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Albanese Brands Whitlam’s 1975 Dismissal a ‘Partisan Ambush,’ Plans Statue at Old Parliament House

The prime minister announces a statue honoring Whitlam to coincide with the 50th anniversary.

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In an undated supplied image obtained on Thursday, November 6, 2025, sacked prime minister Gough Whitlam looks on as the governor-general's secretary, Sir David Smith, reads a proclomation that Mr Whitlam has been dismissed in Canberra, ACT, Australia. Insiders who had a front-row seat to the extraordinary political turmoil of the Whitlam dismissal have told their stories, 50 years on from the saga. (PR HANDOUT/Supplied by Museum of Australian Democracy) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY, AAP PROVIDES ACCESS TO THIS HANDOUT IMAGE TO BE USED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH THE IMAGE WAS PROVIDED - FOR REPORTING ON THE EVENTS OR FACTS DEPICTED IN THE IMAGE.
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Overview

  • Anthony Albanese said the sacking of Gough Whitlam was a calculated political plot, rejecting the view that it was a neutral constitutional crisis.
  • The statue will be installed outside Old Parliament House, the site of Whitlam’s famous address after his removal by Governor-General Sir John Kerr.
  • In 1975 the opposition blocked supply in the Senate, Kerr dismissed Whitlam, and official secretary Sir David Smith read the proclamation dissolving parliament.
  • Malcolm Fraser was appointed caretaker prime minister, supply passed, and a double dissolution election a month later delivered a landslide to the Coalition.
  • Fifty years on, the episode remains contested, conspiracy claims about foreign involvement are unproven, and no constitutional reform has curtailed the governor-general’s reserve powers.