---
node: au_gough_whitlam
type: person
slug: gough_whitlam
title: "Gough Whitlam"
lead: "The Labor prime minister of the 1970s who pushed sweeping reforms and is also known for the constitutional crisis of his dismissal by the Governor-General in 1975."
published: 2026-07-15
updated: 2026-07-15
image_file: gough_whitlam.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gough_Whitlam_-_ACF_-_crop.jpg"
image_author: "Australian Conservation Foundation"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

## Who they were

Whitlam brought Labor back to power in 1972 after 23 years in opposition. His government carried out reforms in quick succession, introducing universal health insurance (Medibank), ending conscription, and abolishing university fees.

## What they did

He established diplomatic relations with China, removed the remnants of the White Australia Policy, and opened the way to Indigenous land rights. Yet economic turmoil and political conflict shook his government.

## Legacy

In 1975, amid a deadlock over the budget, Governor-General John Kerr dismissed him. This unprecedented event is regarded as the greatest crisis in Australian constitutional history and is debated to this day.