Australia's treatment of her Aboriginal people will be the thing on which the world will judge Australia and Australians - Not just now, but in the greater perspective of history.
Gough WhitlamRead
Ladies and gentlemen, well may we say 'God Save the Queen', because nothing will save the Governor-General. The proclamation you have just heard was countersigned Malcolm Fraser, who will go down in history as Kerr's cur.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a significant political change and the dismissal of the Governor-General, emphasizing the weight of history in political actions.
This quote by Gough Whitlam captures a pivotal moment in Australian history when he was dismissed from office by the Governor-General Sir John Kerr. It highlights the irony and gravity of the situation, as the familiar phrase 'God Save the Queen' is contrasted with the idea that nothing could save the Governor-General from the historical judgment that would follow his controversial actions, particularly his decision to remove Whitlam from power.
Themes
PoliticsHistoryGovernor-GeneralDismissalWhitlam
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about political accountability, one might refer to Whitlam's quote to illustrate how history defines leadership.
More from Gough Whitlam
All quotes →Conscription is an impediment to achieving the forces Australia needs. It is an alibi for failing to give proper conditions to regular soldiers. We will abolish conscription forthwith. By abolishing it, Australia will achieve a better army, a better-paid army - and a better, united society.
Gough WhitlamRead
Hostility towards China distorted Australia's international affairs for 20 years until 1972, but reconciliation with China 30 years ago had produced a quarter century of constructive bipartisan relations with our region and the world, unmatched in Australian history.
Gough WhitlamRead
I was profoundly embarrassed by it [the White Australia Policy] and did all I could to change it.
Gough WhitlamRead
She was a remarkable person and the love of my life. We were married for almost 70 years. She encouraged and sustained me and our four children, their families and many other people in a life full of engagement with Australians from all walks of life.
Gough WhitlamRead
I have more influence now than when I had the power.
Gough WhitlamRead
Similar quotes
Despotism has forever had a powerful hold upon the world. Autocratic government, not self-government, has been the prevailing state of mankind. The record of past history is the record, not of the success of republics, but of their failure.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
It is the height of stupidity to claim that men who for a thousand years have had the power to berate us, to fleece us and to oppress us with impunity, will now agree, with good grace, to be our equals.
Jean-Paul MaratRead
The president - every president - works for us. We don't work for him. We sometimes lose track of this, or rather get the balance wrong. Respect is due and must be palpable, but now and then you have to press, to either force them to be forthcoming or force them to reveal that they won't be.
Peggy NoonanRead
That's what the Senate is about. It's the last bastion of minority rights, where a minority can be heard, where a minority can stand on its feet, one individual if necessary, and speak until he falls into the dust
Robert ByrdRead
If a British government experienced such a long and persistent resistance to domestic policy in England, then that policy would almost certainly be changed... We have asserted that we are political prisoners, and everything about out country - our arrests, interrogations, trials, and prison conditions - show that we are politically motivated.
Bobby SandsRead
The inability or unwillingness of citizens to differentiate between fake and authentic news is undermining a fundamental assumption of democracy: the informed voter.
Richard EdelmanRead