John Faulkner: 

 

Let me take you back 50 years.

 

The legitimacy of the Federal Labor Government elected in December 1972, led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, was never accepted by the Opposition.

 

For the Labor faithful, Whitlam’s election offered hope, opportunity and the promise of real and lasting change. After 23 years of continuous opposition, we had so much to get done. We had a rich, full agenda. We had no time to spare.

 

After 23 years of government, the Coalition did not accept their defeat. The loss of what had been, and what they believed was justly theirs, drove maniacal efforts to reclaim government by any means. They never doubted they were ‘Born to Rule’. Damage to the nation’s fabric meant nothing to them.

 

Think of this: Since Federation in 1901, the Senate in its first 71 years of existence, had rejected only 68 government bills; in just the next three years, it rejected 93 Whitlam Government bills.

 

In May 1974, with supply blocked in the Senate, Gough resorted to a Double Dissolution to break the deadlock. He won that election, and achieved a majority in a joint sitting that followed - still the only joint sitting in our history. The joint sitting passed six key bills, including Medibank.

 

Labor’s re-election did not alter the mindset of the Coalition. Not one bit.

 

Conservative State Premiers abandoned the convention of filling casual Senate vacancies with a nominee of the same party. Labor was down two Senate seats it had won in 1974. 

 

On 15 October 1975 the Opposition announced it would withhold supply until the government agreed to go to an election.

Delaying the passage of the budget was possible solely because Coalition State Governments had broken the convention on filling Senate vacancies.

 

The Liberal/National Parties at all levels, they the parties of tradition and conservatism, abandoned all decencies and conventions in favour of a reckless path back into government.  

 

Even then their strategy was failing - and was going to founder - but for the treachery of  the Governor General, Sir John Kerr. He debauched his office by conspiring against, and deceiving, the elected Prime Minister.  

 

As the stalemate between the Houses over the blocking of supply rolled on, Kerr did not inform Whitlam that he was considering the dismissal of the government. Kerr did not so much as hint at such a possibility.

 

Whitlam advised Kerr not to consult the Chief Justice, Sir Garfield Barwick. Kerr consulted Barwick.

 

Kerr did not inform Whitlam that he sought advice from High Court Justice Sir Anthony Mason. Thanks to Jenny Hocking’s research we now know Mason provided advice secretly to Kerr on multiple occasions.

 

On 11 November 1975, Kerr ambushed Whitlam.

 

At 1.00pm Whitlam arrived at Yarralumla – Government House - to advise the Governor General that a half-senate Election be held.

 

Kerr didn’t waste words or time. Kerr informed Whitlam he had withdrawn his commission and handed Gough his letter of dismissal.

 

A couple of minutes later, Kerr completed the ambush. Liberal Opposition Leader Malcolm Fraser, hidden metres away in an  anteroom at Yarralumla, was sworn in as Prime Minister.

 

The elected Prime Minister of Australia headed back to The Lodge. Here at our annual Margaret Whitlam Dinner, it is worth remembering that Gough’s first phone call was to Margaret in Sydney.

 

“I’ve been sacked”, he said. Margaret told him not to be ridiculous: “He can’t sack you, you’re the Prime Minister”.

 

Margaret told Gough he should have just torn up the letter of dismissal. A typical Gough response followed: “You can’t do that; it’s a legal document”.

 

Margaret wasn’t too worried about the document’s legal status.

 

She told Gough: “You should’ve slapped his face and told him to pull himself together”.

 

Margaret’s response was strong – but Paul Keating’s was even stronger. Paul has always correctly said that Kerr was abusing a ‘kingly’ power that was not Kerr’s power to abuse.

 

Keating has recently shared what he would have told Kerr. I quote: “you’re seeking to illegally dismiss the government of Australia which I regard as a criminal act, and I am ordering the police to arrest you”. 

 

Don’t think those views are just a recent reflection. A couple of hours after the Dismissal, Keating described Kerr to his senior colleagues Frank Crean and Fred Daly as – and I quote - “a pseudo crim”… “and what you do with pseudo crims is - you lock them up”.

 

As someone who served in the Senate, my thoughts about that day have always gone to what might have occurred in that chamber - where the Whitlam Government had been so frustrated – if Labor senators had been told about the government’s sacking.

 

On returning to The Lodge after the Dismissal, Gough planned tactics with senior cabinet colleagues and senior staff.

 

He was joined by Deputy Prime Minister Frank Crean, the very experienced Leader of the House Fred Daly, Attorney General Kep Enderby and Speaker Gordon Scholes.

 

Present too were key staffers John Mant and Graham Freudenberg, and for a short time the Secretary of the Prime Ministers’ Department, John Menadue. The National Secretary of the Labor Party David Combe was also there.

 

Gough had time to eat his lunch - medium steak with German mustard and a horiatiki side salad. (Yes, I checked that out with Gough!)

 

Unfortunately, Gough and his inner circle – every one of them - focused exclusively on how events would unfold that afternoon in the House of Representatives. Incredibly, with the Senate due to consider the Appropriation Bills shortly after resuming at 2 pm, no one thought to tell any Labor senators, let alone the Labor Senate leadership, that the Government had been sacked.

 

The Appropriation Bills were brought on for a Senate vote at 2:20 pm. To the complete surprise of Labor Senators, the Coalition instantly ticked them through on the voices. Labor senators had no idea their government had been dismissed!

 

With the supply bills passed, the last vital stage of the coup was completed in just a couple of minutes. Labor had forfeited its best chance, perhaps only chance, to frustrate Kerr’s decision.

 

It would have been very easy for any Labor senator wanting to delay or upend Senate business, to raise merry hell while events unfolded elsewhere in Parliament House and Government House. Not for minutes, but for many, many hours.

 

The opportunity was there for Labor to return the favour – with interest - in the chamber which had caused the Whitlam Government such grief. It did not happen because not one of those meeting at The Lodge thought to tell their Senate team about the Dismissal.

 

It was a huge mistake. It mattered – because Kerr had told Fraser during their secret collusion that a condition of Whitlam’s sacking was Fraser obtaining supply. Only then was Kerr willing to dissolve the parliament so an election could be held.

 

As the then Senate Clerk, Jim Odgers wrote: “If the Senate had been informed of the dismissal of the Whitlam Ministry, the course of events might have been different”.  

 

That’s what might have been – but here’s what did happen.

 

After the Dismissal, Kerr – advised by Mason again - ignored a House of Representatives motion that expressed no confidence in Fraser and called upon Kerr to re-commission a Whitlam Government. 

 

Kerr thumbed his nose at the Parliament of Australia. Although lacking the confidence of the House of Representatives, Malcolm Fraser remained Prime Minister. So contemptuous, improper and unethical was Kerr that he refused to receive the Speaker at Yarralumla until he had dissolved the parliament.

 

After the dissolution of both houses was proclaimed on the steps of Old Parliament House, Gough Whitlam took the microphone to make the greatest extemporaneous political speech in our nation’s history where he exhorted supporters to maintain their ‘rage and enthusiasm’.

 

As we reflect on the Dismissal, I hope the achievements of Gough Whitlam and his government will also be acknowledged.

 

Gough set aflame a languishing light on the hill for the Labor Party and its supporters in the 1960s and 70s.   

 

Yes, he took risks and he certainly made mistakes – some of them as I have said before on a grand scale - but remember what an inspiring and visionary leader he was:

 

• He reformed the Labor Party and made it electable and worth electing,
• He delivered two election victories for Labor after 23 years of continuous conservative government,
• He inspired and transformed the nation delivering a fairer, better, more open, more modern, more vibrant, more creative, more outward-looking and more independent Australia.

 

For many Australians, Gough Whitlam remains a heroic figure – his standing never dimmed by the Dismissal.

 

Yes, Labor lost the election which followed the Dismissal - but, half a century later, it is clear the constitutional argument has been won.

 

These days it is near impossible to find a supporter of Kerr’s actions in 1975.

 

The Senate has not since contemplated withholding supply and dividing the nation.

 

It is accepted Kerr conspired against, and deceived, his Prime Minister.

 

That he improperly misused the reserve powers.

 

That he was partisan and dishonest.

 

That he failed to observe longstanding conventions.

 

That he abused his office and that such a reprehensible abuse of power must never happen again.

 

Now, a final word………It is a great thing that thanks to Tanya & her team, this Annual Margaret Whitlam Dinner is now a Labor Party institution.

 

Commitment to political reform and a better life for all Australians were shared values of Gough and Margaret Whitlam.  They both made a magnificent contribution to our party.

 

Tonight, as we reflect on the extraordinary political events and struggles of 50 years ago, let us also remember that Margaret was always there, always by Gough’s side – but never, never in his shadow.