduced in 1973 to provide support for single mothers who were not being sufficiently accommodated. They couldn't work and care for their children therefore they needed a helping system which provided them with adequate pension fees to compensate their time for their child's needs. The pay was to that pension, only the name differed.

Entitlements for Supporting Mother's Benefit did not begin until six months after the date of separation or birth of a child. The advantages of this would be that Australian single mothers can support themselves and their child with adequate care. Problems confronting The Whitlam Government Despite the achievements of the Whitlam Government, they still had a difficult trial at the instance of their supremacy. Primarily the three reasons that led to the downfall were due to inflation problems, minority supporters from the Senate, and conspiracies of the Whitlam Government borrowing wealth from overseas associates. The western economies had fallen into recession, while the inflation rose in 1973, due to the oil crisis in Arab nations.

Prices of oil quadrupled in the cost of oil, which brought vast deformation in world trade, causing outburst of inflation in Australia. This slowed down the impetus towards improvement, as the Government depended on the wide use of joined grants to state governments to involve the national government in the terms of a wide range of community services. The Whitlam Government could have solved this problem by focusing on the inflation issue by creating more jobs and a better economy. Whitlam should have administered higher taxes; this could possibly have led to anarchy. The government could have delayed oil supplies for a short while, society would have fared better. Whitlam began to encounter an unyielding barrier of oppositions from the Senate.

The Liberal-Country Party and the DLP Senators began an organized attack on Whitlam's legislative program. Whitlam was strained to accomplish his aims outside the usual legislative control. The Senate began to decline many of Whitlam's bills, and at the same time, several other parties began to block the operation of Labour's program at the local level. State government authorities were advised or ordered not to co-operate with the Commonwealth government.

Whitlam could have influenced the Senate and conflicting governments by mounting the support within. If the Government had a majority of support, then they would have the authority to expand a better budget. This wasn't so, leading instead to the "Loans Affair". A corporation, Government owned was set up to begin steps to protect finance for its process from different overseas foundations. In December 1974, the Executive Council decided to advance an overseas loan of $4 billion for national progress. When exposed to the media, it became recognized as the "Loans Affair".

It became evident motive for the Senate's rejection to pass Supply. This was felt to be a complete scandal by the opposition and more from media misinterpretations. Whitlam at this point was forced to dismiss his fellow treasurer, because of such scandals of "evading the treasury". This was one major flaw that possibly could " ve been reduced by the Whitlam Government.

Instead of arranging to move with the media they could possibly have enforced new laws or hushed the media. Issues that Sir John Kerr had to consider during the Constitutional Crisis Sir John Kerr had to take many considerations into account. The precedent that the Governor General was expected to act from the advice from the Prime Minister was one reason for Kerr's feeling that he was taken for granted. The Governor General possessed wide ranging reserve powers, such as the ability to sack the government in a time of crisis. People knew of the abuse of power this represented. Malcolm Fraser urged to threat that if Kerr hadn't used those reserve powers, the Opposition would begin publicly criticising Kerr unless he did what he was supposed to do, to do his duty.

Kerr's conclusion to interfere Whitlam's state of triumph that the Senate were on the edge of backing down would mean that he would make an absolute disagreement with the support of the Whitlam government. Kerr did not realise that his actions would cause anarchy as never before from the opinions of people. The news of Whitlam's Dismissal spread spontaneous protests. During the following weeks Kerr was the moist loathed man in Australia. Malcolm at first seemed to defend his influenced friend, but quickly turned against him for what he declared were high levels of unemployment and inflation. Kerr was targeted in the media as a drinker, leaving him shameful for his accounting decision.

Kerr's decision changed the foundation of the constitution. An argument of change was put fourth on the basis that the constitution is defective over the upper house and the powers with consider to supply. Whitlam's description of Kerr, "Sir John Kerr's deception was two fold. At all stages, he failed to 'counsel and warn'; he never disclosed to his constitutional advisers his concerns or the course he had in mind.

It follows by necessary inference that he deliberately misled us; at the very time he had determined to dismiss us, he consciously and deliberately left us to believe that he had understood and supported what we were doing. His was a double deceit". Explanation of his decision of Dismissal Many people found Sir John Kerr's decision ironic to dismiss Whitlam, considering it was Whitlam who had chosen Kerr as Governor General in the first place. Kerr justified the dismissal of the Whitlam Government with a reasoning stating, "When an Upper House possesses the power to reject a money bill, including an appropriation bill, and exercises the power by denying supply, the principle that a government which has been denied supply by the parliament should resign or go to an election must still apply" Basically, the Senate had the right, by constitutional law, to block the budget bills of the governments, and the government had an obligation to obtain supply through Parliament. If the government failed to obtain supply, it had to resign or call an election, either of which Whitlam disagreed to.

Kerr found that Whitlam was against both of these so Kerr had the right to, and his duty to interfere with Whitlam. Whitlam as Prime Minister could not advise the Queen to cease the Governor Generals decision. Kerr had full right to sack Whitlam without an advance caution of his purpose to do so. Options that were Open to Sir John Kerr regarding the Dismissal of Whitlam There were a few alternatives that Sir John Kerr could have taken, instead of dismissing Gough Whitlam.

Kerr had given the letter of dismissal to Whitlam, the letter had outlined that Whitlam wasn't prepared to resign or call another election of the House of Representatives or a double dissolution and the only way possible for that to happen, was by the dismissal of Whitlam and his colleagues. Opposition parties of Whitlam had affirmed they would only pass the bill only if Whitlam called an election for the House of Representatives. This could not be agreed upon, so a double dissolution (simultaneous election for all members in both houses) had to be called. Kerr could have appropriately notified Malcolm Fraser that the recurrent postponement of Supply had shaped and unbearable constitutional crisis and that the first steps could be taken to determine it if Fraser would choose one of the two alternatives.

These were to instruct supporters in the Senate to pass Appropriation bills, or to reject Supply outright. The first option would have resolved the crisis; the second would have left Kerr to seek further advice from responsible ministers. Also, Kerr could have arranged Whitlam a half-senate election, so long as the basic services of government would not subside and that Whitlam take notice of the effect of the election if it did not determine the crisis. These both alternatives were open to Governor General Kerr.