Fifty years after Dismissal, Knight toon asks if govt could be sacked
Fifty years since Australia’s most dramatic government crisis, Mark Knight’s Dismissal cartoon captures the cast of Whitlam’s sacking but also ponders if history could repeat in state politics
READING LEVEL: ORANGE
You may already know that we marked Remembrance Day on November 11. It was on that day in 1918 when the armistice* was signed between the Allies* (Australia, the United Kingdom, France and the USA) and Germany to end what was known as the “The war to end all wars”: World War I. If only that were true.
But fast-forward 57 years later to 1975 and it was November 11 when Australia’s Governor-General* of the time, Sir John Kerr, sacked the Labor Government of then-Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
In a bold move, Kerr took it upon himself to remove Whitlam due to the Liberal Party, led by Malcolm Fraser, blocking the government’s supply of money bills* in the Senate. In effect, this made the government unable to function. The Libs did this because they believed Gough’s progressive* government was in chaos and dysfunctional*. The media broke the news that the government was also embroiled* in a secret attempt to finance loans from the Middle East through a Pakistani banker named Tirath Khemlani. The G-G thought this sounded kinda dodgy and so he gave Gough the heave-ho.
This year is the 50th anniversary of that fateful day, and as you can probably imagine, fierce arguments still continue about whether Sir John Kerr did the right thing. To remove a democratically elected government is something that doesn’t happen every day – well, not in this country. The G-G saw it as the only way to break a constitutional* crisis, even though it seemed a last resort, a nuclear-level option. These powers still reside with the Governor-General today, but since 1975 there has been an unwritten convention that they never be used again. Probably a good idea.
After Gough was dismissed, Malcolm Fraser and the Liberals became the caretaker government for one month. A federal election was then held. Gough Whitlam lost that election in a resounding* defeat, losing 30 seats. The will of the people seemed to be that Gough should go.
I decided to throw my hat into the ring of opinion on the 50th anniversary of the Dismissal and sat down to draw a cartoon about the events of November 11, 1975. With a sense of nostalgia*, I looked back through those iconic* black and white press gallery photographs of a sacked Gough Whitlam, standing on the steps of the old Parliament House surrounded by the press, politicians and parliamentary staffers.
In film clips, we hear the former PM’s famous speech, “Well may we say 'God Save the Queen', because nothing will save the Governor-General.”
The faces in the images had me transfixed*. It was such a rich collection of Australians I just had to draw them. So my cartoon started with capturing Gough and the assembled throng on the House steps. Gough, a fantastic political subject to caricature*, stands erect and taller than most. It looks like he is trying to rise above this grubby political event.
In the foreground, the Governor-General’s official secretary, David Smith, reads the proclamation* sacking Whitlam. In the cartoon, Smith’s heavy eyebrows give weight to the gravity* of the document he is reading. Lee Hatcher, a 20-year-old bearded reporter, is at the front with microphone thrust towards Smith’s face. Constitutional lawyers and clerks to the right of Whitlam signify the legal enormity of the moment.
I also took some cartooning liberty with the image. I added people that I felt should have been in the picture. So just behind Gough, to his left is the “Little Aussie bleeder” Norman Gunston with his microphone, a hilarious comedic character created by actor Garry McDonald.
Gunston had his own TV show on the ABC, where he would interview celebrities in his inimitable* style. Those being interviewed were never quite sure whether he was fair dinkum or not and it made for laugh out loud viewing. Footage of Norman Gunston talking to camera on the steps of the parliament, with Gough Whitlam in the background during this nation’s biggest political crisis, is something only Australia could do – long may such irreverence* live! I also sneaked Malcolm Fraser and Sir John Kerr into the background, but you will have to search for them yourselves.
When I had drawn this collective scene, I was pretty pleased with it, but I knew I had to make a comment on the Dismissal as well. The question that was often asked was, “Could it happen again?”
Hmmm. I looked at my home state of Victoria and I saw certain similarities to Gough’s government of 1975. Victoria has a progressive* Labor Government like Gough’s but its finances and budget are in dire straits* as well. The state has not managed its major projects well and the coffers* are bare. State taxes across all areas are being raised in a desperate bid to bring in cash. Law and order has declined, with daily reports of home invasions, car jackings and tobacco store arson. The public is starting to say enough is enough, but an election is still 12 months away. In a moment of tongue-in-cheek political cartooning, the drawing asks the question: could it happen again?
Surely not?
POLL
GLOSSARY
- armistice: a formal agreement between two countries or groups at war to stop fighting for a time, especially to talk about possible peace
- the Allies: nations that fought together against Germany in World War I or World War II
- Governor-General: the British King’s representative in Australia, as in Australia’s Head of State, with constitutional, ceremonial and Commander-in-Chief duties performed in addition to community engagement
- money bills: according to the National Museum of Australia, after less than three years in power, the Whitlam government has enacted 508 bills. Bill need to be passed in the Senate. When the money bills were blocked, the Labor government’s budget was frozen
- progressive: in political terms, a candidate, party or government that advocates for social and political reform
- dysfunctional: malfunctioning, not operating properly, having poor or unhealthy behaviours and attitudes
- embroiled: deeply involved in trouble, conflict or argument
- resounding: clear, emphatic, unmistakeable
- nostalgia: feelings of pleasure and also slight sadness when you think about things that happened in the past
- iconic: very famous or popular, especially being considered to represent particular opinions or a particular time
- transfixed: mesmerised, captivated, hypnotised
- caricature: drawn, written or spoken description that makes part of someone’s appearance or character more noticeable than it really is
- proclamation: official announcement
- gravity: seriousness, significance, importance, weightiness
- inimitable: unique, impossible to copy or imitate
- irreverence: showing surprising and often comical disregard for the formality or importance of official events, people or things
- dire straits: a very bad situation that is difficult to fix
EXTRA READING
Blue lib leader’s St Kilda lament
Melb Grand Prix or criminal spree?
QUICK QUIZ
- Who was the Governor-General who led the dismissal of the Whitlam government?
- Whitlam’s Labor government was also involved in a loan scandal with whom?
- Who was the leader of the Liberal Party at the time?
- The Dismissal occurred on a date that was already historically significant for what other reason?
- The Dismissal was very serious – which Australian actor famously brought a sense of the absurd to the steps of Parliament House that day?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Values, identities and actions
Study today’s Mark Knight cartoon and answer the following questions about the work:
What values does this cartoon invite us to think about?
Who is this cartoon speaking about? And who is this work trying to speak to?
What actions might the viewpoint in the cartoon encourage?
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
How can cartoonists like Mark Knight encourage or change people’s opinions on a controversial subject or topic?
Do you think his work needs approval before going to print? Explain your answer.
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
Describe it
Look at the cartoon and make a list of five nouns that you see. Then describe those five nouns with five adjectives. Now add a preposition to those five nouns and adjectives.
Finally, choose your favourite bundle and put all the words together to make one descriptive sentence.
(For lower reading level articles, remove “add a preposition”)