Opposition Leader
Whitlam swiftly made his mark on the ALP, bringing his campaign for internal reform to fruition, and overhauling or discarding a series of Labor policies that had been enshrined for decades. The White Australia Policy was dropped, Labor no longer opposed state aid, and the air of grim working-class puritanisim that attended the Labor Party of the 1950s gave way to one that was younger, more optimistic, more socially liberal, more intellectual, and decidedly middle-class.
Whitlam proved himself a formidable campaigner, winning two by-elections and then a 17-seat swing and a majority of votes in the 1969 election. DLP preferences plus a peculiarity in the Australian electoral system proved decisive in preventing Whitlam taking office - the win did not translate into enough seats to form a government. (This is not uncommon in Australia. Other Opposition Leaders to win a majority of votes and yet not gain office include Andrew Peacock in 1990 and Kim Beazley in 1998.)
After Holt's death, the Liberal Party began to fragment, electing John Gorton as leader, then switching to William McMahon. Whitlam's parliamentary performances were devastating, and he quickly established the ascendancy, particularly over McMahon, who was well past his political prime. Outside parliament, Whitlam concentrated on party reform and on developing new policies. He advocated the abolition of conscription and Australian withdrawal from the Vietnam War, and in 1971 visited the People's Republic of China, promising to establish diplomatic relations—much to the chagrin of McMahon, who attacked Whitlam for this 'pro-communist' policy, only to discover that President Richard Nixon was himself working toward recognising the PRC. On December 2 1972, Whitlam led the ALP to its first electoral victory in 23 years.
Prime Minister
Whitlam was never a man to lose an unnecessary minute. In the ordinary course of affairs, he would have waited until the cumbersome process of final vote counting in the doubtful seats was complete, and then, with the exact composition of the House known, called a Caucus meeting to elect his Ministers ready to be sworn in by the Governor-General. Meanwhile, the outgoing Prime Minister would remain in office as a caretaker. (As a matter of longstanding party policy, ALP Ministers are elected by the entire Parliamentary Party—the 'Caucus'—with the Prime Minister only having the power to assign portfolios. Liberal Prime Ministers, in contrast, have traditionally had the power to nominate their own Ministry.)
Unwilling to wait even another couple of weeks after 23 years in opposition, as soon as the overall result was beyond doubt, Whitlam had himself and deputy Labor leader Lance Barnard sworn in as a two-man government: making Whitlam the Prime Minister, Treasurer, Attorney-General, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Customs and Excise, Trade and Industry, Shipping and Transport, Education and Science, Civil Aviation, Housing, Works, External Territories, Environment, Aborigines and the Arts! Barnard was the Minister for Defence, Supply, the Army, the Navy, Air, Postmaster-General, Labour and National Service, Social Services, Immigration, Interior, Primary Industry, Repatriation, Health and National Development! The duumvirate held office between the 5th and 19th of December, making several changes that were considered urgent, notably ending conscription and Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War. Whitlam later quipped:
- The Caucus I joined in 1953 had as many Boer War veterans as men who had seen active service in World War II, three from each. The Ministry appointed on 5th December 1972 was composed entirely of ex-servicemen: Lance Barnard and me.
Although Labor had a comfortable working majority in the House, Whitlam faced a hostile Senate, making it impossible for him to pass legislation without the support of at least one of the other parties—Liberal, Country, or DLP. (Senate elections at that time were not synchronised with House of Representative elections: at the time Whitlam took office, half the Senate had been elected two years previously, the other half five years earlier.)
After 23 years of continuous conservative rule, the bureaucracy was unhelpful, and the conservative state governments were implacably opposed to reform. Nevertheless, Whitlam embarked on a massive legislative reform program. In the space of a little less than three years, the Whitlam Government:
- Took responsibility for tertiary education over from the states and abolished tertiary fees, opening up the prospect of further education to all Australians.
- Established the Schools Commission to distribute Federal funds to assist non-government schools on a needs basis.
- Introduced a supporting benefit for single-parent families.
- Abolished the death penalty for Federal crimes.
- Reduced the voting age to 18 years.
- Abolished the last vestiges of the White Australia Policy.
- Acted to improve media services for immigrants and minority cultures generally by establishing what would later become SBS.
- Introduced language programs for non-English speaking Australians
- Mandated equal opportunities for women in Federal Government employment
- Appointed women to judicial and administrative positions.
- Set up the National Aboriginal Consultative Committee.
- Amalgamated the five separate defence departments.
- Instituted direct Federal grants to local governments.
The Senate resolutely opposed three key bills and twice rejected them. These were designed to:
- Institute a universal, free health insurance system to be known as Medibank.
- Provide citizens of the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory with Senate representation for the first time.
- Regulate the size of House of Representative electorates to ensuring one vote one value.
The repeated rejection of these bills provided a