My political hero is Jack Lang. Jack Lang was an Australian politician  who was Premier of my home State New South Wales for two terms ( 1925-27  ) - ( 1930 - 32 ). "The Big Fella" was a hero of working class  Australians and a man that believed in himself and new ideas. A  visionary. Jack Lang was a great Australian and an underrated politician  that achieved great things during his career. His impact on Australian  politics and Australian society is not celebrated like it should be.

Lang  was a populist politician that denounced the wealthy for their excesses  and attacked his political opponents with his powerful and unrestrained  oratory skills. His followers used slogans including "Lang is right"  and "Lang is greater than Lenin". Jack Lang was a hero of the working  class that was fighting for social justice but he was more of a State Capitalist than a communist.


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Lang's first term During his first term as Premier, Lang carried out many social programmes, including state pensions for widowed mothers with dependent children under fourteen, a universal and mandatory system of workers' compensation for death, illness and injury incurred on the job, funded by premiums levied on employers, the abolition of student fees in state-run high schools and improvements to various welfare schemes such as child endowment (which Lang's government had introduced). Various laws were introduced providing for improvements in the accommodation of rural workers, changes in the industrial arbitration system, and a 44-hour workweek. Extensions were made to the applicability of the Fair Rents Act whilst compulsory marketing along the lines of what existed in Queensland was introduced. Adult franchise for local government elections was also introduced, together with Legislation to safeguard native flora and to penalize ships for discharging oil.His government also carried out road improvements, including paving much of the Hume Highway and the Great Western Highway. Lang also restored the seniority and conditions to New South Wales Government Railways and New South Wales Government Tramways workers who had been sacked or demoted after the General Strike of 1917, including Ben Chiffley, a future Prime Minister of Australia. Lang established universal suffrage in local government elections - previously only those who owned real estate in a city, municipality or shire could vote in that area's local council elections. His government also passed legislation to allow women to sit in the upper house of the New South Wales Parliament in 1926. This was the first government to do so in the British Empire and three years before the ''Persons Case' decision of the Privy Council in London would grant the same privilege to women throughout the Empire.

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Lang's second term In 1930, more than one in five adult males in New South Wales was without a job. Australian governments responded to the Depression with measures that, Lang claimed, made circumstances even worse - cuts to government spending, civil service salaries and public works cancellations. Lang vigorously opposed these measures and was elected in a landslide in October 1930. As Premier, Lang refused to cut government salaries and spending, a stand which was popular with his constituents, but which made the state's fiscal position more parlous, though the economic state of the six other various Australian governments fared little better during this same period. In the wake of the Great Depression, measures were taken to ease the hardships of evicted tenants together with the hardships facing householders and other debtors battling to meet repayments. He passed laws restricting the rights of landlords to evict defaulting tenants, and insisted on paying the legal minimum wage to all workers on relief projects. At an economic crisis conference in Canberra in 1931, Jack Lang announced his own programme for economic recovery. The "Lang Plan" advocated the repudiation of interest payments to overseas creditors until domestic conditions improved, the abolition of the Gold Standard to be replaced by a "Goods Standard" where the amount of money in circulation was linked to the amount of goods produced, and the immediate injection of £18 million of new money into the economy in the form of Commonwealth Bank of Australia credit. The Prime Minister and all other state Premiers rejected the plan.

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Lang is best remembered for his role in the controversy that surrounded  the construction and opening of The Sydney Harbour Bridge. Lang was one  of the first Australian politicians to truly stand up to the British  Empire and the Sydney Harbour Bridge controversy was a watershed moment  in Australian history where Australians began to take on a far more independent identity.

Lang, as Premier of NSW insisted on opening The Sydney Harbour Bridge himself and refused to allow the Kings representative.

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On 19 March 1932, Lang opened the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Lang caused some controversy when he insisted on officially opening the bridge himself, rather than allowing the Governor, the King's representative in NSW, to do so. He delivered what has come to be regarded as a landmark speech in Australian political history during the Opening, citing the theme that the completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was analogous to the history, development and dreams of the Australian nation and its people. It may be inferred that this speech depicted Lang's personal vision of the past, present and future of New South Wales and Australia's place in the British Empire and world, (to read this speech, refer to 'Stirring Australian Speeches', edited by Michael Cathcart and Kate Darian-Smith). Just as Lang was about to cut the ribbon to open the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Captain Francis de Groot, a member of the paramilitary New Guard movement, rode up and broke the ribbon. The New Guard also planned to kidnap Lang, and plotted a coup against him during the crisis that brought Lang's premiership to an end.

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The  New Guard were Monarchists and furious with Lang for disrespecting the  Motherland in such fashion. The episode in Australian history  demonstrates well the sense of tradition that many still felt here in  Australia and also the growing feelings of independence that Jack Lang  personified so well. The opening of The Sydney Harbour Bridge, despite  the antics of the paramilitary Monarchists and their lunatic leader de  Groot, was an historic event for New South Welshmen and for Australians.  The opening was an event that filled Australians with pride and helped  us to embrace the desires to stand alone without the English giving us  direction and orders. For New South Welshmen the opening of The Sydney  Harbour Bridge and the completed bridge itself was NSW sticking it up to  the uppity Victorians. NSW and VIC have always had a rivalry because of  the feelings of inferiority Victorians have due to belonging to a  lesser State. NSW has always been The Premier State and our new Sydney  Harbour Bridge was proof of that. It was New South Wales saying - take  that Victoria. Do you like our bridge Victoria? Where is your great bridge Victoria?

My Father made me aware of Lang by telling me the story of how he took all of New South Wales' money out of the bank to prevent ruthless and uncaring bondholders and financiers on government borrowings from forcing harsh austerity on the workers of NSW during the depression. This is unthinkable in modern times but Lang did it. The Lang Plan would have worked and the action he took, risking his career for the sake of the working class of our State is in my opinion the most heroic action of his political career.


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The Crisis of 1931-32     Early in 1931, Jack Lang released his own plan to combat the Depression; this became known as "the Lang Plan". This was in contrast to the "Melbourne Agreement" which all other State Governments and the Federal Government had agreed to in 1930. Key points of the Lang Plan included the reduction of interest owed by Australian Governments on debts within Australia to 3%, the cancellation of interest payments to overseas bondholders and financiers on government borrowings, the injection of more funds into the nation's money supply as central bank credit for the revitalisation of industry and commerce, and the abolition of the Gold Standard, to be replaced by a "Goods Standard," whereby the amount of currency in circulation would be fixed to the amount of goods produced within the Australian economy. The banks had indicated that if he paid the interest they would advance him an additional amount which was greater than the interest, thus giving him a positive cash flow.     Lang opposed the Premiers' Plan agreed to by the federal Labor government of James Scullin and the other state Premiers, who called for even more stringent cuts to government spending to balance the budget. In October 1931 Lang's followers in the federal House of Representatives crossed the floor to vote with the conservative united Australia Party and bring down the Scullin government. This action split the NSW Labor Party in two - Lang's followers became known as Lang Labor, while Scullin's supporters, led by Chifley, became known in NSW as Federal Labor. Most of the party's branches and affiliated trade unions supported Lang.     Since the Commonwealth Government had become responsible for state debts in 1928 under an amendment to the Constitution, the new UAP government of Joseph Lyons paid the interest to the overseas bondholders, and then set about extracting the money from NSW by passing the Financial Agreement Enforcement Act 1932, which the High Court held to be valid. Lang then contended that the Act was rendered null and void by contravening the 1833 prohibition of slavery throughout the British Empire; the Premier held that the actions of the Lyons government deprived the State of New South Wales of paying the wages of State employees and that this necessarily constituted an (illegal) state of slavery.

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In response, Lang withdrew all the state's funds from government bank accounts and held them at Trades Hall in cash, so the federal government could not gain access to the money. The Governor, Sir Phillip Game, a retired Royal Air Force officer, advised Lang that in his view this action was illegal, and that if Lang did not reverse it he would dismiss the government. Lang stood firm, and on 13 May 1932 the Governor withdrew Lang's commission and appointed the UAP leader, Bertram Stevens as premier.

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Can you imagine a European leader taking similar action against the IMF in modern times? I cannot.

Lang was right.

Not surprisingly my other political hero is Paul Keating who was considered a protege of Jack Lang. Both are Labor Party men and both New South Welshmen. My Father and uncles actually went to the same school as Keating, De La Salle Catholic College in Bankstown. I was born in Parramatta, Langs constistuency 1925-27. My Mother born in Auburn, Langs constituency 1930-32. I am from the same stock as Lang and Keating. (: Lang was a hero of the working class, a great Australian and in my opinion the most important political and historical figure in Australian history. His impact on politics and Australian society is unmatched.

Lang was right!

Greater than Lenin!

Australian politics needs a modern Jack Lang. A man with vision. Lang was not afraid to break away from the British Empire and not afraid to place the interests of Australians above that of the British. In modern times we need men that will stand up to the United States in a similar way to how Lang dealt with the British. With the Asian Century already begun it is no longer sensible for Australia to allow our friendship with the USA to interfere with our other friendships like the strong friendship that we have developed with China. Paul Keating, Langs protege is a big supporter of China and this is no surprise to me. Of course Keating sees the need for Australia to continue to strengthen ties with China, as do I. We cannot allow the USA to stand between us and China. There is no need for us to choose between the two but Australia needs to act with a more independent nature in my opinion.

Lang was right!