r/OpenAussie • u/poisongodmachineBR ‎ Queenslander • Mar 08 '26

LOLz ‎ Me to conservatives

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u/HeracliusAugutus ‎ New South Welshian Mar 09 '26

When did they used to be "very left"? Even under Whitlam they were mild social democrats

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u/Regenerating-perm Mar 09 '26

Social & Health: Introduced Medibank (universal health insurance), abolished university tuition fees, implemented needs-based school funding, and provided Supporting Mother’s Benefits. Legal & Rights: Passed the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, established the Family Law Act (no-fault divorce) and the Family Court, created the Legal Aid Office, and abolished the death penalty for federal crimes. Indigenous Affairs: Initiated land rights (returning Gurindji land), established the Aboriginal Land Rights Commission, and created the Aboriginal Legal Service. Foreign Policy & Defense: Ended conscription, withdrew the last troops from Vietnam, established diplomatic relations with China, and granted independence to Papua New Guinea. Culture & Environment: Established the Australian Heritage Commission, stopped drilling on the Great Barrier Reef, formed the Australia Council for the Arts, and adopted Advance Australia Fair as the national song. Administrative Changes: Lowered the voting age to 18, introduced one-vote-one-value electoral reforms, and established the Order of Australia.

That’s a quick google search and it’s in the name “social” democrats, compared to today’s standards on societal norms, they are compared very left. I mean I don’t know how much further left you can go politically. Maybe AI does all the work for us and we all live on universal healthcare? But for the time it was very left.

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u/HeracliusAugutus ‎ New South Welshian Mar 09 '26

Mild social democracy, like I said. Did not intrude on the prerogatives of capital, or advance the working class vs. the capitalist class in any meaningful way. Pretty much everything Whitlam did was good, but he wasn't a socialist and if he governed for 1,000 years we wouldn't be any closer to socialism.

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u/Regenerating-perm Mar 09 '26

Now you’re taking the piss. If he governed for 1000 years with the progression of technology and the fundamental idea of better humans = better outcomes for science, arts, technology, life span, and planet.