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Bob Ellicott Says Governor-General Has Power To Dismiss Whitlam

October 19, 1975

This is an interview with Liberal MP Bob Ellicott on Channel 9’s Federal File program on October 19, 1975.

Ellicott, the member for Wentworth, was Solicitor-General of the Commonwealth before entering parliament. He was a cousin of the Chief Justice of the High Court and former Liberal MP, Sir Garfield Barwick.

Ellicott was interviewed by Channel 9’s Peter Harvey.

Ellicott argued that the Governor-General was entitled to dismiss the prime minister if “proper” advice was not given. He said there were certain circumstances in which the Governor-General should feel that he has a duty to dismiss his ministers.

Two days earlier, Ellicott submitted a legal opinion along these lines to the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr. Five days earlier, he outlined his argument in a Sydney Morning Herald article.

The First Day Of The Constitutional Crisis

October 16, 1975

The first full day of the constitutional crisis saw debates and votes in parliament and a developing protest movement outside parliament.

Whitlam initiated a confidence motion in his government in the House of Representatives that was passed by 62 votes to 57.

The former Liberal prime minister, John Gorton, crossed the floor to vote with the Labor government. Gorton was a bitter foe of Malcolm Fraser, stemming from the 1971 conflict which saw Fraser resign from Gorton’s cabinet, precipitating Gorton’s downfall and replacement by William McMahon.

Palindromic Pro-Consul Speaks Out

October 15, 1975

The Governor of Queensland, Sir Colin Hannah, attacked the Whitlam government as “fumbling” and “inept”.

Hannah spoke on the same day that Malcolm Fraser announced the Coalition would block the Budget in the Senate.

Whitlam, describing Hannah as “the palindromic pro-consul“, advised the Queen to revoke Hannah’s dormant commission to act as Governor-General.

Senator Withers Moves To Defer Passage Of The Supply Bills

October 15, 1975

The first move to block passage of the Supply bills in the Senate came at 4.35pm on Wednesday, October 15, 1975 when Senator Reg Withers rose to speak on the Loan Bill.

In a 25-minute speech, Withers outlined the Opposition’s argument that delaying Supply was a legitimate parliamentary tactic and called on Prime Minister Whitlam to call an immediate election.

Withers moved an amendment to the Loan Bill that was passed by 29 votes to 28 at approximately 5.26pm. Senator Albert Patrick Field was absent, his position having been challenged in the High Court. Senator Cleaver Bunton, the independent appointed to fill Senator Lionel Murphy’s vacancy, voted with the ALP government, as did the Liberal Movement’s Senator Steele Hall.

Withers served in the Senate in 1966 and again from 1968 until 1987. He was Lord Mayor of Perth, between 1991 and 1994. Withers died on November 15, 2014, aged 90, just three weeks after Whitlam’s death.

Whitlam Responds To Fraser’s Decision To Block Supply: Parliamentary Democracy Is Under Challenge

October 15, 1975

Gough Whitlam responded within hours to Malcolm Fraser’s announcement that the coalition parties would block Supply, describing it as a threat to parliamentary democracy.

Whitlam
Whitlam spoke in an Address to the Nation on ABC television on the evening of October 15, 1975.

He said: “I state again the basic rule of our parliamentary system: Governments are made and unmade in the House of Representatives – in the people’s House. The Senate cannot, does not, and must never determine who the Government shall be.

“That principle has been upheld since federation. It has never been broken or challenged except during this Government’s life. It has been scrupulously observed on at least twenty occasions since federation when the Opposition had the numbers in the Senate to reject Supply.

Fraser Announces The Coalition Will Block Supply

October 15, 1975

Malcolm Fraser announced that the coalition parties would block Supply at a press conference that began at 2.56pm on October 15, 1975.

Fraser announced that the Opposition would not reject Supply outright but delay it until Whitlam agreed to call an election. This was significant because it allowed the Supply bills to remain alive in the event of changed circumstances or a change of government.

Ellicott Says The Governor-General Will Have To Dismiss Whitlam If Supply Is Blocked

October 14, 1975

On the day before Malcolm Fraser’s momentous decision, the Liberal MP for Wentworth, and former Commonwealth Solicitor-General, Robert Ellicott, argued that the Governor-General would have to dismiss Whitlam if the Senate voted to block Supply.

It was October 14 and Rex Connor’s fate as Minister for Minerals and Energy hung in the balance. By the end of the day, Connor had resigned and it was expected that Fraser would use these reprehensible circumstances to block the government’s Supply bills in the Senate.

Address To The Nation: Gough Whitlam On Why The 1974 Election Was Called

April 16, 1974

Following the Gair Affair and the Opposition’s decision to block Supply, Whitlam called a double dissolution election for May 18, 1974. He had been in office for 17 months.

On Tuesday April 16, at 7.30pm, pre-empting the ABC’s nightly current affairs show, This Day Tonight (TDT), Whitlam made an Address to the Nation.

In it, he put the argument that his government was being frustrated by a Senate that was elected 3 and 6 years earlier. He quoted his Liberal predecessor, Sir Robert Menzies, and described this as “a falsification of democracy”.

A Blow To Democracy: The Age

April 11, 1974

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.”

Amidst Gair Affair, Killen And Daly Debate The Appropriation Bill

April 9, 1974

In the aftermath of the Gair Affair, the Coalition opposition announced that they would block the passage of the Whitlam government’s appropriation bill in the Senate.

A half-Senate election had already been called for May 18 but on the evening of April 9 speculation centred on whether Whitlam would call a double dissolution election. He eventually announced a double dissolution on April 10.

In the House of Representatives on April 9, the Liberal Party’s Jim Killen jousted with the Minister for Administrative Affairs, Fred Daly, in the debate on the Appropriation Bill.

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