Whitlam Government
Q. Below is a list of some of the achievements of Gough Whitlam’s Government from 1972-75. Which of them do you think were the three most important achievements?
|
Total |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
|
Aged 18-34 |
Aged 35-54 |
Aged 55+ |
|
| Established Medibank – the national health insurance system |
68% |
73% |
66% |
75% |
67% |
61% |
65% |
84% |
||
| Abolished university fees |
39% |
47% |
32% |
57% |
32% |
42% |
39% |
35% |
||
| Ended conscription |
28% |
28% |
30% |
17% |
41% |
20% |
29% |
38% |
||
| Protected the Great Barrier Reef |
25% |
21% |
28% |
22% |
30% |
24% |
27% |
22% |
||
| Established diplomatic relations with China |
25% |
26% |
31% |
13% |
20% |
23% |
22% |
31% |
||
| Aboriginal land rights |
22% |
26% |
14% |
30% |
23% |
23% |
19% |
26% |
||
| Passed the Racial Discrimination Act |
22% |
25% |
16% |
39% |
18% |
27% |
25% |
11% |
||
| Direct Commonwealth funding to non-Government schools |
14% |
13% |
17% |
3% |
10% |
14% |
16% |
10% |
||
| Introduced the policy of multiculturalism |
13% |
11% |
11% |
25% |
9% |
20% |
12% |
5% |
||
| Lowered voting age to 18 |
11% |
6% |
15% |
9% |
20% |
7% |
13% |
13% |
||
| Cut tariffs on imports |
10% |
6% |
14% |
5% |
5% |
10% |
10% |
10% |
||
| Independence for PNG |
5% |
2% |
6% |
* |
9% |
8% |
4% |
4% |
The most important achievements of the Whitlam Government were thought to be establishing Medibank (68%), abolishing university fees (39%) and ending conscription (28%).
Among those aged 55+ (who were more likely to recall the Whitlam Government) the most important achievements were establishing Medibank (84%), ending conscription (38%), abolishing university fees (35%) and establishing diplomatic relations with China (31%).
Australia’s Best Prime Minister
Q. Choosing from the following list, who do you think has been Australia’s best Prime Minister?
| Term of office | Total
19 Jan 2009 |
Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Aged 18-34 | Aged 35-54 | Aged 55+ | |
| John Curtin | 7 Oct 1941 – 5 Jul 1945 | 4% | 2% | 4% | 1% | 3% | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| Ben Chifley | 13 Jul 1945 – 19 Dec 1949 | 2% | 1% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 3% |
| Robert Menzies | 19 Dec 1949 – 26 Jan 1966 | 11% | 11% | 4% | 18% | 4% | 4% | 8% | 21% |
| Harold Holt | 26 Jan 1966 – 19 Dec 1967 | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | – | 1% | 1% | – |
| John Gorton | 10 Jan 1968 – 10 Mar1971 | 1% | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| William McMahon | 10 Mar 1971 – 5 Dec 1972 | 1% | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gough Whitlam | 5 Dec 1972 – 11 Nov 1975 | 9% | 9% | 15% | 1% | 18% | 8% | 9% | 10% |
| Malcolm Fraser | 11 Nov 1975 – 11 Mar 1983 | 3% | 3% | 1% | 3% | 6% | – | 3% | 6% |
| Bob Hawke | 11 Mar 1983 – 20 Dec 1991 | 12% | 15% | 23% | 5% | 22% | 12% | 21% | 10% |
| Paul Keating | 20 Dec 1991 – 11 Mar 1996 | 8% | 6% | 12% | 2% | 10% | 7% | 6% | 4% |
| John Howard | 11 Mar 1996 – 3 Dec 2007 | 28% | 33% | 8% | 61% | 5% | 33% | 31% | 35% |
| Kevin Rudd | 3 Dec 2007 – 24 Jun 2010 | 20% | 15% | 21% | 6% | 27% | 25% | 15% | 6% |
| Julia Gillard | 24 Jun 2010 – present | na | 3% | 8% | – | 4% | 6% | 2% | 2% |
Note: Percentages based on those who gave an answer.
33% thought that John Howard has been Australia’s best Prime Minister, 15% chose Kevin Rudd and 15% Bob Hawke.
Among Liberal/National voters, 61% chose John Howard and 18% Robert Menzies. With 23%, Bob Hawke received the highest rating from Labor voters, just ahead of Kevin Rudd on 21% with Gough Whitlam on 15%. Greens voters favoured Kevin Rudd (27%) and Bob Hawke (22%).
While John Howard received similar scores across age groups, the 18-34 group were more likely to favour Kevin Rudd (25%), the 35-54’s Bob Hawke (21%) and the 55+ group Robert Menzies (21%). Compared to the results when this question was asked 3 years ago (when Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister), John Howard (+5%) and Bob Hawke (+3%) have improved their ratings while Kevin Rudd’s has dropped 5%.
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