Queen Elizabeth was told of Sir John Kerr’s consideration of the dismissal of prime minister Gough Whitlam months before the historic decision of November 1975, the palace letters reveal.
But in another letter, Sir John claims that his final decision to dismiss Mr Whitlam was made without the Queen’s knowledge.
The so-called ‘palace letters’, between then-Governor General and the Queen in the period covering the Whitlam dismissal, were finally revealed on Tuesday by the National Archives of Australia.
Archives director-general David Fricker revealed to reporters at a briefing in Canberra fascinating details contained in the 212 letters, totalling more than 1000 pages, many with attachments such as newspaper clippings, reports, and copies of letters related to meetings and events attended by Sir John Kerr during his tenure as Governor-General.
“They really do provide a great insight as to how the Governor-General saw his role, how he dealt, from his office, with this crisis, this constitutional crisis. And again,
“I hope that it will illuminate us all in Australia about what is a constitutional monarchy, how does the Constitution of Australia work, how does our democracy work, how does the parliament work,” Mr Fricker said.
They are now on the Archives’ website.
In a letter to the Queen on November 11, Sir John gave notification that he had dismissed Mr Whitlam as PM, saying he took the action without telling Buckingham Palace ahead of time.
“I should say I decided to take the step I took without informing the
Palace in advance because, under the Constitution, the responsibility is mine, and I was of the opinion it was better for Her Majesty not to know in advance, though it is of course my duty to tell her immediately,” the letter reads.
The same letter says that Sir John had spoken with the then-Chief Justice of the High Court, Sir Garfield Barwick, before dismissing Mr Whitlam.
“Before taking the final step, although I had already made up my mind, I consulted Sir Garfield Barwick as to my authority and duties in the present situation,” Sir John wrote.
More to come.
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