Published 02:56 IST, July 16th 2020
Queen Elizabeth didn't know about 1975 Australian historic PM sacking: Reports
Gough Whitlam's dismissal is one of the great mysteries of Australian politics. The release of 211 ‘palace letters’ seem to shed some light on the subject
- World News
- 2 min read
Recently released archived letters from 1975, exchanged between Queen Elizabeth and her representative in Australia Governor-General John Kerr, have revealed that Australia’s then Prime Minister was fired without her majesty's knowledge.
According to reports, in November 1975, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was planning to hold partial Senate elections in a bid to end a months-long budget standoff but before that could happen, Governor-General Kerr decided to fire him.
Queen was left in the dark
As per reports, in his letters to the Queen’s private secretary Martin Charteris, Kerr said that he decided to take the drastic step to fire the Prime Minister because as per the ‘constitution’, it was his responsibility. Kerr further added that he believed it was best that the Queen did not know of the dismissal beforehand but mentioned it was his duty to inform her immediately after the dismissal transpired.
According to reports, Gough Whitlam's dismissal is one of the great mysteries of Australian politics and was also a very divisive issue. The release of 211 ‘palace letters’ have seemed to reveal some truths about the event.
For decades Australians were unsure of what led to Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's sacking and in 2016 a historian reportedly sued the National Archives of Australia for access to letters between Kerr and Queen Elizabeth.
Initially, the lawsuit demanding the release of the letters had reportedly failed as the court declared the correspondence as ‘private letters’ but that judgment was reportedly overturned by the High court in May.
As per reports, the letters highlight that Governor-General John Kerr and the Buckingham Palace would often discuss the political crisis in Australia. The letters also revealed that after sacking the Prime Minister, Kerr was congratulated by the Queen’s private secretary for his actions. The release of these letters and the revelations they have brought with them have reignited the debate on whether Australia should cut ties with Britain.
Image Credits: AP
Updated 02:56 IST, July 16th 2020
