Yahoo Lifestyle Cate Blanchett Gives Amazing Speech On Gough Whitlam
Cate Blanchett and thousands of mourners paid tribute to the late Gough Whitlam today at a memorial held in Sydney.
The actress was joined by a number of notable faces including politicians Julia Gillard (who was cheered by the audience as she entered the venue) and Tony Abbott and John Howard (who were subsequently booed).
The Australian actress was chosen to speak about Whitlam's impact on women and the arts over the course of his lifetime, to which, she said, was an overwhelming task.
"Today I was faced with talking about the impact of Gough Whitlam on women and the arts, and I was overwhelmed. So, I stuck a random pin in the map. Because the effect on the geo-cultural political map of Australia made by Gough is so vast, that wherever you stick the pin in, you get a wealth of Gough's legacy."
Blanchett then detailed how Whitlam had changed Australia for the better in the areas of education, gender equality, the arts and more.
"I am the beneficiary of free tertiary education," said Blanchett, to which the audience erupted into enormous applause. "I am the beneficiary of free health care and that meant that the little I earned... could go toward seeing shows, bands, and living inside my generation's expression... I am the beneficiary of a foreign policy that put us on the world stage and put us on the front foot in our region. I am a product of an Australian that engages with the globe and engages with its history and its Indigenous peoples. I am a small part of Australia's coming of age and so many of those initiatives were enacted when I was three."
Blanchett also took the opportunity to speak about Whitlam's lasting legacy on women.
"I am a working mother of three," Blanchett explained. "When I took on the role in (Australian film) Little Fish, I had just had my second child. No-one batted an eyelid, no-one passed judgement and no-one deemed me incapable. Because the culture around women and the right for women to work as equals had also been addressed significantly by Gough Whitlam."
The video then cuts to Julia Gillard joining in on the thundering applause (we're unsure of Tony Abbott's reaction...)
Blanchett also discussed Whitlam's contribution to the Equal Pay for Equal Work campaign, and touched on his forward-thinking decision to appoint women into senior areas of government.
"I was but three when he passed by, but I shall be grateful till the day I die," Blanchett finished.
Amen.
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