On the relatively rare occasions Labor has won victory from opposition, it has done so with a strong reform agenda. So far, Albanese is taking a big – and risky – departure from that.
Since the 1970s, Australian immigration policy has changed dramatically, meaning Afghan refugees face far greater hurdles than those who fled Saigon after the Vietnam War.
In 1971, then-Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam made a significant trip to China. Now, with tensions between the two countries showing no signs of abating, it may be time to look to his example.
In the midst of our present crisis, this week’s release of the Palace letters has taken us back to the debate about another crisis, massive at the time and of lasting significance but rather put into perspective…
There are many questions regarding The Dismissal that can still be debated. But the queen simply advised the governor-general to follow the constitution, which is as she should have done.
After a long court battle, Australians are finally about to learn more about one of the most pivotal episodes in our political and constitutional history.
The first director of the National Gallery of Australia has died at 88.
Spontaneous humour is harder for the modern politician, faced with 24-hour media coverage. But every now and then they give it crack, anyway.
The Conversation / AAP Images
Political humour, like all humour, carries an innate risk: if it works, it can be spectacular, and it it tanks, it can be a catastrophe. Australian election campaigns have given us both.
Arthur Caldwell almost defeated Robert Menzies in the 1961 federal election, dominated by debate over the economy and unemployment.
National Archives, National Library of Australia, Wikimedia
In 1960, Harold Holt, the then-treasurer, urged the government to abolish import restrictions, resulting in a minor recession. This nearly swung the election in the ALP’s favour.
The bigger Melbourne gets, the more attractive it becomes.
from shutterstock.com
In the 70s, Whitlam tried to build new, big cities. But this was too costly. Now the most viable solution for Australia’s population woes is to make existing cities bigger.
A reversion to imperial imbalance in the British-Australian relationship began with the Whitlam government’s election and ended with its dismissal.
AAP/NAA
The continued embargo on documents relating to the dismissal of the Whitlam government point to the lingering imperial power that comes from an incomplete severance of colonial ties.
Queen Elizabeth signs the visitors’ book at Parliament House, while Prime Minister Paul Keating and Parliament House officials look on in February 1992.
National Archives of Australia
The release of the much-awaited papers from the parliamentary archives will lead to new appraisals of Lionel Murphy’s life and work – including his alleged misbehaviour.
At a demonstration, Faith Bandler (right) and her daughter Lilon (2R) appeal to national unity as grounds for constitutional amendment.
Aboriginal Studies Press
The 1967 referendum was the culmination of a long struggle for both Aboriginal rights and respect, for social esteem as well as equality before the law.
Gough Whitlam speaks to reporters after being dismissed as prime minister.
National Archives of Australia
Now, more than at any time in our history, Australia needs a relationship with China ‘comparable with that which we have, or seek, with other major powers’.
Was World Vision Australia chief advocate Tim Costello right to say that Australia’s foreign aid spending was at its highest under Menzies, at 0.5% of gross national income?
AAP Image/Royal Australian Air Force, CPL Jessica de Rouw
We check the facts on how Australia’s foreign aid spend has changed over time.
Paul Keating took the prime ministership with a ‘comprehensive plan to get the country cracking’, but the task was daunting.
National Archives of Australia
Labor’s project of economic transformation hit some harder realities as Paul Keating assumed the top job. And a new push on remaking Australia stirred a brooding reaction of its own.
Honorary (Senior Fellow) School of Culture and Communication University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne