Overview
- In a speech at Old Parliament House, the prime minister argued the opposition engineered a budget blockade and that Sir John Kerr acted on what he called improper and incorrect advice from chief justice Garfield Barwick.
- Albanese said conservative forces pursued power by sacrificing conventions, describing the events as a partisan ambush rather than a constitutional crisis.
- He highlighted Whitlam-era reforms such as Medibank, free university education, the end of the White Australia policy and the Racial Discrimination Act, saying these should not be overshadowed by the dismissal.
- The 2020 release of the palace letters was cited as evidence Kerr had months of prior correspondence with the Queen’s private secretary about the crisis.
- Current governor-general Sam Mostyn said she would not act as Kerr did and that any reserve powers must be used wisely and appropriately, as commemorative events featuring Paul Keating, John Howard and the Whitlam family proceed.