A Golden anniversay

It has been 50 years since The Dismissal, that climactic day the Governor General sacked the Whitlam government. Since it’s a golden anniversary, the press has been full of it, telling stories from (elderly) people who were there. Our Dear Leader, current PM Anthony Albanese, has had much to say about that sacked prime minister his idol, Gough Whitlam, all of it fulsome praise, blaming the sacking on a plot orchestrated by the Liberal and National parties.

There’s nothing like a bit of conspiracy theory.

I remember well how delighted we all were when the shambolic years following Sir Robert Menzies’ retirement was finally ended. Since he left office in 1966 we had four Prime Ministers, ending with with William McMahon who lost in a landslide to Labor in 1972. Tall, eloquent Gough Whitlam with his telling ‘it’s time’ slogan won over everybody. Including me.

It was the start of what went on to be remembered as probably the worst government in Australian history. Gough and his troops did a few excellent things for social services (as is the Labor way). His government:

• Introduced universal health care via the Medibank scheme (which later became Medicare) so more Australians could access health services. MOAD
• Abolished university fees and expanded access to tertiary education. Wikipedia
• Created new Commonwealth agencies for Aboriginal affairs, environment, urban and regional development – signalling a shift toward addressing social justice and infrastructure. National Museum of Australia
• Launched major infrastructure and community-program initiatives: the National Sewerage Program (addressing basic sanitation in urban areas) is one example. Wikipedia
• Fostered a more independent Australian identity on the world stage (for example, establishing diplomatic relations with China) and moved away from elements of the old British-dominated order. Wikipedia
• Strengthened arts, culture and national heritage: more recognition of Australian culture, support for the arts, and the replacement of the old British honours system with the Order of Australia.
• abolished university fees  (but that was unsustainable and was quietly corrected by a much, much better Labor government under Bob Hawke.)

Although he claimed responsiblity for bringing the troops back from Vietnam, most Australian combat troops were already being withdrawn from Vietnam under the Coalition before Whitlam took office, and by late 1972 only a small contingent remained. The Whitlam government did bring home the last personnel and abolished conscription, but they did not initiate the main withdrawal. In short, they completed the process and claimed the political credit, but the heavy lifting had already been done.

As time went by, the wheels fell off. The Whitlam government looked increasingly chaotic. Ministers fought each other, several made serious blunders, and Whitlam kept reshuffling his Cabinet. The Loans Affair made the government look sloppy and untrustworthy, since it involved secret overseas loan deals and a Treasurer misleading parliament. Inflation was roaring, unemployment was rising, and voters blamed the government for the economic pain. On top of that, Whitlam was seen as bold but careless, spending fast while the economy was wobbling. By late 1975 the public mood had swung. People, including me, were tired of the drama, worried about the economy, and no longer confident the government knew what it was doing.

Rivalries inside Whitlam’s government and the chaotic Loans Affair badly damaged its credibility. Two ministers, Rex Connor and Jim Cairns, became entangled in secret overseas loan negotiations, and Cairns misled parliament. Whitlam eventually sacked them, but the scandal handed opposition leader Malcolm Fraser the excuse he needed to block the Budget in the Senate and push for an election.

The crisis deepened when the NSW and Queensland premiers broke convention by filling two vacant Senate seats with non-Labor replacements, weakening Whitlam’s numbers even further.

By late 1975 the parliament was locked in a brutal deadlock. The Opposition used its Senate majority to delay Supply and choke the government financially. On 11 November, Whitlam went to Governor-General Sir John Kerr to request a half-Senate election, but Kerr instead dismissed him and installed Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister. The Budget was passed that day, and the next morning the Opposition took control despite being a minority in the House. More about the Whitlam years.

Even I, a rusted on Labor voter, voted Liberal in 1975. Malcolm Fraser’s LNP won in a landslide.

1975 is the only time I’ve heard of in Aussie politics that the senate blocked supply, the all-important bill that provides funds to pay for all government projects. It’s analogous to what’s happened in the US several times over the past years. Government employees don’t get paid, which is very hard for everybody – in fact it’s in my opinion unconscionable. We have governments to help people, not drive them to despair.

In Australia the Constitution still gives the Senate the power to block or delay Appropriation Bills. Nothing in the 1975 crisis changed that. There was no constitutional amendment, no new law, no limit placed on the Senate’s ability to refuse Supply. So in theory, the Senate could do it again.

In practice, it is very unlikely. After 1975 the political cost of blocking Supply became enormous. No major party wants to be blamed for triggering another national crisis. Both sides now treat Supply as off-limits, a line you do not cross unless you want to be roasted alive in public.

So the power is still there, untouched, but everyone is too scared of the fallout to use it.

However, after the chaos of 1975, Australians voted in a 1977 referendum to change Section 15 of the Constitution. The amendment requires that when a senator retires or dies mid-term, the state parliament must, if possible, replace them with someone from the same political party. In other words, what NSW and Queensland did in 1975 can no longer happen, because the Constitution now locks in party-aligned replacements.

Apart from that I’m very busy tweaking books and covers and learning the ins and outs of marketing. It’s just like having a real, full-on job. I even wake up at 3am thinking worky thoughts. However… it’s fun.

Let’s finish with a picture to put everything into perspective.