Why was Gough Whitlam sacked?

Answer 1

This is an argument that could go on forever, but essentially, the Whitlam government lost control of the Senate and was subsequently unable to the get the "Budget" passed by the Senate. This resulted in a government with no operating capital with which to run the country. Since the elected government was unable to govern, the Governor-General "sacked" the Whitlam government on the 11th of November, 1975, and replaced them with a "Caretaker" government led by Malcolm Fraser. This was an extremely controversial action for a number of reasons, 1. that a non-elected government was running the country, and 2. that the course of action taken by the Governor-General was not enshrined in any legislation.

There was a TV Mini Series produced in 1983 called "The Dismissal" which documents the events of this tumultuous period of Australian history.

Malcom Fraser was blocking Gough Whitlams' wages bill to pay all the teachers, public servants etc. This is not to say that Malcom Fraser is not a nice person, but this was a political move. Gough Whitlam then suggested that they borrow money from the banks. Then the Governor General, who was biased towards the Opposition (Malcom Fraser and the Liberals) then sacked Gough Whitlam and his government, and appointed Malcom Fraser as caretaker prime minister. This was not the only reason that Gough Whitlam was sacked, other reasons include his ministers borrowing money from Middle Eastern governments.

Answer 2

Malcom Fraser was blocking Gough Whitlams' wages bill to pay all the teachers, public servants etc. This is not to say that Malcom Fraser is not a nice person, but this was a political move. Gough Whitlam then suggested that they borrow money from the banks. Then the Governor General, who was biased towards the Opposition (Malcom Fraser and the Liberals) then sacked Gough Whitlam and his government, and appointed Malcom Fraser as caretaker prime minister. This was not the only reason that Gough Whitlam was sacked, other reasons include his ministers borrowing money from Middle Eastern governments.

Answer 3

Gough Whitlam was elected Prime Minister in 1972 and re-elected in 1974. During that time he always maintained a majority in the House of Representatives. As a result, the Governor-General had no grounds to dismiss him, and did so without any warning or opportunity for redress.

Answer 4

Whitlam was dismissed under the terms that he was un-able to produce supply (Money) to the government. This was caused by the The opposition Leader (John malcom Fraser, who had more seats in the senate than the liberal party) Telling his senators to decline Whitlams bills of supply.

Answer 5

THE SACKING OF GOUGH WHITLAM

PHASE 1:

Gough Whitlam gradually lost control of the Senate over 1972-75, ie he had less people in the Senate that would vote for his laws and legislations for it to be passed through Senate and made into real laws and acts of parliment. The Liberal/Country Party ended up controlling the Senate.

PHASE 2:

The Liberal/Country Party used its control of the Senate to block every law or act that Whitlam tried to pass through it. This stopped the government from governing. The Liberal/Country Party refused to let anything through the Senate until the Governor General, Sir John Kurr, fired Gough Whitlam.

PHASE 3:

Sir John Kurr sacked Gough Whitlam to get the government working again. After his dismissal, he delivered his famous speech in which he said:

"God save the Queen because nothing can save the Governor General."

Basically, the Governor General would be fired for what he'd done.

Answer 6

Edward Gough Whitlam became the 21st Prime Minister of Australia on 2 December 1972. It was the first ALP electoral victory since 1946. The Whitlam government embarked on a massive legislative social reform program which was forward-thinking and progressive in many ways. Whilst initially popular, the fast pace of reform caused concern within the economy, which was beset by high inflation combined with economic stagnation.

These conditions were the catalyst to the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975. The opposition Liberal-National Country Party coalition held a majority in the Senate, the upper house of Parliament. In an unprecedented move, the Senate deferred voting on bills that appropriated funds for government expenditure, attempting to force the Prime Minister to dissolve the House of Representatives and call an election. The Whitlam government ignored the warnings, and sought alternative means of appropriating the funds it needed to repay huge debts. With Whitlam unable to secure the necessary funds, the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, dismissed Whitlam as Prime Minister on 11 November 1975, and appointed Liberal opposition leader Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister. This was done on the condition that Fraser would seek a dissolution of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, thus precipitating a general election.

Answer 7

Gough Whitlam was dismissed on 11 November 1975 by Australia's Governor general, Sir John Kerr.

Answer 8

Edward Gough Whitlam was dismissed on 11 November 1975 by Australia's Governor general, Sir John Kerr.