The US often draws on the American Revolution in its public debates. Australia has the unparalleled achievement of our 1850s democratic revolution, led by William Wentworth.

Wentworth saw an independent Parliament as the key to the future and prosperity. And it was.

We need to recover Wentworth’s sense of possibility. He supported emancipating convicts, self-government by an independent Parliament not the Governor, and in 1813 discovered a way through the Blue Mountains which opened up the country. Our 1850s one-man one-vote constitutions, including Aborigines, broadened our vision.

He saw the promise of pastoral industry riches, the main source of Australia’s riches until the 1950s. From the beginning we were about hard work and endeavour.

Wentworth is almost unknown, but the US actually knows and values its history. John Adams, a Revolutionary leader and later President, said that:

‘The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people … this radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American Revolution.’

Ronald Reagan celebrated the ‘torch of freedom’ given by the ‘Founding Fathers’. Andy Craig said the Revolution led to an ‘unprecedented era of peace, prosperity, moral progress, and human flourishing’. Barack Obama wanted a ‘more perfect union’ as part of the ongoing American Revolution which is never complete.

We did not have a violent Revolution, but rather 1850s constitutional conventions in each colony which formulated one-man one-vote constitutions for self-government.

During the 1850s conventions our ‘principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections’ were to seek prosperity through democracy. Through establishing British modelled parliaments amended to provide votes for all men, including Aborigines, and the secret ballot. We were loyal to Britain.

Parliament would control Crown lands to enable economic development, and conservative upper houses would protect property rights.

We were traditionalist, liberal, practical, made decisions with common sense, and promoted economic development, although there was terrible hardship and mistakes. We were not ‘perfect’ but human, as we always are.

Ordinary people worked hard and took risks to unlock the land to rivers of gold, to develop vast cattle and sheep runs, and mining, and later land reform. We became comparatively very rich, which founded our welfare state and good wages.

Aboriginal workers were key to outback success. We need to restore this working history and emulate it today. Employment is the only way to ‘close the gap’. The ‘struggle’ must focus on that.

Today, by contrast, we allowed productivity growth to stagnate.

We limit mining riches, tolerate unsustainable budget costs from the NDIS and higher power prices.

Our children do not receive the ‘fair go’ on housing and economics they should.

Threatening attitudes from overseas hotspots dominate our streets. Violent antisemitism has occurred.

The 1988 Fitzgerald review said our immigration policies ignore the views of ordinary Australians:

‘The program is not identified in the public mind with the national interest… many Australians are not convinced that immigrants are making a commitment to their new country. Inevitable changes to their society, brought by immigration, trouble them.’

Fitzgerald was ignored.

But it is not all mistakes. Prime Minister Morrison was central to constructing a new network of defence alliances, waking the world up to new geopolitical dangers, and got us through Covid. Prime Minister Tony Abbott convinced Australians to ‘stop the boats’. This is something that Europe is attempting and failing. Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, and John Howard reformed the economy. The first two set up Medicare.

Mainly British settlers, Aborigines, and later modern immigrants worked hard, took terrible risks, and sometimes lost their lives. An ‘unprecedented era of peace, prosperity, moral progress, and human flourishing’ resulted from the Wentworth settlement.

Scottish islanders and crofters abandoned their old ‘black houses’ because they wanted aluminium-framed windows which kept out the rain and cold wind, and let in sunlight. Although black houses were traditional and romantic. Sometimes they emigrated for better wages.

Traditional ways of life, particularly tribal hunting and gathering life, have many restrictions and problems.

Often including extreme violence and starvation, and disease, as any glance at Scottish or Nordic history, or just about any tribal history would indicate.

What distinguishes successful first-world countries such as America and Australia are the unparalleled modern benefits arising from development.

However, we damaged growth through an overemphasis on stopping things. We were severely distracted.

In consequence, our children no longer enjoy the economic ‘fair go’ they should.

We need to therefore recover William Wentworth’s sense of possibility by lessening economic restrictions in regulations, tax, housing, mining approvals.

Economic growth must be the priority of all government ministers.

As Lord Liverpool, Prime Minister, said in 1820, technology is key to prosperity:

‘Next to the spirit of her people, England is indebted for her commercial power and greatness to the inventions which this people have made in machinery.’ (Martin Hutchinson and Kevin Dowd)

AI problems should be dealt with by existing award consultation clauses which require consultation with employees over major change, and other laws.

There should be a stocktake and moratorium on new welfare, and expenditure reductions. Control spending of the states.

We should finally implement the Fitzgerald report on immigration by strengthening cultural and values tests.

The Productivity Roundtable of 2025 will completely fail if it does not emulate Wentworth’s Whiggish vision of a new prosperous developing Australia.

He saw our ports as a ‘forest’ of ship masts, where we clear the plains, ‘tend with watchful dog the timid sheep’, ‘tame the steed’, ‘yoke the stubborn steer’, and plough, sew and watch the ‘harvest from its birth’.

From sea to shining sea.

Hon. Reg Hamilton, Adjunct Professor, School of Business and Law, Central Queensland University