Gough Whitlam’s dismissal ‘a calculated plot’ to remove elected government via partisan ambush, PM says | Gough Whitlam

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Gough Whitlam’s sacking was not a constitutional crisis but a “calculated plot” to destroy a democratically elected government through a partisan ambush.

Ahead of Tuesday’s 50th anniversary of governor general Sir John Kerr’s move to dismiss the Labor government on 11 November 1975, Albanese condemned then opposition leader Malcolm Fraser in a speech at Old Parliament House and accused the Coalition of forming a government without any “legitimate pretext”.

“The opposition created a deadlock in parliament on the budget issue and then secretly persuaded the governor general to break the deadlock by sacking the prime minister,” he said.

“Sir John Kerr justified his actions on the basis of incorrect advice from the chief justice” [Garfield] Barwick, improperly given.

“But in reality the opposition fed Sir John Kerr’s desire to be at the center of events. And it fed his paranoia, his fear that Whitlam was planning to replace him.”

Albanese, who praised Whitlam’s three-year government for its spirit of reform, said Australia’s 21st prime minister had a flawed but unwavering belief that Kerr would do the right thing to end the impasse over the budget bills.

Instead Kerr sought advice from Barwick and fellow high court judge Anthony Mason, hinting to Fraser that he was prepared to use the constitution’s reserve powers to dismiss the government.

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The speech will please Labor zealots and Whitlam acolytes whose wounds are still fresh five decades on from the government’s dismissal.

Albanese said the “old stifling conservatism” of the Menzies era had risen from its political grave to bring down a government elected by voters.

“The dismissal was a calculated conspiracy by conservative forces who sacrificed traditions and institutions for the sake of power,” Albanese said.

“And the outcome of the election that followed does not eliminate any of this. Behind all the various plans and sub-scenarios… lies a clear refusal to respect the authority or even accept the legitimacy of the Labor government that has won majorities in two consecutive federal elections in three years.”

He announced plans to commission a statue of Whitlam to be placed in Old Parliament House, which houses the Museum of Australian Democracy. The work will join a growing collection in the national triangle that already includes depictions of trailblazing figures such as Sir Robert Menzies, John Curtin and Ben Chifley, as well as Enid Lyons, Dorothy Tangney and Neville Bonner.

Albanese said the sacking should not overshadow Whitlam’s policy achievements, citing the establishment of Medibank, free university education, the end of the White Australia policy, the Racial Discrimination Act and diplomatic relations with China.

Albanese said he was in seventh grade in November 1975 when history teacher Vince Crow entered the classroom and announced the impeachment of the government.

“What I remember most from those days is the sense of dread,” he said.

“A new sense of confidence, purpose and ambition after years of drift. A new sense of a distinct, proud Australian identity. More equal, more open, more comfortable in our region, more at peace with ourselves and a deeper belief in the capacity of our people.”

Whitlam would go on to lose the double purge election in December 1975, and Fraser, initially appointed as interim prime minister by Kerr, would remain in power until 1983.

Former prime minister Paul Keating, who served as a junior minister in the Whitlam government in 1975, will headline events commemorating the anniversary on Tuesday.

Governor-General Sam Mostyn, former Prime Minister John Howard, members of the Whitlam family and members of the Labor Party will attend the commemorations.