Thirty years after The Dismissal, it remained a subject of intense media scrutiny.
In the weeks leading up to November 11, 2005, the Australian media devoted considerable space to reminiscences and analyses.
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Six new or revised books were published in this period:
- The Truth of the Matter – a third edition of Gough Whitlam’s 1979 book was published with a new introduction and appendices which chronicle the history of Senate obstruction of his government and other parliamentary events.
- The Great Crash – originally published in 1979 as “Illusions of Power”, Michael Sexton’s book remains a definitive analysis of the Dismissal. The new edition contains a new introduction and concluding chapter.
- The Dismissal: Where Were You On November 11, 1975? – edited by Sybil Nolan, this book contains 28 chapters by participants and observers from 1975. They remember where they were on November 11 and discuss the political and social climate of the time.
- a figure of speech: a political memoir – Graham Freudenberg’s elegant prose revisits the rise and fall of the Whitlam era. As speechwriter for Labor leaders from Calwell to Carr, Freudenberg’s record of his time with Whitlam is invaluable.
- Head of State – Sir David Smith was the Governor-General’s official secretary in 1975. His book takes issue with much of the published material on the Dismissal.
- 1975 Australia’s Greatest Year – Mark Juddery examines the year he believes is “perhaps the most exciting and significant year in Australia’s political and cultural history”.
Media Coverage of 30th Anniversary
Dec 01, 2005
- Malcolm Fraser Has The Menzies Legacy All Wrong – Letter to the Editor, The Australian
Nov 28, 2005
- Gough Call To Beazley – The Australian
Nov 25, 2005
- Fascism Puts Left Foot Forward – Andrew Bolt, Herald-Sun
Nov 18, 2005
- Tongues In Cheek – Letters To The Editor, Sydney Morning Herald
Nov 17, 2005
- Wrongly Quoted & First Among Equals – Letters To The Editor, Sydney Morning Herald
Nov 16, 2005
- The Good Old CIA – Letter To The Editor, The Age
- It’s Time, Once More – Letter To The Editor, Sydney Morning Herald
Nov 15, 2005
- Shame, Whitlam, Shame – Tony Parkinson, The Age
- Gag This Debate – Letters To The Editor, Canberra Times
Nov 14, 2005
- Heavenly Lite, Not The Home Of Titans – Malcolm Farr, Daily Telegraph
- Historian Laments The Loss Of ’70s Larrikins Who Could Hold Their Own – Sydney Morning Herald
- It’s All Just Water Off Howard’s Back – John Roskam, The Australian
- Gough’s Hypocritical Claim To Martyrdom – Michael Baume, Financial Review (subscription)
- Rage And Opposition – Letters To The Editor, Sydney Morning Herald
- Lessons Of The Dismissal – Letters To The Editor, The Age
- Letter To The Editor – The Australian
- It Was Gough’s Time, But John’s Got Aplomb – Ian Smith, Adelaide Advertiser
Nov 13, 2005
- Labor Must Cast Sentiment Aside – Stephen Loosley, Sunday Telegraph
- Abbott’s Trio Of Monarchists After His Own Art – The Age
Nov 12, 2005
- Governing Oddities – Ann Twomey, The Australian
- Lion On Road To Republic – Paul Kelly, The Australian
- Constitutional Change Needed To Ensure History Does Not Repeat Itself – Crispin Hull, Canberra Times
- Here And There, The Signs Of Tyranny – Alan Ramsey, Sydney Morning Herald
- Political Illiteracy – Mungo MacCallum, The Age
- Time To Recall 30 Years Later – Advertiser
- Dismissal: Where Rage Gives Way To Ridicule – Canberra Times
- In Whose Eyes, Chief Minister Stanhope, Are We To Be Deemed Worthy? – Canberra Times
- The 1975 Dismissal Reunion – Cartoon, Courier-Mail
- Letters To The Editor – The Age
- Leading With Hindsight – Letters To The Editor, Sydney Morning Herald
- Letter To The Editor – The Australian
- Whitlam Might Have Clawed Back – Letters to the Editor, The Australian
- Get Over It – Letters To The Editor, Canberra Times
- Don’t Blame Kerr For The Dismissal, Says Howard – Sydney Morning Herald
- History Too Hard On Kerr, Says PM – The Age
- No More Rock, But A Hard Place Suits Him – Matt Price, The Australian
Nov 11, 2005
- The Dismissal: Australia’s Day Of Decision – The Independent
- Peter Dutton & Stephen Smith, Friday Night Forum – Lateline, ABC-TV – Video (Windows Media)
- Howard Defends Kerr On Dismissal Anniversary – Lateline, ABC-TV – Video (Windows Media)
- Lindsay Tanner Says ALP Must Look Forward, Not Back – PM, ABC Radio – Audio
- Dismissal Still Contentious 30 Years On – PM, ABC Radio – Audio
- How To Remember The Dismissal – Charles Richardson, Crikey.com.au
- Dismissal Lessons Not Learnt: Beazley – News.com.au
- Dismissal Crisis Could Recur: Beazley – The Age
- Labor Veterans Remember The Dismissal – The Age
- David Burchell, University of Western Sydney, Comments On The Lessons Learnt Since 1975 – Sky News, 1pm
- Beazley Maintains The Rage – The World Today, ABC Radio – Audio
- Howard Says Kerr Has Been Vilified – ABC Online Video
- Channel 10 News 11.30am
- Channel 9 News 11.00am
- Channel 7 News 10.30am
- Howard Defends Kerr
- ABC Radio News 9.00am – 774 ABC Melbourne
- Ex-Senator John Button & Sir David Smith With Bert Newton – Good Morning Australia, Channel 10
- Journalists Mungo MacCallum, Michelle Grattan, Laurie Oakes & David Barnett Reminisce – Radio National, Fran Kelly Breakfast
- Gerard Henderson Remembers Kerr – Radio National, Fran Kelly Breakfast
- ABC Radio News 7.00am – Radio National
- Queen’s Reign Ends In Ashfield – Daily Telegraph
- The Dismissal Remembered, 30 Years On – ABC Online
- 1975 – A Dimming Legacy – Thornton McCamish, The Age
- We Have Bigger Issues Than One Unfair Dismissal – Lindsay Tanner, The Australian
- Gordon Scholes: At The Centre Of The Crisis – Geelong Advertiser
- Dismissal Nostalgia At Odds With Reality – Editorial, Canberra Times
- The Dismissal Shows The Value Of A Safety Valve – Eric Abetz, Canberra Times
- Whitlam’s Input To The Republican Cause Often Misunderstood – John Warhurst, Canberra Times
- Sacking Helped Form A Younger Generation Of Pollies – David Wroe, The Age
- Whitlam Turned Focus On To Asia – Garry Woodard, The Age
- God’s Gift To Culture – Andrew Fraser, The Australian
- The Lessons Of History Cannot Be Dismissed – Editorial, The Age
- The Dismissal: A Brief History – The Age
- It’s Time We Got Over Dismissal: Tanner – Matt Price, The Australian
- Lingering Memories Of Illegitimacy – Stephen Loosley, The Australian
- John Kerr Deserved Better From His Old Labor Comrades – Bill Hayden, The Australian
- A Day To Remember – Editorial, The Australian
- Resilience Of Our Democracy – Editorial, Adelaide Advertiser
- Letters To The Editor – The Australian
- Painful Reminder – Letter to the Editor, SMH
- It’s Time – To Get Over It – Jim Schembri, The Age
- Holding Up Well – Strewth, The Australian
Nov 10, 2005
- Whitlam And Fraser Talk To Phillip Adams – Late Night Live, Radio National
- Fraser Interviewed By Kerry O’Brien – 7.30 Report – ABC-TV
- Whitlam Interviewed By Kerry O’Brien – 7.30 Report, ABC-TV
- Debate Continues Over Whitlam’s Dismissal – Michael Brissenden, 7.30 Report, ABC-TV
- Tim Lane and Jon Faine Reflect on the Dismissal – ABC Radio, 774 Melbourne
- Believe It: The Dismissal Could Happen Again – Mike Steketee, The Australian
- Kerr A Bunyip Potentate Who Should Have Been Arrested: Keating – The Age
- Keating Had An Arresting Solution – Courier-Mail
- Lockup Answer To Kerr – Herald-Sun
- From Maintain The Rage To Obtain The Page – Sydney Morning Herald
- Battle Of The Books – Sydney Morning Herald
- Letters To The Editor – Sydney Morning Herald
- Whitlam Not The Last Of The Big Spenders – Letters To The Editor, Canberra Times
Nov 09, 2005
- Dismissal Anniversary Draws Nearer – Lateline, ABC-TV – Audio
- Keating Wanted Kerr “Locked Up” – News.com.au
- Michael Sexton Book On Dismissal Launched and Audio – PM – ABC Radio
- Paul Keating Launches Book On Whitlam Dismissal and Audio – The World Today – ABC Radio
- An Antidote To Despair – Graham Freudenberg, New Matilda
- The Great Crash, 30 Years On – Michael Sexton, New Matilda
- Last Flight Out Of Dili – David Scott, New Matilda
- Sting In The Kerr Tale – Laurie Oakes, The Bulletin
- No Connection Between The Dismissal And Pine Gap – Peter Edwards, The Australian
- Time To Solve Defect In Our Constitutional Democracy – Letters, The Australian
- The Anniversary – Moir Cartoon, Sydney Morning Herald
- Letters To The Editor – Sydney Morning Herald
- It’s Time To Forget Myth Of Whitlam – Piers Akerman, Daily Telegraph
Nov 08, 2005
- Listen to Elanor McInerney’s Interview With Malcolm Farnsworth On Melbourne Community Radio 3CR
- Old Antagonists’ Mutual Admiration – Phillip Adams, The Australian
- Kerr’s Nod And Wink – Strewth – The Australian
- Blocking Supply Was Whitlam’s Demand – David Smith, The Australian
- Whitlam: A Former PM Without Peerage – The Age
- Letters To The Editor – The Age
- Letters To The Editor – Sydney Morning Herald
- Letters To The Editor – The Australian
- A Decision Difficult For Many To Dismiss – Gerard Henderson, Sydney Morning Herald
Nov 07, 2005
- Thirty Years On, Dismissal Foes Find Common Ground – ABC Online
- Whitlam Maintains Rage – Sydney Morning Herald
- No Regrets Over Whitlam Dismissal: Fraser – AM Transcript, ABC Radio
- Listen to Whitlam and Fraser Speaking About The Dismissal – AM, ABC Radio
- Reasons To Maintain The Rage – Mungo MacCallum, The Age
- Hold Polls Together: Whitlam – The Age
- Democracy Fixed In Stone – Herald-Sun
- Whitlam Calls For Fixed Polls – Daily Telegraph
- Back In Went The Queen, Giving Gough His Best Line – Sydney Morning Herald
- Labor Needs To Be The Party Of Ideas (Again) – Michael Sexton, The Australian
- All Passion Spent – Editorial, The Australian
- Pure Coincidence – Bill Leak Cartoon, The Australia
- New-Age Senate Inhibits Dissent And Debate – Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, Advertiser
Nov 06, 2005
- Listen to the former Attorney-General in the Whitlam Government, Kep Enderby, discuss the Dismissal – Terry Lane, In the National Interest, Radio National
- Listen to Sir Garfield Barwick, former Chief Justice of the High Court arguing that “Sir John Did His Duty” – Terry Lane, 1983 interview, Radio National
- Channel 9’s Sunday remembers the Dismissal – Audio
- Talking Pictures: Peter George & Jack Waterford – Insiders, ABC-TV
Nov 05, 2005
- Whitlam Warns Of Another Dismissal – Herald-Sun
- It Was Time – Editorial, Herald-Sun
- First Rough Drafts Of History Filled With Damnable Errors – David Smith, The Australian
- Rage And The Prying Of The Light – Mike Steketee, The Australian
- 30 Years On, You Can’t Separate Them
- The Rage That Stopped A Nation – Graham Freudenberg, Sydney Morning Herald
- And To Crown It All – David Marr, Sydney Morning Herald
- The Things They Would Change – Tony Stephens, Sydney Morning Herald
- Whitlam And Fraser Revisit 1975 – Tony Stephens, The Age
- The Two Of Us – Michael Gordon, The Age
- The Ghost Of Crisis Past – Geoffrey Blainey, The Age
- 1975: The Year We Turned Political – The Age
- ‘Nothing Will Save The Governor-General’ – The Age
Nov 04, 2005
Nov 03, 2005
- No Dismissing The Burning Power Of Words In Gough’s Day – Mark Day, The Australian
Nov 02, 2005
- Sack Race: Laurie Oakes Recalls November 11, 1975 – The Bulletin
- The Great Orator: Norman Gunston – The Bulletin
- It’s The Policies, Stupid – Max Walsh, The Bulletin
- Gough: My Part In His Downfall – Tony Wright, The Bulletin
Nov 01, 2005
- No Parking Lot – Editorial, The Australian
October 31, 2005
- Driver Dismisses Fraser Conspiracy – The Australian
October 30, 2005
- PM Stands By Decision That Ended Whitlam
- Listen to John Howard Comment on Kerr, the Powers of the Senate and the Possibility of a Repeat of 1975 – Interview with Laurie Oakes, Sunday
October 29, 2005
- The Middleman Who Caused the ‘Blow-Up’ of 1975 – The Age
- Rallies, Threats and Bluster – The Age
Oct 28, 2005
- A Rage That Is Fading – Nick Richardson, Herald-Sun
Oct 22, 2005
- Countdown To The Dismissal – Meaghan Shaw, The Age
Oct 15, 2005
- Grounds for Dismissal – Mike Steketee, The Australian