Whitlam Right and Wrong

Few Australian governments have inspired as much admiration, controversy, and debate as that of Gough Whitlam. More than fifty years after Labor's historic victory in 1972, the Whitlam era continues to shape how Australians think about reform, leadership, and political change.

In Whitlam Right and Wrong, editor Michael Easson brings together an outstanding group of politicians, historians, constitutional scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals to examine one of the most consequential periods in Australia's political history. The contributors explore Whitlam's remarkable achievements in education, health care, foreign affairs, Indigenous policy, and social reform, while also confronting the administrative failures, economic challenges, political conflicts, and constitutional crisis that culminated in the dramatic dismissal of his government in 1975.

Combining personal recollections with rigorous historical analysis, these essays offer fresh perspectives on the reforms that transformed Australia and the controversies that continue to divide opinion. Contributors include Frank Bongiorno, Ros Kelly, David Kemp, Ian Macphee, Scott Prasser, Michael Sexton, Anne Twomey, and others whose experiences and scholarship illuminate the Whitlam legacy from multiple viewpoints.

Neither hagiography nor condemnation, Whitlam Right and Wrong is an essential contribution to understanding the ambitions, achievements, mistakes, and enduring significance of one of Australia's most influential prime ministers.

Contents

Michael Easson: Introduction

1. Frank Bongiorno with James Watson: The Dismissal from Below

2. Michael Forshaw: Jim McClelland and the Industrial Relations Battle that Never Was

3. Ros Kelly: What November 11th in 1975 Meant Personally

4. David Kemp: Whitlam and Menzies: Reform Legacies

5. Ian Macphee: I Remember the Dismissal

6. Scott Prasser: Saving the Prassers from Whitlam

7. Michael Sexton: Reform and Resistance: The Whitlam Government Under Siege

8. Anne Twomey: War-gaming the Dismissal - the Errors of Whitlam and Kerr

9. Rod Wise: Confessions of a Labor Has-been