SAWB - Whitlam

This episode marks the 50th anniversary of the Whitlam government’s dismissal, reflecting on a lost opportunity for transformative workplace safety reform in Australia. Just before the dismissal, a national no-fault accident compensation scheme—based on the visionary Woodhouse Report—was poised to provide comprehensive support for all Australians affected by injury, but the scheme was shelved and never implemented. The episode explores how this missed reform has led to decades of fragmented compensation systems, ongoing challenges in workers’ welfare, and asks listeners to consider what a more unified, humane system of care could have meant for Australia.