It's Time (Australian campaign)

[2] In the 1969 federal election, the endorsed ALP candidate for the blue-ribbon Liberal seat of Ryan, John Conn, then a lecturer at the University of Queensland, had employed a highly successful door-to-door campaign.

For this, he had devised a pamphlet headed: 'It's Time for a Change' followed by a dot-point list of reasons, including education, the war in Vietnam, urban renewal, etc.

The chorus comprising a "Who's Who" of Australian entertainment and sport personalities, including Tony Barber, Barry Crocker, Lynette Curran, Chuck Faulkner, Jimmy Hannan, Brian Henderson, Col Joye, Graham Kennedy, Dawn Lake, Bobby Limb, Little Pattie, Bert Newton, Terry Norris, Hazel Phillips, Judy Stone, Maggie Tabberer, Jack Thompson, Jacki Weaver, Kevin Sanders, Ade and Rob Dames, among others, was recorded one day in early spring at either the Hordern Pavilion or Supreme Sound in Sydney's Paddington with Joye conducting.

It typified all the urban policy failures of the time, through lack of planning and misallocation of resources at both Federal and State government level.

[citation needed] The campaign concentrated heavily on the mistakes made by the prime minister of the day, William McMahon, with a special focus given to the areas of the national economy, health care, city planning and the Vietnam War, as well as Whitlam's ideas for governmental reform.

Whitlam put forward an economic plan as part of his It's Time speech that advocated strong, productive relationships between the public, industry and employees.

[citation needed] The Labor party planned to introduce a universal health insurance scheme, to which contributions would be made according to income, thus turning the old system on its head.

He underscored the relevance of treaties such as ANZUS to the defence of Australia, but also noted that beginning serious relations with China was in the country's best interest.

Over the next two years, the Coalition fell further behind Labor in the polls, and Gorton resigned in 1971 after a tied vote of no confidence in the Liberal caucus.

[citation needed] The Coalition had focused heavily on relations with the United States since World War II to bring Australia under their defence umbrella.

[citation needed] Apartheid in South Africa was becoming a huge source of controversy, and there was wide public support in Australia to increase sanctions against the white government there, particularly with respect to their sports teams.

A general downturn in the western economies of the world, and the rising price of oil were contributing to a poor financial situation for Australia.

[citation needed] On his first day in office as Prime Minister of Australia, Whitlam declared an end to conscription and began arranging for those imprisoned for avoiding the draft to be released and compensated.

During the next few weeks he implemented a range of new measures including the establishment of an Australian honours system and the banning of racially selected sporting teams, a move intended to impede the South African Apartheid policy.

During its time in office, the Whitlam government embarked on an ambitious program of social reform in keeping with the promise of change that the ALP campaign emphasised.

[9] As noted by one historian, "Labor’s extensive reforms during its first term in office were the high water mark of Australian postwar social democracy.

[10] In addition, the principle of equal pay was extended, occupational health and safety was improved, annual leave loading was introduced, trade union education was established, four weeks of annual leave was achieved as a national standard[11] military conscription was abolished and Australian troops were withdrawn from Vietnam, a separate ministry responsible for Aboriginal affairs was established, controls on foreign ownership of Australian resources were put in place, laws against sexual discrimination were passed, maternity leave and benefits for single mothers were extended, an attempt was made to democratise the electoral system through the introduction of one-vote-one-value,[12] and a Community Health Program was introduced.

[13] The social services were also significantly expanded,[14] with big improvements in the real value of social security payments,[15] spending on housing quadrupled, education outlays doubled, and federal health expenditure rising by 20%[10] A Department of Aboriginal Affairs was also established, while Australia's first federal legislation on human rights, the environment and heritage was initiated.

[21] In 1978, one observer praised the Australian Assistance Plan for generating: "much more general acceptance of the concepts of welfare for the community and local participation.

It would be difficult to refute the conclusion that the sum of $6.6 million granted to Regional Councils of Social Development in 1975-76 promoted a very large amount of constructive welfare activity because it was spent in support of local and often voluntary efforts".

As a result of the welfare measures undertaken by the Whitlam government, social expenditures as a percentage of GDP rose from 12.5% to 17.6% during its time in office.

[24] Needs-based funding for schools was implemented, spending on technical colleges (including the construction of residential accommodation for students) was significantly increased, and special initiatives for the handicapped, Indigenous Australians, and isolated children were introduced.

Farmers benefited from tariff cuts and additional markets established by the Whitlam government's trade and diplomatic initiatives, together with higher spending on regional education and health, rural research, and other upgraded country facilities.

In 1974, a generous rental rebate scheme and improved concessions on government loans were introduced to benefit low income earners.

Outlays on Aboriginal affairs programs were significantly increased with expenditure rising in real terms by 254.6% for legal aid, employment by 350.9%, education by 97.1%, health by 234.6%, and housing by 103.7%.

[22] In 1973, an improved scheme of allowances was introduced to assist parents of children who did not have reasonable access to school services as a result of their geographic location.

Over 1,000 projects were funded, ranging from bee-keeping and remedial reading to computers, while a network of educational innovators was set up to exchange experiences and to provide mutual support among people who wanted to be active in improving schools.

During its last year in office, the Whitlam government carried out measures such as the introduction of a national employment and training scheme, the first no fault divorce procedure in the world via the Family Law Act 1975, and a welfare payment for homeless Australians.

The offices had a majority of Indigenous Australians on their governing bodies and, as a result, were integrated into local Aboriginal communities and provided trustworthy and effective legal representation.

In 2000, after another period of Liberal dominance, the phrase had an unsuccessful short-lived recurrence, with Whitlam speaking on behalf of the Leader of the Labor Party, Kim Beazley.