The Constitutional and Legal Issues of the Dismissal with Professor Anne Twomey

50 years ago the nation was rocked by the dismissal of the Gough Whitlam Labor government by the Governor-General John Kerr because the Coalition in the Senate had prevented the passage of supply. Malcolm Fraser was appointed prime minister, supply was passed, and a double dissolution was called. This remains one of two times the reserve powers have been explicitly used to dismiss a government in Australia, and the only time done on a federal level to dismiss a prime minister. Naturally, this controversial moment is steeped in all sorts of issues involving the Constitution, legal questions about how people acted, and also breaches of convention that contributed to the downfall of the Whitlam government.So, to unpack all that I sat down with Professor Anne Twomey to discuss what happened, what the reserve powers are, and the constitutional and legal basis for dismissal as well as how other actions surrounding the dismissal went against the constitution, the law and convention.Anne Twomey also has a YouTube channel! The Constitutional Clarion where she delves into various aspects of the Australian Constitution. You should watch it to learn more about both the dismissal as well as the Constitution in general: https://www.youtube.com/@constitutionalclarion1901Support the channel on patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/AuspolExplainedFollow me on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/auspolexplained.bsky.social Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/auspolexplained/ Like Auspol Explained on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Auspol-Explained-107892180702388Auspol Explained would like to acknowledge the Whadjuk Nyoongar people and their Elders as the owners and custodians of the Land that the episode was recorded and edited on. This Land was stolen and never ceded. It always was and always will be Aboriginal Land.