Mannkal's e-Focus
Greetings!, The end of October cannot go by without mentioning the passing of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Despite the arguments for and against Whitlam, which have emerged in full force in recent weeks, it is important to learn from the mistakes and triumphs of history. As Senator David Leyonhjelm recently wrote:
"Perhaps none of us should look at Whitlam as either a great Prime Minister or a terrible one. The one man did some great and some lousy things. I am grateful for the great things." In the spirit of encouraging sensible economic policies, Mannkal would like to acknowledge 3 policies of the former Prime Minister that were liberal in nature: 1) Abolishing the Death Penalty In 1973, the Whitlam Government introduced legislation to abolish the death penalty for federal crimes. In Whitlam's opinion:
"Capital punishment is just as barbaric and inexcusable in the hands of States as it is in the hands of individuals. As we know, it barbarises and unsettles the executioners themselves" 2) Put an End to Conscription Australia implemented conscription throughout the Vietnam War with conscripts randomly chosen through a ballot of birthdays. The ballot became known as the "lottery of death". By putting an end to conscription the Whitlam Government ensured that draft resisters were no longer imprisoned for choosing not to fight in a war that is renowned for dividing Australia. 3) Cut Tariffs by 25% A 25% reduction in tariffs across the board was introduced by the Whitlam Government in 1973. This effectively paved the way for opening Australia up to the global economy. Unfortunately, this initiative was short-lived and tariffs were restored to their previous levels the following year.
To read Hal Colebatch's article on Gough Whitlam featured in The Australian, please click here.
To view Mannkal's Musings, please click here. Please feel free to forward this email or any of this material to your own contacts. To subscribe to this publication, please click here (for new subscribers only). Ron's regular Mannerisms this month is a tale of Kalgoorlie-style entrepreneurship (please scroll to the end). Ron's tribute to those who fought for our freedom in World War I will be released later this week. 
Paul McCarthy CEO | 
