One of the seminal events in my life was the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in 1975, a notorious episode that caused more than a decade of uproar. I was a senior high school student at the time. This is an event that still reverberates to the present day. To briefly recap, the Australian Federal Opposition, lead by one, M. Fraser, blocked the Government's money supply bills in the Senate (the Australian upper house). The money to govern began to run out and neither party would budge. The Government refused to call an election (why should it?) the the Opposition LCP continued to refuse the passage of the bills. Enter the Governor-General, John Kerr.

Kerr sacked the Government and appointed the Opposition leader as caretaker Prime Minister. This act in itself demonstrated Kerr's inflated view of himself and his overstepping of his role. He could have instructed the Opposition to pass Supply, or at least leaned on it to do so. He must have been aware of the upheaval that his unwise decision would have generated. But Kerr was a pompous, vain fool. It is clear from correspondence released yesterday that the Queen had no forewarning of the dismissal, which is just as well. Kerr must wear the opprobrium for eternity.

The Great Man on the hustings.