About this record

This document is a ‘priority’ letter for Her Majesty the Queen, sent from Gordon Scholes, the Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, on the day following Prime Minister Whitlam’s dismissal on 11 November 1975. The letter was sent to the Queen by way of the Australian High Commissioner in London.  

Scholes expresses his concern about the actions of Governor-General Sir John Kerr—not only for the dismissal but also for appointing the Leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Fraser, as caretaker prime minister. Scholes requests that the Queen reinstate Whitlam to the office of Prime Minister, because he still retained the support of the House of Representatives.

Educational value

• This letter was written the day after one of the most controversial events in Australian political history: when the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam—even though his government held a majority in the House of Representatives. It was the first time that an Australian Governor-General had used the Constitution’s reserve powers to dismiss an elected prime minister.
• Discretionary reserve powers allow the Governor-General of Australia to act against (or without the advice of) the prime minister. These powers are not written into the Constitution and their scope is open to interpretation. They have been used to refuse to dissolve federal parliament even when a prime minister had requested it (in 1904, 1905 and 1909); to dismiss a prime minister (in 1975); and to appoint a caretaker prime minister (in Malcolm Fraser, in 1975).
• The language in this letter has a stern and accusatory tone, which is unusual for an address to the Queen. This tone—together with his detailed timeline of events—show Scholes' concerns about the legitimacy of Kerr's actions.
• As Speaker of the House of Representatives, Scholes questions both the validity and the integrity of the Governor-General's use of his discretionary powers. Because Kerr has refused to see him, Scholes expresses his fear that the parliamentary system has been compromised.
• When he dismissed Whitlam, the Governor-General was trying to break a constitutional impasse. The Labor government had presented the Federal Budget to Parliament, but the Senate had refused to approve the supply of funding. The Senate could do this because it was controlled by a coalition of two opposition parties—the  Liberal Party and the Country Party (now known as the Nationals)—and their allies.
• ‘Passing supply’ means agreeing to money or appropriation bills that form part of the budget process. Without ‘supply’, government programs and services cannot be delivered and the salaries of government employees (including the armed forces) cannot be paid. However, following well-established convention, the Senate had not previously refused to pass supply.
• In Australia it is a political convention that a government that cannot access supply must either resign or call an election. When Prime Minister Whitlam refused to resign, a political crisis emerged.
• Furious debate raged over the timing and ethics of the events, and Scholes' views gained support among some sections of the Australian community. However, his letter apparently had little influence on the Queen. In an official response (drafted on the her behalf), the Queen distanced herself from her Governor-General's actions, stating that there was no place for her involvement in an Australian political conflict.
• The Australian Constitution does not specify whether the prime minister must call an election if the Senate refuses to pass supply. However, section 57 allows for both houses of parliament—the Senate and the House of Representatives—to be dissolved at the same time.
• After Whitlam was dismissed, the Governor-General sent for Opposition Leader Malcolm Fraser, who undertook to call a double-dissolution election. The election was held in December and—despite the anger and concerns expressed by Whitlam’s supporters—it resulted in a massive win for Fraser's coalition (Liberal Party and National Country Party) government.