What was the Whitlam Era in Australian history?

The Whitlam Era was the period of the Gough Whitlam Labor government from 5 December 1972 to 11 November 1975. The 1,071 days produced one of the most intensive periods of policy change in Australian history, with major reforms covering education, health, foreign policy, Indigenous affairs, multiculturalism, the arts, and gender equality. The era ended in the famous constitutional crisis of November 1975 when Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed Whitlam as Prime Minister.

Edward Gough Whitlam (1916 to 2014) led the Labor Party to victory at the 2 December 1972 federal election after 23 years of Coalition government, campaigning on the slogan 'It's Time'. He and his deputy Lance Barnard formed a two-man government during the first two weeks (the so-called Duumvirate), making 40 major decisions including ending conscription, recognising the People's Republic of China, withdrawing the last Australian troops from Vietnam, and abolishing the remaining racial provisions of the Migration Act.

Major reforms followed across the next two years. The Medibank universal health insurance scheme was introduced in 1975 (succeeded by Medicare in 1984). University fees were abolished. The Schools Commission was established to fund education needs. The Department of Aboriginal Affairs was established. Indigenous Australians received self-determination policy framework, with Whitlam famously pouring sand into the hands of Gurindji elder Vincent Lingiari to mark the return of land at Wave Hill in August 1975 (the gesture is depicted on the back of the Australian one-dollar coin). Multicultural policy was introduced from 1973. The Trade Practices Act 1974 established consumer protection. Equal pay for women in the Commonwealth public service was introduced. The Department of Urban and Regional Development funded urban renewal and decentralisation. The Australian Council for the Arts was reorganised. Family Law reform produced the Family Law Act 1975 introducing no-fault divorce. The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 was the country's first major federal anti-discrimination law.

The era was beset by economic and political problems. The 1973 oil shock and the global recession of 1974 to 1975 produced rising inflation and unemployment. The government's ambitious programme strained the budget and produced political tensions. The Loans Affair from December 1974 involved Minister for Minerals and Energy Rex Connor seeking large overseas loans without proper authority, leading to his dismissal in October 1975. The Senate, controlled by the Coalition opposition, blocked supply (the government's annual budget legislation) from October 1975 in an unprecedented constitutional challenge. Governor-General Kerr dismissed Whitlam on 11 November 1975 and commissioned Liberal leader Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister. Fraser won the subsequent December 1975 election in a landslide. The dismissal remains the most contested moment in Australian constitutional history and is examined repeatedly in academic, journalistic, and popular accounts.