The Hon. Edward Gough Whitlam AC, QC

There is so much to admire about Edward Gough Whitlam’s life:  his RAAF service and transformation of the political landscape in Australia are particularly noteworthy.  But of all his contributions it is his reforms to the law which have left the greatest impression on me as a lawyer.  Gough’s legacy remains today in many of the important laws that underpin our civil society.

None of us go through life in a vacuum. We are all shaped in our early lives by the families that mould us.  Gough was no different. His father, Harry Frederick Ernest (Fred) Whitlam, was a bright young man who topped his school. However, his family did not have the financial means to send him to university so Fred joined the Commonwealth Public Service.  He then studied at night to obtain a law degree.  Gough’s Dad went on to have a brilliant career as the Crown Solicitor and later as a human rights lawyer at the United Nations.

Gough’s father-in-law, Wilfred Dovey KC, was a successful barrister and a judge who presided over divorce and matrimonial causes.  This was back in the days when obtaining a divorce was an even more complicated, and at times, almost farcical process.

Gough’s most enduring partnership, and perhaps his greatest influence, was his wife, Margaret.  I use the term ‘partnership’ deliberately because that is obviously what it was.  Margaret was very much an equal partner in their relationship.   She was a modern woman for the times and had very modern views.  During her time in the Lodge she was a vocal supporter of women’s rights.

These three family stories all influenced the Whitlam Government’s legislative agenda.

Gough was, of course, a barrister, admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1947.   Coincidentally, one of his chamber mates was Sir John Kerr.   Gough was elected as the member for Werriwa in 1952 yet still took silk a decade later.

Gough’s progressive legal reforms have shaped the Australia of today.

In 2007 during a speech at Old Parliament House, Gough said he tried to apply an overarching principle and unifying theme to all of his work which he said could be stated in two words:  ‘contemporary relevance’.  While that theme can be identified in his legal reforms, it seems to me there is a far simpler theme that also persists in his legal reforms:   to improve the lives of every Australian.

When the Racial Discrimination Act was introduced it had monumental benefits for indigenous people.  No longer could they be discriminated against in employment, working conditions, remuneration or housing; issues that had long been problematic in indigenous communities.  This ground-breaking legislation overrode Queensland legislation at the time which restricted the property rights of Aboriginal people and provided inequitable legal representation for Aboriginal people.

As ridiculous as it sounds today, before the Migration Act was amended by the Whitlam Government in 1973, indigenous people had to apply for special permission before they could leave Australia.

The Whitlam Government was responsible for drafting the first Commonwealth legislation to grant land rights to indigenous people.  The Bill was introduced in October, 1975.  The dismissal of the Whitlam Government occurred before the legislation could pass.  However, the legislation passed by the Fraser Government the next year was based largely on that Bill.

The death penalty for federal crimes was abolished by the Whitlam Government on the 18th September, 1973.

Women enjoyed the long overdue benefits of equal pay after the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission found in 1972 that women undertaking similar work to men should be paid the same remuneration.   Shortly after that decision the Whitlam Government amended the Conciliation and Arbitration Act to extend the adult minimum wage to include women workers.  And one day soon this law will apply to solicitors practically, as well as legally.

Possibly the pieces of legislation that directly affected ordinary Australians the most were the Health Insurance Commission Act and the Health Insurance Act.  This legislation introduced the reform that created Medicare.  It allowed every Australian to enjoy the benefits of access to health care.

The Family Law Act was passed in 1975.   It changed the way people divorced and made leaving a bad relationship far less painful than previously.  Most importantly, it enshrined the principle of ‘best interests of the child’ so that children’s rights would be prioritised in any decision concerning them.

In the 1970s in Queensland the Bjelke-Petersen Government was planning to embark on oil drilling on the Great Barrier Reef.  The Whitlam Government passed the Seas and Submerged Lands Act in 1973 giving the Commonwealth authority over the states in any issues relating to the seas surrounding Australia.  The Bjelke-Petersen Government’s plans were blocked and the Whitlam Government created the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in 1975 to preserve this great natural wonder.

Not surprisingly, given his father’s human rights involvement, Gough considered human rights protections to be very important.  The Whitlam government ratified some very significant international human rights agreements including: the1953 Covenant on the Political Rights of Women; the1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the 1966 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.

In addition to enacting some of the most ground-breaking legal reforms in Australia, Gough also established the Law Reform Commission.   The Commission continues today evaluating and proposing changes to the law that will continue to bring ‘contemporary relevance’ to our legal framework.

There is no point having legislation that provides justice if ordinary Australians have no access to it.  Gough created in 1973 the Australian Legal Aid Office.  Australians who could not afford to pay for legal advice were provided with free legal advice on matters of federal law.

In 1985, on the tenth anniversary of the dismissal, Gough delivered the John Curtin Memorial Lecture.  He said during that speech:-

“A conservative government survives essentially by dampening expectations and subduing hopes.  We, by contrast, exist to raise hope and expectations — to lift the horizons of the people.”

Hopes were raised and so were expectations during Gough’s term.  He had his flaws as a leader and his agenda of change suffered significant setback.  However, we can never see Australia in the same way that it was before he was elected.  Gough helped us as a nation to come of age.

As a lawyer, it seemed that Gough changed the whole legal landscape.  Justice was no longer a lofty concept for the wealthy but instead became more attainable for all Australians. The hope and expectation Gough created in many lawyers about delivering justice for all of our clients, will be one of his great enduring legacies.

Graham Perrett MP

Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Attorney-General Member for Moreton

Photo in-part by: HREOC.