Key Events Of The Whitlam Labor Government Between 1971 And 1975

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Section 1: Sequence the key events of the “Its time” campaign and the Whitlam Labor Government between 1971 and 1975, and explain why the election win in 1972 was significant. (Max 300)! http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/whitlam/elections.aspx! ! 1. The Coalition fell further behind Labor in the polls, and Gorton resigned in 1971! 2. The It's Time campaign was first launched in Blacktown, New South Wales in 1972. nov 13th! 3. 5! 21st Prime Minister Labor was elected to government for the first time in 23 years. Gough Whitlam and deputy Lance Barnard were sworn in! 4. 31 Oct 1973! Whitlam in China The first visit of an Australian Prime Minister to China marked wAustralia’s trade agreement with the People's Republic of China.! 5. …show more content…

! 6. 18 May 1974! 29th federal election - House of Representatives and Senate (all 60 seats - double dissolution) Labor under Prime Minister Gough Whitlam retained government.! 7. 12 Jun 1975! Federal family law Enactment of the Family Law Act provides for a Family Court of Australia. The new Court came into operation on 6 January 1976.! ! The “It’s Time” campaign was one Australia’s most successful, under the order of Gough Whitlam. The 13th of November, 1972 saw the launch of the campaign in Blacktown, New South Wales. Whitlam gained popularity by creative new ideas to incise the voters, through the use of radio and television advertisement and promising major policy and law changes. “Our programme has three great aims. They are: to promote equality, to involve the people of Australia in the decision-making processes of our land and to liberate the talents and uplift the horizons of the Australian people . . .” (Extract from “It’s Time” speech - 1972). These promises were an example of the what Australian citizens could expect from Whitlam if he were to be elected as the role of prime minister. ! …show more content…

Section 55 of the Family Law Act states, “a divorce order made under this Act takes effect at the expiration of a period of 1 month from the making of the order”. Whitlam attempted to regulate divorce by ensuring that the policy would provide a civil solution to divorce although not encourage it. The act also addressed child matters and custody. It respect to who the child or children would live with or be with most often. The decision on who the child/children would live with was usually made in a court room and the verdict took into account the “best interests” of the child in argument. Forty years ago, Australia saw the introduction of the Family Law act which, in turn, gave women rights to their own marital status and helped to remove the negativity against being divorced. The old system was said to be “pointless” as it became near impossible to prove a default within a marriage. The Family Law Act has not only impacted divorce itself but also the stigma attached to marriage. Since the new policy was introduced, the idea of marriage being a “necessity” of spending your life with someone is slowly fading away. Most couples are now, prior to marriage living together and have started a

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