Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has condemned the 1975 dismissal of Gough Whitlam as a “partisan political ambush”, as Labor marks 50 years since one of Australia’s most turbulent moments in history.
Speaking at Old Parliament House in Canberra on Monday, Albanese said the sacking of the then-Prime Minister by Governor-General Sir John Kerr had “no legitimate pretext” and failed to “respect the mandate” of Whitlam’s democratically elected government.
“Make no mistake: November 11th 1975 was not a ‘constitutional crisis’ – it was a partisan political ambush,” he said.
“The opposition orchestrated a parliamentary gridlock over the budget and then secretly prevailed upon the governor-general to break it, by sacking the prime minister.”
The Prime Minister also announced plans for a statue honouring Whitlam’s legacy and his landmark reforms, including Medibank, free university education, Indigenous land rights and the creation of the Family Court.
Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek, a long-time friend of Gough and Margaret Whitlam, recalled the shock of the dismissal as one of her earliest political memories.
“I can’t imagine anybody thinking that it was the right course of action at the time … I firmly blame Kerr,” she said, describing the governor-general as “the villain of the piece.”
Ms Plibersek added that the event remains a reminder that “protecting our democratic institutions is more important than any person or any political party.”
Current Governor-General Sam Mostyn reflected that while such a move is “unlikely” to happen again, the episode continues to serve as a warning.
“The fact that we’re discussing it 50 years later… tells us that we will not be in this position where a governor-general will be sitting across from a sitting prime minister and effectively using the dismissal power,” she said.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
