Gough Whitlam and the Vietnam War

Outline how Gough Whitlam influenced the development of Australia postwar period.

1. Gough Whitlam: fresh start for Australia and after the Vietnam War
                                  Australians were in hope that the Labor party would make better
                                  decisions than the Liberal party.

2. He contributed with: Social reform, cultural awareness, nations modernisation, gave recognition to the
                                            arts, education, migrants, women and aboriginals.

3. Made changes with: Helping Australia become more independent and draw away from America and
                                          Britain. Recognised official relations with China that has helped our trade system.

4. Appealed to all groups of society. Main supporters:
- The moratorium movement and people who wanted to withdraw troops
- The women’s movement, Whitlams policies benefited women such as maternity and divorce law changes
- Aboriginal people
- Elderly and unemployed, promised to raise pensions
- Uni students, promised to build universities and abolish fees

5. Problems by 1975: feared that he was wreckless because he was rapidly making changes. Policies were
                                      costly. (eg. Aboriginal people, medicare, universities.) White males didn’t agree with
                                      him supporting aboriginal groups and women.

6. Whitlam’s contribution benefited Australia in the long run

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Explain how Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War changed Australian Society

1. Relationships with Asia: People realised that there was more to Asia than just Chinese and Japanese
                                                people.

2. Attitudes to government: People began to lose trust in the government and it’s decisions and they...