Copyright theage
The crowd was overwhelmingly of young people – hair everywhere – and Whitlam and his government had swept aside a lot of old Australia for them. Military conscription was gone, a university education was free, the vote was granted to those aged 18, down from 21, multiculturalism was blessed with official approval, universal health care eased fear of hospital bills, no-fault divorce replaced the need to hire creepy bedroom investigators, there was a new sole-parent pension and laws were passed to provide equal pay for women. Cocking a snook at lingering conservatism in the arts, Whitlam approved the purchase, for a scandalous $1.3 million, of Jackson Pollock’s abstract expressionist drip painting, Blue Poles. The Establishment howled, unable to comprehend that it would become among the most popular works in the National Gallery of Australia, valued today in the hundreds of millions. “We want Gough,” cried the bereft, forgiving him the chaotic economy, the crazy loans affair and all the rest that so offended middle – and middle-aged – Australia. And there with all the political players gathered on the steps of the white-painted parliament building stood Norman Gunston, the little Aussie battler with a microphone, interrogating the crowd.
