The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Gordon Scholes, wrote to the Queen on November 12 expressing alarm about the actions of the Governor-General.
Scholes was the ALP member for Corio, in Victoria. He was first elected at a by-election on July 22, 1967, following the retirement of the Liberal member, Hubert Opperman, who had represented the seat since 1949.
Scholes became Speaker on February 27, 1975, following the forced resignation of Speaker Jim Cope.
Scholes subsequently served as Minister for Defence (1983-84) and Minister for Territories (1984-87). He retired from parliament in 1993 and died on December 9, 2018, aged 87.
Images of the original cables containing the Scholes letter to the Queen are shown below.
