In the meantime, Harold Holt succeeded Robert Menzies as Prime Minister and altered the immigration law to allow Asian migration — to prevent it was the main purpose of the White Australia Policy ; it was officially repudiated by Gough Whitlam when he became Prime Minister in 1972.

Whitlam, who was determined to destroy both the Senate's right to block supply and Fraser's leadership, refused any compromise.

" Kelly doubted Whitlam would have recognised Fraser's car, which was an ordinary Ford LTD from the car pool.

Fraser's new government suffered repeated defeats in the House, which passed a motion of no confidence in him, and asked the Speaker, Gordon Scholes, to urge the Governor-General to recommission Whitlam.

That evening, Whitlam made a major speech at Festival Hall in Melbourne before 7, 500 people and a national TV audience, calling 11 November " Fraser's day of shame — a day that will live in infamy ".

However, Fraser's attempt to appoint Kerr as ambassador to UNESCO ( a position later held by Whitlam ) provoked such public outcry that the nomination was withdrawn.

After the dismissal of the Whitlam government on 11 November 1975, Withers was appointed to Malcolm Fraser's first ( caretaker ) ministry, becoming Vice-President of the Executive Council as well as briefly holding the portfolios of Special Minister of State, Capital Territory, Media, and Tourism and Recreation during the period leading up to the December election.

An instance of a Governor General exercising his power was during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, when the Australian Prime Minister of the time, Gough Whitlam, was dismissed by the Governor-General.

After meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, Eisaku Sato, Whitlam observed that the reason Japan at that time was hesitant to withdraw recognition from the Nationalist government was " the presence of a treaty between the Japanese government and that of Chiang Kai-shek ".

The Queen chose not to intervene during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, in which Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed the Labor government of Gough Whitlam, on the basis that it was a matter " clearly placed within the jurisdiction of the Governor-General ".

Holt responded rashly, questioning the impartiality of the ABC and implying political bias on the part of journalist Mike Willesee ( whose father Don Willesee was an ALP Senator and future Whitlam government minister ) and his statement drew strong protests from both Willesee and the Australian Journalists ' Association.

Keating was a backbencher for most of the period of the Whitlam Government ( December 1972 – November 1975 ).

He briefly became Minister for the Northern Territory in late October 1975, but lost that post when the Whitlam Government was dismissed by Sir John Kerr on 11 November 1975.

* In 1973 Menzies was awarded Japan's Order of the Rising Sun, Grand Cordon, First Class ( other Australian Prime Ministers to be awarded this honour were Edmund Barton, John McEwen, Malcolm Fraser and Gough Whitlam ).

Double Jay was a product of the progressive media policies of the Gough Whitlam Labor government of 1972-75 and built on the earlier program -- 124. 185. 240. 247 ( talk ) 11: 09, 1 October 2012 ( UTC ) Room to Move -- 124. 185. 240. 247 ( talk ) 11: 09, 1 October 2012 ( UTC )

Among his pupils was future Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam.

Albury-Wodonga was selected as the primary focus of the federal Whitlam government's scheme to arrest the uncontrolled growth of Australia's large coastal cities ( Sydney and Melbourne in particular ) by encouraging decentralisation.

However, the Australian Prime Minister at the time, Gough Whitlam, insisted that the second pronunciation was the correct one because of the Greek origins of the two parts of the word.

He was unlucky to come up against a new and formidable Labor Opposition Leader in Gough Whitlam.

He was unable to match the performance of Labor leader Gough Whitlam, who campaigned on radical new policies such as universal health insurance.

His voice and appearance came across badly on television, and he was no match in parliamentary debates for Whitlam, a witty and powerful orator.

McMahon lost his nerve, and in the December 1972 election campaign, he was outperformed by Whitlam and subjected to further humiliation in the press.

When Whitlam won the election, McMahon resigned the Liberal leadership and was replaced by Snedden, who became the new Opposition Leader.

While the Whitlam Government introduced many new policies and programs, it was also rocked by scandals and political miscalculations.

On 30 July, Whitlam gained Kerr's agreement for a joint sitting, which was set for 6 – 7 August 1974.

In December 1974, Whitlam was anxious to find new sources of money to finance his development plans.

This letter was described by author and journalist Alan Reid as " the death warrant of the Whitlam ALP government ".

By March 1975, many Liberal parliamentarians felt that Snedden was doing an inadequate job as Leader of the Opposition, and that Whitlam was dominating him in the House of Representatives.

Whitlam argued that because of the vacancies being filled as they were, the Senate was " corrupted " and " tainted ", with the Opposition enjoying a majority they did not win at the ballot box.

The Menzies and Holt Governments effectively dismantled the policies between 1949 and 1966 and the Whitlam Government passed laws to ensure that race would be totally disregarded as a component for immigration to Australia in 1973.

To ensure the Opposition leaders could reach Canberra in time for the meeting, Whitlam brought them back in his VIP aircraft, which arrived in Canberra at midnight.

He delayed his announcement until the last minute, to ensure that Whitlam's son Tony Whitlam was able to secure endorsement for Grayndler without opposition.

In 1971, shortly after he had switched his country's diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China, the Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, visited Japan.

In 1975, Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam recommended to the Queen that Sir Colin Hannah, then Governor of Queensland, have his dormant commission revoked for having made public political statements.

* 1916 – Gough Whitlam, Australian politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia

* 1975 – Australian constitutional crisis of 1975: Australian Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismisses the government of Gough Whitlam, appoints Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister and announces a general election to be held in early December.

An illustrative example is the Australian constitutional crises of 1975, when the Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr, dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam on his own reserve power authority and replaced him with Opposition Leader Malcolm Fraser.

* December 2 – Edward Gough Whitlam becomes the first Labor Party Prime Minister of Australia for 23 years.

** Gough Whitlam, twenty-first Prime Minister of Australia

** Australian constitutional crisis of 1975: Governor-General of Australia Sir John Kerr dismisses the government of Gough Whitlam and commissions Malcolm Fraser as Prime Minister.

* Dismissal — some constitutions allow a Head of state ( or their designated representative, as is the case in Commonwealth countries ) to dismiss a Head of government, though its use can be controversial, as occurred in 1975 when then Australian Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in the Australian Constitutional Crisis.

Aside from journalism, Kelly has written books describing political developments starting with The Unmaking of Gough ( 1976 ) on the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975 and Prime Minister Gough Whitlam ( later titled The Dismissal: Australia's Most Sensational Power Struggle: The Dramatic Fall of Gough Whitlam ).

Indeed, had DLP preferences in four Melbourne-area seats -- the DLP's heartland -- gone the other way, Whitlam would have become Prime Minister.

It culminated on 11 November 1975 with the removal of the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party ( ALP ), by Governor-General Sir John Kerr.

In both instances where those circumstances arose prior to the Whitlam Government, in 1914 and 1951, the Governor-General dissolved Parliament for a " double dissolution " election on the advice of the Prime Minister.

After a meeting at the Prime Minister's residence, The Lodge, Whitlam and three of his ministers ( Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Jim Cairns, Attorney-General Senator Lionel Murphy, and Minister for Minerals and Energy Rex Connor ) signed a letter of authority for Connor to borrow up to US $ 4 billion.

Although Whitlam later alleged that he never contemplated dismissing Kerr during the crisis, on 16 October, while speaking with Kerr and visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, he told Kerr that if the crisis continued, " It could be a question of whether I get to the Queen first for your recall, or whether you get in first with my dismissal.

He believed nothing he said would influence Whitlam, and feared that if Whitlam perceived him as a possible opponent, the Prime Minister would procure his dismissal from the Queen.

Accordingly, though Kerr dealt with Whitlam in an affable manner, he did not confide his thinking to the Prime Minister.