Cover image: Gough Whitlam addresses a crowd outside Parliament House on the day after his government was dismissed, on 12 November 1975.
Source: News Limited © Ross Duncan.
The election of the Whitlam government in 1972 marked a turning point in 20th century Australia. Shaking off the vestiges of two decades of conservative rule, Gough Whitlam brought new ideas, new policies and new people to the task of governing.
Bursting with energy and expectation, the Labor government led a reform revolution in many areas, from education and health to the environment and foreign policy. But alongside the great achievements were great failures and, ultimately, great tragedy when the government was dismissed.
For the first time, Gough Whitlam, ministers, advisers, public servants, party and union insiders provide a unique account of this turbulent period in Australian politics. They reveal what worked and what didn’t, and shed light on the personalities driving the engines of change.
The candid views of insiders are balanced with analysis from journalists and academics. The book also includes new research and previously unpublished photos and archival documents. The Whitlam Legacy provides the definitive account of the government that changed Australia forever.
* Click here for information about The Whitlam Legacy 2015 PAPERBACK
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“This book really is a great work of scholarship. It is a primer for anyone interested in politics or interested in carving out a career in politics. To get these people to write about the Whitlam government is a real tribute to Troy Bramston. From now on, nobody will be able to write about the Whitlam government without consulting The Whitlam Legacy.” Bob Carr
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Foreword by Gough Whitlam
Preface
Introduction
Prologue: The Whitlam Ascendancy
Troy Bramston
Part One – The Whitlam Years and Political Style
Gough Whitlam: In his Father’s Shadow
Michael Kirby
I was a Teenage Whitlamite
Bob Carr
Whitlam, the 1960s and The Program
Frank Bongiorno
The Art of the Matter
Graham Freudenberg
Hearts and Minds: The Meaning of ‘It’s Time’
Nick Cater
Gough Whitlam: The Campaigner
Richard Farmer
Victories, Defeats and Electoral Politics
Malcolm Mackerras
Whitlam’s Opposition
Gerard Henderson
Part Two – Managing Government
The Whitlam Government Through the Cabinet Papers
Troy Bramston
Inside the Prime Minister’s Office
Evan Williams
A View from the Backbench
Ralph Willis
The Public Service
J R Nethercote
Whitlam and the Media
Eric Walsh
Scandals
Rodney Tiffen
Part Three – Policy and the Whitlam Government
Economic Policy
John O’Mahony
Health Policy
John Deeble
Education Policy
Michael Hogan
Social Policy
Brian Howe
Women of Australia
Susan Ryan
Environment Policy
Jeff Angel
Industrial Relations Policy
Michael Easson
Primary Industry Policy
John Kerin
Immigration and Multiculturalism
Mary Kalantzis and Bill Cope
Aboriginal Affairs
Frank Brennan
It’s Time, the Arts and Cultural Policy
Patricia Amphlett
Foreign and Defence Policy
Gordon Bilney
Law Reform and the Constitution
George Williams
Part Four – The Dismissal
The Dismissal
Michael Sexton
Sir John Did His Duty
Peter van Onselen
Media, Politics and The Dismissal
Leigh Hatcher
The Untold Story of The Dismissal
Troy Bramston and Paul Kelly
Part Five – Reflections and Assessments
A Personal Perspective
Kep Enderby
Politics, Policy and Labor in Retrospect
Moss Cass with Vivien Encel
Papua New Guinea: A Quiet Achievement
Bill Morrison
Gough Whitlam and Labor Tradition
Carol Johnson
A View from the Press Gallery
Geoff Kitney
Gough Whitlam: The Political Singularity
Barry Jones
The Whitlam Legacy
Paul Kelly
Epilogue: Whitlam’s True Believers
Troy Bramston
Appendices
1. Dismissal Documents
2. The Australian Records Labor’s Rise and Fall
3. The Whitlam Cabinets 1972-75
Chapter Notes
The book’s programmatic attention to political style, media and campaigning; the management (and mismanagement) of government; to views from those in cabinet, those on the backbench and those inside the Prime Minister’s Office; and then to policy is invaluable. Read full review…
James Walter, Australian Journal of Politics and History, Sept 2014
Forty years on. This book tells a tale which is still exhilarating and devastating. Awe inspiring in what it reveals of the extent of policy preparation and shocking in its revelation of the failure to engage the processes to make it happen.
All entering parliament and/or aspiring to a political career should read this book – and reflect on it in the light of what became of subsequent Labor governments. Read full review…
June R Verrier, Australasian Study of Parliament Group, April 2014
Bramston’s new effort, The Whitlam Legacy, ought to be read consistent with the other milestone books of the period … Bramston has assembled a formidable array of talent as narrators.
[The book] does justice to the Whitlam experiment, highlighting political and legislative success, while never ignoring failure or folly.
Troy Bramston has done an admirable job in seeking to bring many threads in this political tapestry together in a highly readable, engaging and honest way. Read full review…
Stephen Loosley, Spectator Australia Magazine, 29 March 2014
The Whitlam Legacy appraises the government’s manifest failures as well as its successes. It is an illuminating retrospective for those unfamiliar with this unique era, and for those who are familiar there are intriguing little-known vignettes – MPs having a punch-up near King’s Hall, Gerard Henderson doubting Billy McMahon’s sanity, Arthur Calwell providing information to McMahon to undermine Whitlam’s leadership, Rupert Murdoch and Malcolm Fraser sharing the same nanny as youngsters, Paul Keating insisting that Kerr should have been arrested, and remarkable revelations of the extent of the public service chiefs’ resistance to Labor policies. Read full review…
Ross McMullin, Australian Book Review, March 2014
This book will be most appreciated by those unfamiliar with the Whitlam years or those who have an interest in revisiting that time. It is a volume which is fairly comprehensive in its coverage of its topic and does offer some fresh perspectives. Read full review…
MR Tyson, Bar News, Autumn 2014
Bramston is an articulate champion of the policies of modern social democracy that Whitlam epitomised in the 1960s and 70s. Yet he and the pick of the other contributors are at their best when narrating the force of circumstances that brought the Whitlam government to its knees.
… a book of stimulating essays on a topic that will reverberate down the years … Read full review…
Frank Carrigan, Weekend Australian, 25-26 Jan 2014
“This book really is a great work of scholarship. It is a primer for anyone interested in politics or interested in carving out a career in politics. To get these people to write about the Whitlam government is a real tribute to Troy Bramston. From now on, nobody will be able to write about the Whitlam government without consulting The Whitlam Legacy.”
Bob Carr
