Editing History of Australia (section)

===The Whitlam government: 1972–75===
[[File:E1276-8_PM_Australia_Whitlam_tone.jpg|thumb|[[Gough Whitlam]] and US President [[Richard Nixon]] in 1973. The [[Whitlam government]] was responsible for significant reforms, but went on to be [[1975 Australian constitutional crisis|dismissed]] in controversial circumstances.]]

Elected in December 1972 after 23 years in opposition, [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]] won office under [[Gough Whitlam]], introducing significant reforms and expanding the federal budget. Welfare benefits were extended and payment rates increased, a national health insurance scheme was introduced, and divorce laws liberalised. Commonwealth expenditure on schools trebled in the two years to mid-1975 and the Commonwealth assumed responsibility for funding higher education, abolishing tuition fees. In foreign affairs, the new government prioritised the Asia Pacific region, formally abolishing the White Australia Policy, recognising Communist China and enhancing ties with Indonesia. Conscription was abolished and the remaining Australian troops in Vietnam withdrawn. The Australian national anthem was changed from God Save the Queen to Advance Australia Fair, the imperial honours system was replaced at the Commonwealth level by the Order of Australia, and Queen Elizabeth II was officially styled Queen of Australia. Relations with the US, however, became strained after government members criticised the resumption of the US bombing campaign in North Vietnam.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Strangio|first=Paul|title=The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 2, The Commonwealth of Australia|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-1-107-01154-0|editor-last=Bashford|editor-first=Alison|location=Melbourne|pages=145–7|chapter=Instability, 1966-82|editor-last2=MacIntyre|editor-first2=Stuart}}</ref>

In Indigenous affairs, the government introduced a policy of self-determination for Aboriginal people in economic, social and political affairs.  Federal expenditure on Aboriginal services increased from $23 million to $141 million during the three years of the government.<ref name="Haebich">Haebich, Anna; Kinnane, Steve. "Indigenous Australians". ''The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 2''. p. 349</ref> One of the first acts of the [[Whitlam government]] was to establish a [[Aboriginal Land Rights Commission|Royal Commission into land rights]] in the Northern Territory under Justice Woodward. Legislation based on its findings was passed into law by the [[Fraser government]] in 1976, as the [[Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976]].<ref name="Haebich"/>

As the Whitlam government did not control the Senate, much of its legislation was rejected or amended. After Labor was re-elected with a reduced majority at [[1974 Australian federal election|elections in May 1974]], the Senate remained an obstacle to its political agenda. The government's popularity was also harmed by deteriorating economic conditions and a series of political scandals. Increased government spending, rapid wage growth, booming commodity prices and the first OPEC oil shock led to economic instability. The unemployment rate reached post-war high of 3.6 per cent in late 1974 and the annual inflation rate hit 17 per cent.<ref>Strangio (2013) pp 148–9</ref>

In 1974–75 the government began negotiations for US$4&nbsp;billion in foreign loans to fund state development of Australia's mineral and energy resources. Minister [[Rex Connor]] conducted secret discussions with a [[Loans Affair|loan broker from Pakistan]], and Treasurer [[Jim Cairns]] misled parliament about the issue. Arguing the government was incompetent following the [[Loans Affair]], the opposition [[Coalition (Australia)|Liberal-Country Party Coalition]] delayed passage of the government's money bills in the Senate, until the government would promise a new election. Whitlam refused and the deadlock ended when his government was controversially [[1975 Australian constitutional crisis|dismissed by the Governor-General]], [[John Kerr (Governor-General)|John Kerr]] on 11 November 1975. Opposition leader Malcolm Fraser was installed as caretaker prime minister, pending an election.<ref>Strangio (2013) pp 149–51</ref>