Fraser Snatches Liberal Leadership from Snedden

Five-a-Day

Australia’s 22nd prime minister, Malcolm Fraser, died on this day in 2015. He was 84.

On March 21, 1975, Fraser defeated Bill Snedden to become leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition. In 7 months and 21 days he would be prime minister, following the coalition’s blocking of Supply in the Senate, which led to Whitlam’s dismissal by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr.

A motion to spill the Liberal leadership was carried by 36 votes to 28. Fraser then defeated Snedden by 37 votes to 27.

The audio clips on this page are all from March 1975. It’s only the second day I’ve been posting Five-A-Day, but this one contains eight.

Five-a-Day – March 1975

March 21, 1975: ABC radio’s PM program reports on Fraser’s election (12m)

March 21, 1975: Melbourne radio 3AW broadcaster Ormsby Wilkins assesses Fraser’s election (3m)

March 21, 1975: “I generally believe…” – Fraser’s remarks about blocking Supply to the Whitlam government (1m)

March 22, 1975: The Prefect – Whitlam’s response to Fraser’s remarks (1m>

March 22, 1975: Whitlam on the Liberals – extended version of Whitlam’s speech on the Liberals (9m)

March 21, 1975: Malcolm and Tamie Fraser interviewed by Michael Schildberger on Channel 9’s A Current Affair (4m)

March 21, 1975: Defeated leader Bill Snedden interviewed by the Richard Carleton on the ABC’s TDT at Canberra Airport (8m)

March 25, 1975: Fraser on Liberalism and the Whitlam government (2m)


Gough Whitlam At 98; John Faulkner On A Life Of Endurance, Longevity, Resilience And Extraordinary Contribution

Gough Whitlam celebrates his 98th birthday today.

Whitlam

Whitlam served as Labor Prime Minister from December 5, 1972 until his dismissal by the Governor-General on November 11, 1975. He was the nation’s 21st Prime Minister and is the longest-lived of all of them.

The ALP’s honorary historian and keeper of the party’s institutional memory, Senator John Faulkner, did not forget Whitlam’s birthday when he rose to speak in the Adjournment Debate last night. The speech followed a day of excitement in the Senate, although the drama seems pale by comparison for those of us who remember the Whitlam years. [Read more…]


Busting The Budget: Greens MP Condones Blocking Of Appropriation Bills By Senate

A NSW Greens MP, David Shoebridge, has advocated a parliamentary process that could see the Senate block the government’s Appropriation Bills, a tactic not employed since the constitutional crisis of 1975 that resulted in the dismissal of the Whitlam government.

ShoebridgeShoebridge today released a paper titled: “Busting The Budget – How to Stop the Abbott Budget”. The former barrister, who has been a member of the NSW Legislative Council since 2010, says the Senate could demand amendments to the Budget, as allowed under Section 53 of the Constitution.

Referring to Section 53, Shoebridge says: “In other words, the Senate can demand the Supply Bill be amended by refusing to pass it unless amendments are made. It can provide those amendments to the House of Representatives and force the Abbott government to either accept the amendments or see the budget voted down.”

Shoebridge says most functions of government would be able to continue, even if the Senate refused to pass the two Appropriation Bills. He says public servants are contracted to the Commonwealth and would receive the “necessary wages payments in due course”. He says: “The effect would be to delay the payment of public servants for the period of any impasse in the Senate.”

Shoebridge says the Senate can “choose the grounds on which to fight the budget” by refusing to agree to cuts to local government, social welfare, education, health and the environment. He says this will “force the Abbott government to either agree to these fair amendments or see its entire budget defeated with the consequential shut down of much of the government”.

What is Appropriation?

Governments cannot spend money without the approval of Parliament. Section 83 of the Constitution says that “no money shall be drawn from the Treasury of the Commonwealth except under appropriation made by law”. [Read more…]


Peter Harvey, Channel 9 Journalist, Dies, 68

Peter Harvey, best known as a Channel 9 journalist over nearly four decades, has died at the age of 68.

Harvey died from pancreatic cancer.

In a storied career, Harvey became famous for his “Peter Harvey – Canberra” sign-off. He reported politics from Canberra for two decades, starting in 1975 just before the Whitlam Dismissal.

In an interview shown tonight, Harvey remembered standing on the steps of Parliament House supporting his cameraman as Gough Whitlam famously delivered his “Kerr’s cur” speech.