Explain the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government in 1975.
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Explain the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975. The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, commonly called The Dismissal, refers to the events that culminated with the removal of Australia's then Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, by Governor-General Sir John Kerr and appointing the Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister. It has been described as the greatest political and constitutional crisis in Australia's history.
The crisis began in the upper house of the Federal Parliament, the Senate, where the opposition Liberal-National Country Party coalition had a majority. Using a series of recent scandals as justification, the Senate announced it would defer any voting on the annual supply bills that appropriated funds for government expenditure until the Prime Minister called an election for the House of Representatives. The Whitlam Labor government dismissed such calls as being incompatible with the Westminster tradition of lower house supremacy. Simultaneously, the government pressured Liberal Senators to support the bills, while also exploring alternative means to fund government expenditure. The impasse extended into weeks, with the threat of the government failing to meet its financial obligations being ever present.
May 18, 1974 -- had been plagued by several financial scandals. In this context, two Liberal State Premiers, when faced with casual vacancies for those states in the Federal Senate, replaced, in one case a retiring Labor Senator, and in the other, a deceased Labor Senator with Senators who opposed the federal government. These actions are generally regarded as going against a strong convention under which retiring Senators are replaced with those of the party of the retiring Senator's choosing.
Quoting financial mismanagement as a pretext, these Senators helped to vote against the passage of the government's budget through the Upper House (a refusal of the Senate to pass the budget is known as blocking supply),...
The crisis began in the upper house of the Federal Parliament, the Senate, where the opposition Liberal-National Country Party coalition had a majority. Using a series of recent scandals as justification, the Senate announced it would defer any voting on the annual supply bills that appropriated funds for government expenditure until the Prime Minister called an election for the House of Representatives. The Whitlam Labor government dismissed such calls as being incompatible with the Westminster tradition of lower house supremacy. Simultaneously, the government pressured Liberal Senators to support the bills, while also exploring alternative means to fund government expenditure. The impasse extended into weeks, with the threat of the government failing to meet its financial obligations being ever present.
May 18, 1974 -- had been plagued by several financial scandals. In this context, two Liberal State Premiers, when faced with casual vacancies for those states in the Federal Senate, replaced, in one case a retiring Labor Senator, and in the other, a deceased Labor Senator with Senators who opposed the federal government. These actions are generally regarded as going against a strong convention under which retiring Senators are replaced with those of the party of the retiring Senator's choosing.
Quoting financial mismanagement as a pretext, these Senators helped to vote against the passage of the government's budget through the Upper House (a refusal of the Senate to pass the budget is known as blocking supply),...