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The Dismissal

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The Dismissal of Gough Whitlam

I was 23 when my hero cancelled me, I taunted a prime minister, and played dumb with a spook

I had just spent a week working with prostitutes in Melbourne when a call came from the makers of Mad Max.

  • Sally Gibson

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During Australia's constitutional crisis of 1975, Gough Whitlam addresses reporters outside the parliament building in Canberra after his dismissal.

The day the Dismissal saved a bored Canberra teenager’s afternoon

The constitutional crisis was, at last, an upside to my adolescence.

  • Richard Glover
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A ruddy brilliant career

While mother dismisses the Dismissal.

Paul Keating has revealed he told Gough Whitlam to sack John Kerr, and jail him if he refused.

Keating reveals he told Whitlam to have Kerr sacked or arrested

Former prime minister John Howard urged Liberal leader Sussan Ley to talk to Albanese about introducing four-year parliamentary terms.

  • Shane Wright
The Whitlam sacking transfixed the nation.

‘He’s been sacked!’: How Gough Whitlam’s downfall caused chaos in an HSC class

A legendary northern beaches teacher couldn’t contain his shock.

  • Michael Dodd
Gough Whitlam addresses a Labor rally outside of Parliament House, Canberra, November 1975.

The Dismissal: How ‘the most tumultuous day in Australian political history’ unfolded

Power, principle, politics; all three collided to expose the fragility of our democracy. Watch what led to November 11, 1975, and how it changed the way we operated.

  • Bella Ann Sanchez and Tony Wright
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Tony Wright, rock’n’roll roadie, in 1975.

The Dismissal: Norman Gunston’s moment, while a boy got high on a king

November 11, 1975, wasn’t merely high political drama. Tony Wright remembers the surreal performative nature of the day he witnessed from the parliamentary lawn.

  • Tony Wright
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Whitlam’s revenge?

A rear-ending on the back page.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans to erect a statue to remember Gough Whitlam and the most controversial day in Australia’s federal parliamentary history.

‘A partisan ambush’: Albanese maintains the Whitlam rage

Anthony Albanese has marked the 50th anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam government by describing it as a partisan ambush.

  • Shane Wright
Gough Whitlam with wife Margaret. They made history be appearing on The Mike Walsh Show.

Why Whitlam’s dismissal was a blow to women’s rights

Gough Whitlam’s policies transformed many women’s lives. His legacy lives on.

  • Michelle Arrow