Following Whitlam’s announcement of the double dissolution, The Age decried the circumstances that had led to the election.
In particular, The Age saw that the Opposition tactics could put future governments at threat: “Now the way is open for majority Senate Oppositions in the future to attach Catch 22 conditions to any money bill, any time. Of course they will not refuse Supply. They will simply not deign to talk money until the Government hands in its resignation.”
The Age did not agree with Whitlam’s move to appoint Senator Vince Gair Ambassador to Ireland: “It was rephrehensible in principle and disastrous in practice… However, there is no way in which the affair itself can be used as an excuse for forcing a double dissolution.”
Editorial from The Age, Thursday, April 11, 1974, page 9. CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW FULL SCREEN.
