Malcolm Fraser and governing after The Dismissal

Malcolm Fraser’s legacy is full of contradictions, writes Dr Lee Duffield: The conservative reformer who rose to power through upheaval then spent years reshaping his image with acts of compassion and reform.

(This is the second article in a two-part series. Read part one here.)

JOHN MALCOLM FRASERHis devastating accession to the Prime Ministry, final dismissal His predecessor was not allowed an easy transition by the Governor-General. He enjoyed reform and wanted to enjoy easy terms, but an urgent election had been called and it would be bittersweet.

In 1975, any charm offensive, so to speak, would be put on hold for the duration of that year’s elections. It was introduced to “clear the air” following economic downturns. 1973 oil embargo and the political aggression of the embattled Whitlam Government.

He talks about neoliberalism, implements austerity policies

In the winning campaign, Malcolm Fraser was among those who briefly and aggressively converted to neoliberalism; Something new from America: “Get the government off our backs” and “give businesses a chance”, “no bureaucracy”. There was a very strong offside player in this; A minister from Western Australia. Reg Witherszealous for the removal of all regulations: “Let us tear it down!” he would say.

At that time, Fraser revealed that he was a follower of the American writer. Ayn RandA Russian immigrant who advocated “economic rationalism” over altruistic thinking.

But this particular enthusiasm did not last long; The new Prime Minister was not a man to apply theories and from 11 November he had to start exaggerating his action. He would actually be a Labor Treasurer, Paul Keatingwho led Australia into massive deregulation and privatization in the 1980s.

The main thrust of economic policy after 1975 was to suppress high inflation and, in the process, take revenge on those of us working people who would have benefited from higher wages under Whitlam. The device was partial indexation, in which only part of the overall wage increase would be paid, after national wage cases in response to rising prices. For mortgage holders, this meant you could get enough to cover the increase in interest rates, but not enough to cover all other price increases.

“We are like a family that has spent too much of itself” he would say and “Life doesn’t have to be easy.” Those of us subjected to these austerity policies wanted to know whether the slogans applied to our own lives. Facing serious anger from families, by 1980 he began to improvise aid, such as generous grants of $900 for first-home buyers, enough to cover transfers and expenses. These did nothing to restore confidence in the run-up to defeat in 1983.

The breakup of Medibank, the first national health plan, caused several years of turmoil. happened Medibank Privatecollects premiums. The process was enough to solidify the view that a government that was not only reactionary but also incompetent had taken over. During a long interim period, the Federal Government improvised professional teamPayment is made directly for excess work transferred to the public hospital system.

During this period, people who were left in a difficult situation, had to undergo major surgeries, etc. Many cases have emerged of patients suffering from illness who were not charged; confused, then relieved, then stunned again; others missed it. labor under Bob Hawke will bring back national health services under new name – Medicare.

Although the Fraser Government tried to return to the Menzies model, the necessary wave of prosperity had become intermittent; When the government fell in 1983, inflation was still painful and much of the country was in the grip of drought; The cold man who was always “entitled” but now accepts the night, I cried about this on TV.

Stylistically, he had changed from being an “old young man” to an “old young man”, especially when he had some health problems, telling the country not to worry, that his friend Doug Anthony would “take care of the shop” while he was in the hospital.

to try reforms

Moreover, perhaps unduly, Fraser set out to implement measures that would befit his old-world conservatism and privilege and appeal to a wider range of citizens. It may even help recast the image from coup plotter to liberal-minded change agent.

For example:

Fraser left my master John Kerr. The drunk man began to faint at public events. He received moral support from the “Palace”; they piled up some extra honors and ribbons to himBut all that was just to sweeten the release. In a situation rich with irony, the standoffishness of the cold government appointee was enough to undo Kerr. He resigned only 18 months after he came to power.

Installation of Private Broadcasting Service (SBS) for ethnic communities. Fraser had flatly refused to give the channels to the ABC; While in opposition, he was heavily criticized by this party for being a public, not a private, media outlet. But apart from Melbourne ABC radio station 3CRThe closure did not undo Labor’s initiatives in broadcasting, particularly the launch of FM radio, including community stations.

The work initiated by Gorton and Whitlam to protect the Great Barrier Reef, establish a marine park and prevent oil exploration planned by Israel continues. Bjelke-Petersen government in queensland

At an international panel to determine the outcome of Southern Rhodesia, the Australian delegation unexpectedly supported a path to independence for the nationalist side against the white colonialists. So Zimbabwe was created and it turned out that this would have many bad consequences, but Malcolm Fraser appeared to jettison any assumptions about racism or reactionary colonialism.

Reconstruction of the man on November 11, 1975

As a result of the leap from Patna on 11 November 1975, Australia experienced an amalgam of governments thrown together: Malcolm Fraser, the wild-eyed economic rationalist who waged war on the government itself, the “bureaucracy” and especially government employees; Malcolm, young and old, is still trying to be Menzies; Good Malcolm is engaged in large-scale reforms.

After his retirement from politics in 1983, work on rehabilitation and building the reformed character began in earnest. He has made tremendous contributions to humanitarian and environmental causes; this reflected real strong personal commitment, especially leadership against racial prejudice. Search engines give a positive summary:

Malcolm Fraser’s philanthropic work focused on humanitarian aid, refugee advocacy and environmental protection. He was the founding chairman MAINTENANCE Australia She was a strong supporter of the Refugee Resource Center (with an emphasis on local and women-led aid projects).ASRC) and supported various environmental protection initiatives.

All this activism didn’t sit well with his old party. He resigned from the Liberals in July 2009, nearly 25 years after he was brought into government by Kerr. Leadership seized Tony AbbottThe boxer and religious enthusiast they called “The Mad Monk” was too unsavory for the Old School.

What had happened to the snob, the fool, the domineering man, the benevolent good man, the “Lord Jim” who had unseemly jumped from Patna to seize power? Which person went to meet his creator after a short illness in March 2015? Alas, it had been 40 years since his greatest moment: standing before the flailing, blank-faced dignity of his earthly creator, Sir John Kerr.

In addition to Dr Lee Duffield’s extensive journalistic experience, he served as the ABC’s European correspondent. He is also a respected academic and member of the editorial advisory board of Pacific Journalism Review and an elected member of the University of Queensland Senate.

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