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1949 – Ben Chifley makes the ‘Light on the Hill’ speech

Ben Chifley is probably most remembered for two things: his serious efforts to implement some of the more socialist ideals of the Australian Labour Party, and this speech. Both, ultimately, come from the same wellspring: Chifley’s compassionate idealism.

He is also the only Australian Prime Minister never to have lived at the Lodge, and the only Labour Prime Minister to have sent the troops in to break a strike – and one from a communist trade union, at that.

I haven’t talked much at all about the speech here, for one very simple reason: I think you should read it yourself.

Referenced in:

Neighbourhood Watch – My Friend The Chocolate Cake

Counterfactual: What if Harold Holt had lived?

Howard Holt, the Prime Minister of Australia, went missing while swimming at Cheviot Beach, near Portsea, on December 17, 1967. His body was never found, and he was declared dead two days later. After a brief leadership crisis in the Liberal-National Party coalition, which Holt led, he was succeeded by John Gorton.

But what if he hadn’t died?
Continue reading Counterfactual: What if Harold Holt had lived? »