i) The Whitlam Years The Labor Party split in 1955 and �effectively� kept itself out of power for 17 years until 1972 when it was led by its most inspiring politician for years � the towering, bushy-browed and charismatic Gough Whitlam. (picture, right - at his dismissal in 1975) The Labor Party won office in 1972, and moved quickly to abolish military conscription, end Australia�s involvement in Vietnam, recognize China and begin the long task of reconstructing the social welfare system. Everything seemed to be happening at once, with plans for a universal health care system, increased support for the arts (with a spate of Australian films being made), the formal end of White Australia etc etc.

However, Whitlam underestimated the strength of the conservative resistance. He won the next election in 1974 but was confronted with a sudden and unexpected world recession provoked by an oil price hike. For the first time in nearly 30 years, Australians faced the unfamiliar pain of inflation and unemployment. The Labor government was beset by a series of scandals, including an attempt to borrow four billion petrodollars through a questionable intermediary.

Labor was also hobbled in its programme by the conservatives� control of the Senate. In 1975 the Liberal-National Country Party opposition, led by Malcolm Fraser, used his power to deny the government its money supply. Whitlam refused to resign, and Australia was thrust into the gravest political and constitutional crisis of its history. This was resolved in a most controversial manner: the Governor General, Sir John Kerr, as the Queen�s representative in Australia � sacked Gough Whitlam. It was an act that many considered illegal � in spirit, if not in the letter of the constitution.

ii) The Fraser Years Malcolm Fraser won office for the next 7 years, and swore he would take politics off the front page. For much of the period, he succeeded, with Australians appearing sick of political turmoil and unready for further reforms.

iii) The Bob Hawke and Paul Keating era In 1983, a new Labor era began when Australians voted in a government led by Bob Hawke, an ex-union leader, ex-Rhodes Scholar and ex-world champion beer drinker (!). For the next 13 years, the Labor Party ruled with little challenge (with the austere, aristocratic Paul Keating taking over the PM�s position in the early 1990s). The new look Labor government had to deal with an ever-sliding Australian economy. Labor presided over a push towards free market policies, yet was able to maintain a level of social justice by keeping the welfare system intact.

Diplomatically and economically, Australia linked itself much more closely to Asia, while on the home front Asian immigration was stepped up. Women were admitted to more positions of power, and Aboriginal �land rights� (control over their native homes) was put on the national agenda, The celebration of the Bicentennial of British settlement in 1988 was a landmark of Australian self-confidence [see panorama of the magnificent new Parliament House of Australia opened in 1988] , but also a cause for some soul-searching. A High Court ruling, known as the Mabo case, abolished the historical fiction of terra nullius � the colonial doctrine that said Australia was uninhabited when the British arrived � and opened the way to Aboriginal land claims. For example, in 1987 � Uluru (Ayers Rock) was returned to the Aboriginal people. Australians in the 90s also finally began talking seriously about becoming a Republic at last � an initiative spurred on by the news that Sydney would be host to the Olympic Games in the year 2000.

iv) The Howard Years - current Despite the steady achievements of the 80s and 90s, Australian voters wearied of the Labor Party in 1996, and voted in a more conservative Liberal government, led by John Howard. He was a man whose staid, characterless demeanour resembled that of a surburban accountant. He was also against the push towards Australia being a republic, and was loyal to the Queen of England. In economic matters, Howard began pushing for a freer market and smaller government. But for the progressive spirit of the Australian society � so utterly transformed in the post-war era � there could be no turning back the clock. However, the vote towards being a republic was defeated in 2000 after much politicking and bickering. Certain things still take more time for change. Comparing the changes in Australia in the past 212 years to the 50,000 years of Aboriginal history, things have really changed, mate !