Why whitlam was dismissed

Whitlam asserted the primacy of the House of Representatives and his right to govern so long as he retained a majority there, whereas Fraser claimed that a government denied Supply by the Senate should resign. This was a fundamental dispute about how we choose Governments. The conflict also highlighted the importance of constitutional conventions in the Australian system.

The Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, took an active interest in the crisis, talking to both Fraser and Whitlam at various points during the period following October At one point, Fraser offered to pass Supply, provided an election was called by the middle of On November 11, , Whitlam proposed calling an immediate half-Senate election, but the Governor-General rejected this advice and instead dismissed Whitlam from office.

Later, Kerr issued a statement of reasons for the dismissal. Fraser was offered a commission as caretaker Prime Minister which he accepted , and immediately sought a double dissolution election for 13 December. In the meantime, the Senate passed the Supply Bills, with the Labor senators unaware that their government had been dismissed.

The House passed several motions of confidence in the Whitlam Government and instructed the Speaker, Gordon Scholes, to relay this to Kerr. The Governor-General refused to see the Speaker until after he had dissolved the Parliament.

Scholes subsequently wrote to the Queen and received a letter in which the Queen indicated there was no place for her involvement in an Australian political conflict. The dismissal remains a controversial subject in Australian history. It is central to any understanding of the current debate about becoming a republic. The constitutional and political effects of the Dismissal remain of importance to anyone interested in Australian politics.

Leading up to the dismissal were a series of events from as early as March until September that served as a prologue to the high drama of 11 November This was done in an effort to force Prime Minister Gough Whitlam to call an election.

When Whitlam refused, a deadlock ensued. In the second Act the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, entered the drama as he considers his role in breaking the deadlock.

In June , well after the dismissal, Whitlam and his wife dined with Charteris and, the next day, Whitlam had an audience with the Queen. Gough Whitlam dismissal: what we know so far about the palace letters and Australian PM's sacking. Palace letters to be released 45 years after Australian government sensationally dismissed. Read more.

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