Whitlam in hospital
FORMER prime minister Gough Whitlam has been in hospital in Sydney since last week but a spokesman will not reveal what illness he has.
Does one get hospitalized for megalomania?
Just asking.
If you are reading this, thank a Teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a Soldier
Facebook
Twitter
Kev
We obviously have different recollections of Whitlam.
You’ve posted your views previously.
He was, as a politician, a unique phenomenon, and he didn’t really have a handle on economics. Having said that, like you, I lived through his era, but I have a recollection based on his contribution to people with disabilities. He drove this agenda with passion and energy, and across the country dragged their care and education provision out of the nineteenth century.
As a young special school Principal I saw a group of seventy kids with disabilities moved from a situation where they were penned because there were weren’t enough staff to look after them properly. Some developed maggots in their ears because they couldn’t keep the flies away (no screening – no money). They went from that to clean supervised accommodation, and attending school (previously they had been categorised as “unreceptive to education”) in a new school that I opened as principal with state of the art facilities and staff with post graduate qualifications. This was built with $3.8 million of “Whitlam money” in federal grants – a lot of dosh in those days. These people had their lives turned around.
He may have been a megalomaniac – I wouldn’t argue with you about that – but he did more for this specific disempowered community than any pollie before or since, and this situation was repeated in every state of the commonwealth. Whatever his faults, it was this passionate support for the underdog that I remember.
He also finished the national service ballot – but that’s another story. The Torys would have done the same had they been returned in 1972.
No question Whitlam did some good but only when considered in isolation. He did well for those kids of yours and I don’t argue it but he also fucked the economy and did Australia a huge amount of damage. From the military perspective he gave us a significant pay rise and then gutted the regiment – I remember the regiment being gutted as the pay rise was swiftly neutered by his inept/socialist economic policies but the regiment stayed gutted until Howard/Costello paid back all the debts and the country were able to afford it.
Yep, to each his own but I demand that PMs and governments do more than fix my own personal circumstances.