The dismissal of the Whitlam Government on 11th November 1975 has been the only time that the Governor-General, the Queen's representative in Australia, has dismissed an Australian Prime Minister.
When Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was sacked by the Governor-General, John Kerr, it caused a political scandal that still shakes the foundations of Australian democracy to this day. The Labor party waited twenty-three years to get elected into government, and the dismissal was seen as a travesty for a democratically elected government.
Central to the dismissal were the letter exchanges between the Governor-General and the Queen's private secretary, Sir Martin Charteris. They have been kept hidden for forty-five years, but today the veil of secrecy was lifted following a recent High Court ruling. As they are known, The Palace letters provide a window into the Governor General's views of Gough Whitlam and his government, as well as his plans, options, and his decision to dismiss the government.
A defining feature of a constitutional monarchy is that the monarch must remain neutral when it comes to political matters. The fact that the Governor-General's letters provided a commentary of the political situation unfolding in Australia means that the Queen was far from being politically disinterested in what was happening.
For those that still harvest a grudge from 1975, the Palace letters will only make the call louder for a republic and our own head of state.
When Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was sacked by the Governor-General, John Kerr, it caused a political scandal that still shakes the foundations of Australian democracy to this day. The Labor party waited twenty-three years to get elected into government, and the dismissal was seen as a travesty for a democratically elected government.
Central to the dismissal were the letter exchanges between the Governor-General and the Queen's private secretary, Sir Martin Charteris. They have been kept hidden for forty-five years, but today the veil of secrecy was lifted following a recent High Court ruling. As they are known, The Palace letters provide a window into the Governor General's views of Gough Whitlam and his government, as well as his plans, options, and his decision to dismiss the government.
A defining feature of a constitutional monarchy is that the monarch must remain neutral when it comes to political matters. The fact that the Governor-General's letters provided a commentary of the political situation unfolding in Australia means that the Queen was far from being politically disinterested in what was happening.
For those that still harvest a grudge from 1975, the Palace letters will only make the call louder for a republic and our own head of state.