Duumvirate Whitlam took office with a majority in the House of Representatives, but without control of the Senate (elected in 1967 and 1970). The Senate at that time consisted of ten members from each of the six states, elected by
proportional representation. The ALP parliamentary caucus chose the ministers, but Whitlam was allowed to assign portfolios. A caucus meeting could not be held until after the final results came in on 15 December. In the meantime, it was expected that McMahon would remain caretaker prime minister. Whitlam, however, was unwilling to wait that long. On 5 December, once Labor's win was secure, Whitlam had the Governor-General, Sir
Paul Hasluck, swear him in as prime minister and Labor's deputy leader,
Lance Barnard, as deputy prime minister. The two men held 27 portfolios between them during the two weeks before a full cabinet could be determined. During the two weeks the so-called "
duumvirate" held office, Whitlam sought to fulfill those campaign promises that did not require legislation. Whitlam ordered negotiations to establish full relations with the
People's Republic of China, and broke those with
Taiwan. Legislation allowed the Minister for Defence to grant exemptions from conscription. Barnard held this office, and exempted everyone. Seven men were at that time incarcerated for refusing conscription; Whitlam arranged for their freedom. The Whitlam government in its first days re-opened the equal pay case pending before the
Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission led by Sydney barrister Mary Gaudron, and appointed a woman,
Elizabeth Evatt, as presidential member of the commission. Whitlam and Barnard eliminated sales tax on
contraceptive pills, announced major grants for the arts, and appointed an interim schools commission. The duumvirate barred racially discriminatory sport teams from Australia, and instructed the Australian delegation at the United Nations to vote in favour of sanctions on
apartheid South Africa and
Rhodesia. It also ordered home all remaining Australian troops in Vietnam, though most (including all conscripts) had been withdrawn by McMahon. According to Whitlam speechwriter Graham Freudenberg, the duumvirate was a success, as it showed that the Labor government could manipulate the machinery of government, despite its long absence from office. However, Freudenberg noted that the rapid pace and public excitement caused by the duumvirate's actions caused the Opposition to be wary of giving Labor too easy a time, and led to one
post mortem verdict on the Whitlam government, "We did too much too soon."
Enacting an agenda The McMahon government had consisted of 27 ministers, twelve of whom comprised the Cabinet. In the run-up to the election, the Labor caucus had decided that should the party take power, all 27 ministers were to be Cabinet members. Intense canvassing took place among ALP parliamentarians as the duumvirate did its work, and on 18 December the caucus elected the Cabinet. The results were generally acceptable to Whitlam, and within three hours, he had announced the portfolios of the cabinet members. To give himself greater control over the Cabinet, in January 1973 Whitlam established five cabinet committees (with the members appointed by himself, not the caucus) and took full control of the cabinet agenda. During its time in office, the Whitlam government embarked on an ambitious program of social reform in keeping with the promise of change that the ALP campaign emphasised. As noted by one historian, "Labor’s extensive reforms during its first term in office were the high water mark of Australian postwar social democracy." On coming to office, the Whitlam government granted federal public servants paid maternity leave, a thirty-six-and-a-quarter-hour workweek, large wage rises and four weeks annual leave. Free tertiary education was introduced, together with a
universal health care system and a sole parent pension. Laws were also passed providing for
equal pay for women and national land rights, divorce laws were made more liberal, and legislation against racial discrimination was introduced. military conscription was abolished and Australian troops were withdrawn from Vietnam, a separate ministry responsible for Aboriginal affairs was established, controls on foreign ownership of Australian resources were put in place, laws against sexual discrimination were passed, maternity leave and benefits for single mothers were extended, an attempt was made to democratise the electoral system through the introduction of one-vote-one-value, and a Community Health Program was introduced. The social services were also significantly expanded, with big improvements in the real value of social security payments, spending on housing quadrupled, education outlays doubled, and federal health expenditure rising by 20% The
Women's Electoral Lobby, founded in 1972, had helped Whitlam win government. In 1973,
Elizabeth Reid was appointed the world's first adviser on women's affairs to a head of government. Through Reid's work in this role, the government took a greater role in the protection of women and increasing their rights; and, through the 1974 establishment and later recommendations of a
Royal Commission on Human Relationships, a feminist reform agenda was put on the agenda for future action by the government. Among other reforms, the Whitlam government introduced three months'
paid maternity leave, along with a week's paid paternity leave, for public servants, as well as the Supporting Mother's Benefit, in 1973. A significant amount of legislation was passed altogether from 1972 to 1975, with 221 acts passed by parliament in 1973 alone, while the welfare state was significantly extended. Public spending was raised significantly, with the 1973 budget quadrupling spending on housing, tripling outlays on urban development, and doubling spending on education. Through initiatives such as the Australian Assistance Plan and the Regional Employment Development scheme, employment opportunities were expanded and funds allocated towards improving services and amenities in deprived areas, as characterised by the construction of new health centres, community houses, legal services, footpaths, sewers, streetlights, and public libraries. In 1978, one observer praised the Australian Assistance Plan for generating "much more general acceptance of the concepts of welfare for the community and local participation. Moreover, a great deal had actually happened. During the year 1975-76, 1408 grants for community welfare projects were approved by the Social Security Department. A detailed list of AAP projects includes projects relating to citizens' advice bureaus, community centres, and resource centres, projects to aid families, women, children, young people, the aged, the handicapped, migrants and the needy. It would be difficult to refute the conclusion that the sum of $6.6 million granted to Regional Councils of Social Development in 1975-76 promoted a very large amount of constructive welfare activity because it was spent in support of local and often voluntary efforts". while a wide range of new benefits were introduced, such as a handicapped child's allowance, a special orphan's pension, and the Supporting Mothers Benefit. Rates of sickness and unemployment benefits were increased to bring them in line with other social security benefits, while funding was provided for child care, women's refuges, and community health programs. The means test for pensioners over the age of seventy-five was abolished in 1973, and in 1975 the means test was abolished for all pensioners over the age of seventy. As a result of the welfare measures undertaken by the Whitlam government, social expenditures as a percentage of GDP rose from 12.5% to 17.6% during its time in office. Needs-based funding for schools was implemented, spending on technical colleges (including the construction of residential accommodation for students) was significantly increased, and special initiatives for the handicapped, Indigenous Australians, and isolated children were introduced. Farmers benefited from tariff cuts and additional markets established by the Whitlam government's trade and diplomatic initiatives, together with higher spending on regional education and health, rural research, and other upgraded country facilities. A number of measures were also undertaken to enhance women's rights. International conventions on equal pay, discrimination, and the political rights of women were ratified. New health centres and many women's refuges were established throughout Australia, together with a pre-school and child care program which catered for 100,000 children. In March 1973, the service pension was extended to war widows, and in September 1973 the means test on service pensions was abolished for recipients over the age of 74. In May 1975 the means test was abolished for the age group 70–74 years. Free artificial limbs were also made available through the repatriation artificial limb and appliance centre to all amputees, while free medical and hospital treatment was introduced for veterans of both the Great War and the Boer War and for ex-prisoners of war. The Mental Health and Related Community Services Act of 1973 made grants available to the states for the provision of community-oriented services for drug, alcohol, and mental problems. In 1973, the age limit of 21 years was removed for the payment of additional pension for full-time students and for the payment of guardian's allowance or mother's allowance, and provision was made for payment of additional benefit for a child to continue after their 16th birthday and without limitation on age if the child was a dependent full-time student. The government introduced reforms for the superannuation arrangements of its own employees. In July 1973, for instance, the government financed element of pensions was properly indexed against changes in the cost of living for the first time. In August 1973, fair rent provisions for houses and flats were introduced, while a separate housing list for in need families was introduced. In 1974, a generous rental rebate scheme and improved concessions on government loans were introduced to benefit low income earners. Funds were provided to improve the education of handicapped children, while money was also made available for upgrading accommodation in homeless persons' centres, while finance was also made available to centres on a pro rata basis for the provision of meals and accommodation. The Trade Practices Act, passed in 1974, was aimed at promoting competition in the economy and to improve consumer safeguards. Funding on the arts was doubled, and both
FM radio and radio station 2JJ were introduced, the latter in Sydney as part of a plan for a national youth radio network. A number of amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act were also made. The Act was revised to require the democratic control of unions by their rank-and-file members, to require that a union's rules should provide for full participation of its members in its affairs, and prohibited the dismissal of an elected official "unless he is found guilty of misappropriation of funds, gross misbehaviour or gross neglect of duty". The Act was also revised to prevent returning officers from rejecting a defective nomination "without giving the candidate seven days in which to correct the defect", to debar union officials from rejecting a rival's nomination for office, and to prohibit a union official or employee "being appointed as that union’s returning officer". Tariffs for farming implements and equipment were reduced, and farm incomes more than trebled during Whitlam's time in office. In 1973, a payment of emergency adjustment assistance was initiated to benefit canning-fruit growers and growers of pears and apples, while the Dairy Adjustment Act of 1974 provided generous assistance for financially unsound dairy farms. In 1973, the federal government awarded $100,000 in grants to environmental centres throughout Australia, the first action of its kind in Australia. In 1975, the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act was passed, which allowed for the establishment of the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service. The Supporting Mother's Benefit was introduced in 1973 to alleviate financial deprivation among women whose de facto husbands were in jail, deserted de facto wives, unmarried mothers and other wives separated from their husbands who, for other reasons, were not eligible for the widows' pension. The Double Orphans' pension was introduced that same year, providing $10 a week to the guardian of an orphan who had lost both parents. The Handicapped Children's Allowance, introduced a year later, provided $10 a week to the guardians of severely physically or mentally handicapped children who had not been placed in an institution. A special discretionary benefit was introduced for lone fathers in August 1974, payable at the unemployment benefit rate. In February 1973, eligibility for the standard rate of pension, payable to widow pensioners with children and single age and invalid pensioners, was extended to Class B widow pensioners (those over the age of fifty with no dependent children). A change was also made ensuring that pensioners would not lose their extra benefits when a student turned twenty-one. The standard age pension rate was increased from 19.5% of average weekly earnings in September 1972 to 24.4% by December 1975. Social welfare administration was also made more efficient and equitable via the establishment of a Social Welfare Commission and benefit appeals tribunals. while the Roads Grants Act 1974 provided funds for the building of rural arterial roads, urban arterial roads, minor traffic engineering and road safety improvements, rural local roads, developmental roads, urban local roads and beef roads.
Legal Aid was established, with offices in each state capital. It abolished tertiary school (university) fees, and established the Schools Commission to allocate funds to schools. The new government gave grants directly to local government units for urban renewal, flood prevention, and the promotion of tourism. Other federal grants financed highways linking the state capitals, and paid for standard-gauge rail lines between the states. The government created a new city at
Albury-Wodonga on the New South Wales-Victoria border. "
Advance Australia Fair" became the country's national anthem, in preference to "
God Save the Queen". The
Order of Australia replaced the British honours system in early 1975. In the field of communications, the Whitlam government removed the limitations on the amount of non-English-language programming on radio and television and established the experimental ethnic radio stations 2EA in Sydney and 3EA in Melbourne. In addition, emergency telephone interpreter services were initiated in all community languages. Whitlam was a vocal advocate for Indigenous rights. His government created the Aboriginal Land Fund to help Indigenous groups buy back privately owned lands. The Aboriginal Loans Commission was initiated to assist Indigenous Australians with the purchase of property with a view to home ownership, as well as to help establish Indigenous-owned businesses and pay for health and education expenses,. A number of other initiatives were carried out to improve socio-economic conditions for First Nations Australians. The rate of training Aboriginal teachers and teachers' aides was increased, while the Aboriginal Secondary Grants Scheme was introduced to provide allowances to all students of Aboriginal descent attending secondary schools. An Aboriginal Study Grants Scheme was introduced to assist Aboriginal students in tertiary education institutions, while a scheme was introduced for Aboriginal children living in Aboriginal communities to receive primary school instruction in their own language and in their traditional arts and crafts. To grant First Nations Australians fairer representation within the legal system, the Whitlam government significantly expanded the terms of the Aboriginal Legal Service established in 1970. $7.8 million was allocated between 1973 and 1976 to establish 25 offices throughout the country which provided free legal aid to Aborigines irrespective of the seriousness of the case. The offices had a majority of Indigenous Australians on their governing bodies and, as a result, were integrated into local Aboriginal communities and provided trustworthy and effective legal representation. The residence test that applied to invalid pension was also abolished (as noted by one study) “for persons whose permanent incapacity or blindness occurred in Australia.” Also, by early 1975, the standard rate of pension went up by 80% and the combined married rate by nearly 74%. Various changes were also made to unemployment and sickness benefit rates. In 1973, a married rate of unemployment benefit as introduced, while in March 1975 eligibility for additional benefits was extended to children 16 years and over in full-time education. On 1 November that year, a special rate for single recipients under the age of 18 was introduced. After visiting the then Australian colony of
Papua and New Guinea as opposition leader in 1970 and 1971 and calling for self-governance. This was granted in late 1973, before full Independence was legislated in September 1975, creating the
Independent State of Papua New Guinea, ending Australia's time as a coloniser. In 1973, the
National Gallery of Australia, then called the Australian National Gallery, bought the painting
Blue Poles by 20th-century artist
Jackson Pollock for US$2 million (A$1.3 million at the time of payment) In the conservative climate of the time, the purchase created a political and media scandal, and was said to symbolise either Whitlam's foresight and vision, or his profligate spending. Whitlam travelled extensively as prime minister, and was the first Australian prime minister to visit China while in office.
Early troubles , July 1973. In February 1973, the Attorney-General, Senator
Lionel Murphy, led a police raid on the Melbourne office of the
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, which was under his ministerial responsibility. Murphy believed that ASIO might have files relating to domestic Croatian terrorist threats against Yugoslav Prime Minister
Džemal Bijedić, who was about to visit Australia, and feared ASIO might conceal or destroy them. According to journalist and author Wallace Brown, the controversy over the raid continued to dog the Whitlam government throughout its term because the incident was "so silly". From the start of the Whitlam government, the Opposition, led by
Billy Snedden (who replaced McMahon as Liberal leader in December 1972) sought to use control of the Senate to baulk Whitlam. It did not seek to block all government legislation; the Coalition senators, led by Senate Liberal leader
Reg Withers, sought to block government legislation only when the obstruction would advance the Opposition's agenda. The Whitlam government also had numerous problems and issues in relations with the states. New South Wales refused the government's request that it close the Rhodesian Information Centre in Sydney. The Queensland premier,
Joh Bjelke-Petersen, refused to consider any adjustment in Queensland's border with Papua New Guinea, which, due to the state's ownership of islands in the
Torres Strait, came within half a kilometre (about one-third of a mile) of the Papuan mainland. Liberal state governments in New South Wales and Victoria were re-elected by large margins in 1973. Whitlam and his majority in the House of Representatives proposed
a constitutional referendum in December 1973, transferring control of wages and prices from the states to the Federal government. The two propositions failed to attract a majority of voters in any state, and were rejected by over 800,000 votes nationwide. Labor had come to office during a period of improvement for Australia's economic outlook, with rural industries performing well, unemployment falling, production increasing and a boom in foreign investment and exports. Nevertheless, signs of increasing inflation and slow private business investment portended looming economic troubles, leading to the
1973–75 recession and the
1973 oil crisis. According to political historian Brian Carroll, the Whitlam government chose in its 1973–4 budget to "put major emphasis on the Party's social objectives rather than on moderating the obvious expansionary trends in the economy" and the budget substantially increased direct government spending and increased redistribution of income through welfare. By early 1974, the Senate had rejected nineteen government bills, ten of them twice. With a half-Senate election due by midyear, Whitlam looked for ways to shore up support in that body. Queensland Senator and former DLP leader
Vince Gair signalled his willingness to leave the Senate for a diplomatic post. With five Queensland seats at stake in the half-Senate election, the ALP would probably win only two, but if six were at stake, the party would most likely win three. Possible control of the Senate was therefore at stake; Whitlam agreed to Gair's request and had the Governor-General Sir
Paul Hasluck appoint him Ambassador to Ireland. Word leaked of Gair's pending resignation, and Whitlam's opponents attempted to counteract his manoeuvre. On what became known as the "Night of the Long Prawns", Country Party members entertained Gair at a small party in the office of Senator
Ron Maunsell, to delay him visiting the Senate President to tender his resignation. As Gair enjoyed beer and prawns, Bjelke-Petersen advised the Queensland Governor, Sir
Colin Hannah, to issue writs for only the usual five vacancies, since Gair's seat was not yet vacant, effectively countering Whitlam's plan. With the Opposition threatening to disrupt supply, or block the appropriation bills, Whitlam used the Senate's defeat of several bills twice to trigger a
double dissolution election, holding it instead of the half-Senate election it had already announced. After a campaign featuring the Labor slogan "Give Gough a fair go",
the Whitlam government was returned, with its majority in the House of Representatives cut from seven to five. Both Government and Opposition secured 29 seats in the Senate, with the balance of power held by two independents. The deadlock over the twice-rejected bills was broken, uniquely in Australian history, with a special
joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament under Section 57 of the Constitution. This session, authorised by the new Governor-General,
Sir John Kerr, passed bills providing for universal health insurance (known then as Medibank, today as
Medicare) and providing the
Northern Territory and
Australian Capital Territory with representation in the Senate, effective at the next election. ==Second term==