(EDWARD) GOUGH WHITLAM

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06589348
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: March 9, 2023
• Document Release Date: April 29, 2021
• Case Number: F-2020-01824
• Publication Date: December 1, 1972

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AUSTRALIA
Prime Minister
Gough (rhymes with
cough) Whitlam, parlia-
mentary leader of the
Australian-Labor.Party
(ALP) since 1967, led
his party to a major
victory in the general
elections of 2 December.
1972. It was the first
success at the polls in
almost a quarter of a
century for the ALP--
even though it is the
largest political
organization in the
country. Whitlam, who
took the oath of office
(Edward) Gough WHITLAM.
CENTRAL
REFERENCE SERVICE
as Prime MiniStercin '5 December, governed the
country in. conjunction with Deputy Prime - Minister.
Lance: Barnard until 18.DeceMber., when he. named-a -
27-member Cabinet. He,kept the Foreign Affairs
portfolio for hiMself.
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he is extremely capable and persistent and a
formidable. debater in Parliament. His. knowledge
of foreign and domestic affairs; his memory for
facts, dates. and names;. and. his general- familiar-.
ity-with current issues are perhaps his strongest
assets.
A pragmatic politician, rather than a doctri-
naire socialist like many ALP members, Whitlam
favors some policies that outrage some socialists,
such as government subsidies for private schools
and a-strong free-enterprise economy. The central
theme of. his.political,rhetoric. has been the.
elimination of Social. inequality. He says, "My
rnlp-ha hppri":_if-lf.tc-iip-rwn.4-n., my c4-y1c>.4s
evolutionary; my substance the most revOlutionarT
the. party has ever had; and no subject is taboo
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(Edward) Gough WHITLAM
as. far as I am concerned:" After the election he
declared that the new government had "a clear
mandate to carry out all its policies."
w411 .
probabilideveloP-mOre.independent foreign, defense
and. economic policies. His strong nationalistic
desire to increase Australia's influence in
*Pacific and Asian countries may enable him to
'.emerge as one of the most significant figures in
.Australia's-history. -His assumption of the Prime
Ministry comes at a time when his country has with-
drawn its troops from Vietnam and regional .defense
decisions can be made.without regard to Britain's
presence. Australia seems ready to embark on
Whitlam's cautious but independent policies.
Whitlam says that the great difference between
an also-ran-and a leader is that, in President
Truman's- words,. "The buck stops here. It is the
"new-look" Whitlam who has been given the Oppor-
tunity to. sit at.the Prime Minister's desk. This
term has been applied to Whitlam on five major
occasions in the past. When elected ALP deputy
leader in 1960,. he was described as a "new-look"
type. On his return from a 1964 world tour com-
'mentatord said it was a "new-look" Whitlam who
took- his place on the front bench in Parliament.
In 1967 he was:.named head of the ALP's "new-look"'
team, none of whom had a trade union background
and-three of Whom had. university educations. .
After 3 years of hard work Whitlam emerged in 1970
at the bead of a "new-look" .unified party; and in
1971, when he-returned from China,.he was sporting
a "new-look" hairstyle.
Labor Victory
Between 1904--3 years after the establishment
of the Commonwealth--and 1949 the ALP governed
Australia on several occasions. Since then,
party had lost .nine .traight
- -tionS prior to its present victory. It suffered
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(Edward) Gough..WHITLA
its most resounding defeat in 1966,- when it
assumed a hardline, antiwar, posture. At that
time most Australians strongly supported the mili-
tary commitmept.to Vietnamof the. conservativg,_
Libera1:P-S.ffy+-77-arty.(LP-CP) coalition
government. For the 1969 elections, Whitlam
campaigned on domestic issues,, with special
emphasis on social reforms and greater economic
development. His party was. narrowly defeated,
emerging witpa;seven7seat,minoritT-in_the 125-.
membeHouse.ol--RepreSentatives,the larger and
more important of the two Houses. of Parliament.
. Widespread-dissatisfaction. with the.LP-CP
coalition, which- had governed since-I949,.was evi-
dent in public opinion polls collected. 'during the
18 months prior to the 1972 elections.' For many
Australians,, in an age when. both the government
and the people seem imbued with a sense. of mis-
sion.,:.Laborrs platform was Clear and unequivocal.
Whitlam and other ALP candidates appealed to the
electorate to give them 4 chance, pledging :that.
a vote for Labor Would bean investment in.
Australia's future.
ALP'candidates chanted, "It's time for a
change!" to overflow audiences. As.in:1969the
recurring theme .throughout the campaign was one
of domestic issues,,. with.foeiga policies' playing
a minor role. The 1972-manifestos of.all parties
were remarkabiy,siMiIar; political analystsin.
Australia described the ALP victory as one for
the. man. even, more 'than. for the party..
Policy Statements
Domestic Issue's
As principal party spokesman for the 1972
elections, Whitlam pushed for a program of social
improvement that actually differed little from
the 'LF'CP TJ _La LLA-Irm.--, _Aa _ _ L.
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(Edward) Gough WHITLAM
guarantee equality for all levels of education;
to offer an equitable system of taxation for the
lower-income groups; to train youth leaders, pre-
school teachers and social workers; and to.provide.
rs-
plaining about excessive secrecy in the government,
he intends to introduce a freedom of information
act modeled after that of the United States.
Businessleaders and economists, traditionally
the backbone bf-the.LP-CP coalition with their
moral. and financial support, openly campaigned'
for the Labor Party. They accused Prime Minister
� William McMahon of not acting quickly enough to
� contain spiraling inflation despite increased
unemployment. McMahon steadfastly refused to
contemplate a wage: and price freeze; Whitlam says
he will establish a price justification tribunal
to formulate price and income policy.
Foreign Affairs
Whitlam will probably
not make major changes in Australia's foreign.
policies. In line with his plans for .a more
independent.Australian:stance in international
affairs, however, Whitlam announced immediately
after being sworn in as Prime Minister that he
had already undertaken. steps to establish diplo-
matic relations with the'People's Republic of
China .(PRC). To keep the negotiations moving
toward a satisfactory relationship, he has
recalled Australia's Ambassador to Taiwan and
will close the Embassy there. � He has also named
an Ambassador to the.PRC.
Whitlam's.gove'rnment will. support Southeast
Asian .regional bodies that are organized to pro-
mote peace and prosperity in the area.. He will
work to have all French nuclear, testing halted
in the Pacific Ocean and has promised to ratify
oI nuclear
weapons.
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� (Edward) Gough WHITLAM
Defense Posture
All Australian military forces stationed
.overseas may be returned to Australia. Defense
arinaing fri_711P,inrrancarl_*n_r:hi-_-24n _
_
necessary equipment tor the home-based troops
and to provide recruitment incentives .for its
planned_all-volunteer armed service. One of
Whitlaml.s first official acts as Prime Minister
was to. take steps. to eliminate compulsory mili- .
tary,cohscription and:to-free all draft resisters-.
The Labor-government will honor Australia's
commitMent to the five-power defense arrangement
with New. Zealand and the United' Kingdom for
Singapore and Malaysia, but.it plans to.work for
an early date for withdramal. of its troops from
those nations.; Australia's army a:dvisers who
were left behind in Vietnam to train South Viet-
namese and Cambodian troops after:the main
withdrawal in March 1972 will be returned to
Australia by the first of 1973.
Attitude Toward the
United States
Whitlam is a good. friend of the United States.
He has .expressed his support for the ANZUS alli-
ance, the cornerstone of-Australian foreign policy,
but has publicly referred to SEATO as a dying
-In.
frequent visits to the United Statea, he hasC.9ften3
met with. Presidept_Nixon�Vice President Agnew and"
senior-Cabinet and congressional leaders.
Whitlam's First 100 Hours
� - � �
. In _the.. fir 30 hours ce - takina office,.
-----onu.L_Lam.almouncea more new measures than his
predecessor-allegedly did in.a year. In addition
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(Edward) GoUgh WHITLAM
to those already mentioned, he scrapped the New
Year's honors list;_ he put the prime ministerial
Bentley.up for sale, saying that he preferred to
ride.in.the...ustralianr-made..Ford.Galxiefht he
used as opposition-leader; and he became the first
Australian Prime Minister to refuse an appointment
to the Privy Council in:London, a position that'
would have.made-him an. official adviser to Queen
Elizabeth hand, allowed him to use �Right Honor-
able" 'before his name... He banned South African .
sporti.teaMs from Australia,, and he.ordered.the
Rhodesian Information Center to he closed: In a .
very timely move, Whitiam ended the. taxation on
wine. He .gave government approval for equal pay
for women,.and,-as an added touch, employed- an
attractive young female lawyer to present the
case before, the court.
'Early Life and Legal Career
(Edward) Gough Whitlam was born on 11 July.
1916 in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne. His father,
the late H.R.E. Whitlam, was Commonwealth crown
.solicitor, a.senior post in, the Attorney General's
Department, frOm 1936 te) 1948.-. Young Whitlam
first attended Knox.Grammar. School in.Sydney, then.
Teippea- Park High School. in Canberra. From there
he went to Canberra Grammar.
School, a Church of England establishment. After
that he attended St. Paul's College at the Uni-
-versity of Sydney, where. he earned B.A. and LL.B.
degrees. Like most college students, he developed
many interests but did not concentrate on any
single one.
- While serving in the Royal Australian Air Force
- during World War II, he became interested in Labor's
policies: He was elected to Parliament in 1952 to
represent Werriwa, the industrial suburb of Svdnev,...
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(Edward) Gough-WHITLAM
ALP Career
. The, class-conscious old guard of the faction-
ridden :ALP.' disliked WhitlaW_s,middle7plass-bac
ground. They resented .his well.-cut suits, his
.impressive manner,. his command cflanguage and
his intellectualism. He. had not come up the hard
way; he had no rugged trade union background,. no
experience in.the calculating. and Intrigue of
ALP andunionpolitios,HoWcould,the lawyer�sonT
of the' croWn solicitor,,, brought' up orrDryden,
Pope And Beethoven in lush: garden suburbs, be'
expected-to-appreciate the aspirations of the .
workers? HI)espitethis.background arid ingrained'
party distrust.of'lawyers, his party elected him
deputy leader in* 19611._
�
During. the early.1960's.Whitlam worked well
with ALP leader Arthur Calwell;.who represented
the party's leftwing faction.-'In 1963,,however,
with his eye on Calwell's position,. he stated
publicly that there should be a retirement age
for politicians;'Calwell, who was:.67 at-the time,
and other elderly members of the party- scathingly.
'attacked him as an "upstart." The:breach-widened
when Whitlam.criticized.party organization and
methodsof.decidingpolicy.and-Urged'great care
in' selecting, candidates forfuture elections. .
� InFebruary 1967-Whitlam was, elected' parlia-
mentary,leader of the party to. succeed Calwell,.
who resigned following.a split over. ALP policy
on Vietnam issues. ..calwell wanted the Australian
,troops brought home.from_Vietnam; Whitiam felt '
that 'they, should remain. 'As leader of A party
whose image was one of.isolationism and pro-
Communism, Whitlam determined to reform its
policies.
His proposals,to_provide wider representation, in
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(Edward) Gough WHITLAM
early 1968, when the ALP once again found ,itself
Seriously split between the right wing and the
Communist-influenced-left wing, Whitlam
resignedas.leaderjp_an attempt to. prove
his trength in,the federal parliamentary caucus.'
He was reelected as ALP.leader,,but
he was returned with �
than.when.initially
a slimmer margin
elected in 1967.
of support
MhitlaM'solidified his position.as,undisputed-
leader of the party prior-,to the general elections
in October 1969. After he :guided his party-to'a
near- victory, in the elections, the ALP federal
parliamentary caucus unanimously reelected him its
leader. By 1970 the party was no longer split
into hardline left-. and rightwing groups. The
majority of his members were in the center, and
they were loudly vocal in protesting against �
factionalism. �
Travel
During his parliamentary career,.Whitlam has
traveled throughout the world. In addition to his
previously mentioned visits to the United States,
he came to this country on a Foreign Leader Grant
in 1964. In July 1971 he led a group of Austra-
lians to Peking for discussions with Premier
Chou En -lai.
the United States announced that Dr. Henry
Kissinger was in Peking at, that time setting up
- arrangements for President Nixon's trip.
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'December 1972
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