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On 11 November 1975, governor-general John Kerr overthrew Labor Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam, making Australia a vassal state of the United States.[1] This event is sometimes known as the Dismissal.[2]
Background
Gough Whitlam was an anti-imperialist who criticized the United States and its allies. Gough Whitlam's ministers called the U.S. war crimes in Vietnam "mass murder" and the crimes of "maniacs." His deputy prime minister, Jim Cairns, refused to unload Statesian ships at its ports. Whitlam told France to stop its nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean and criticized Israel's genocide of Palestinians at the UN.[1]
John Kerr was appointed Governor-General of Australia in 1974. In Australia, the Governor-General has the power to dismiss the Prime Minister. Prior to the 1975 coup, this power had never been exercised on a federal level, but had been previously on a state level.[3][4] Shortly before the coup, Whitlam had uncovered CIA agents operating in Australia. He was planning to address parliament about the CIA's infiltration of Australia on the day the coup occurred. In addition to this, in the aftermath of the CIA sponsored coup in Chile in 1973, Whitlam stopped all cooperation between the CIA and Australian intelligence agencies and did not renew the the CIA's lease for Pine Gap,[5] a CIA base which was at that time and still is important to surveillance and military intelligence in the US military and CIA.[6] Queen Elizabeth of the UK was involved in the coup.[7]
Coup
On November 11th, Governor-General Kerr handed Whitlam the letter of dismissal. Kerr said to Whitlam, "We will both have to live with this." Whitlam replied to this by stating, "You certainly will."[8]
After the coup, the Australian legislature voted in confidence of Whitlam, and he asked Queen Elizabeth to reinstate him as prime minister.[7]
The dismissal prompted large protests throughout Australia by supporters of Whitlam.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 John Pilger (2020-06-01). "The Forgotten Coup against the 'Most Loyal Ally'" MintPress News. Archived from the original on 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
- ↑ Guy Rundle. "In the 1970s, a Soft Coup Removed Australia’s Left-Wing Prime Minister" Jacobin. Archived from the original.
- ↑ Campbell Rhodes (2016-05-13). "When Jack Lang was dismissed as Premier of New South Wales" Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Archived from the original on 5/10/2024. Retrieved 5/10/2024.
- ↑ "Powers and Functions of the Governor-General". Parliament of Australia.
- ↑ “In response to the US-sponsored overthrow of Salvador Allende in 1973, Whitlam put an end to cooperation between Australian intelligence agencies and the CIA, and refused to renew the lease for the US spy base Pine Gap.”
Conor Flynn (2021-2-6). "Gough Whitlam’s Government Was the Victim of a Right-Wing Coup" Jacobin. - ↑ "Pine Gap: spy base with a vital role in the US war machine" (2023-8-17). Solidarity.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Guy Rundle (2020-07-15). "Yes, the Queen did have a hand in the Dismissal" Crikey. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- ↑ John Kerr (1979). Matters for Judgement: An Autobiography.
- ↑ Frank Bongiorno (2022-11-9). "‘The spectre of serious civil violence’: how Australia reacted to the Whitlam dismissal" ANU Reporter.