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Features Australia

Whitlam’s dismissal – it’s not like it was all that unusual

Those who claim the constitutional crisis of 1975 was a one-off are ignorant of their Australian history

1 November 2014

9:00 AM

1 November 2014

9:00 AM

How many Australian governments have been dismissed by a representative of the Crown? Two, you might think – Lang’s in 1932 and Whitlam’s in 1975. But you would be wrong. In the Australian psyche it is Labor governments that are brought down by the establishment, through the blocking of supply by a conservative upper house and dismissal by the representative of the Queen.

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Anne Twomey is Professor of Constitutional Law and Director of the Constitutional Reform Unit at Sydney University.

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