Whitlam didn't really end our old honours system. We're still handing Orders of Australia to the wrong people
- Written by Nicholas Gruen, Adjunct Professor, Business School, University of Technology Sydney
We think of Gough Whitlam’s 1972-1975 government as the most radical in our postwar history, dedicated to its leader’s “crash through or crash” style. (In the end, he crashed.)
But Whitlam’s approach to Australian honours was bold only on the surface.
Imperial Honours were scrapped. Today it’s...