Word: whitlam
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Australia was behind the deposed Prime Minister. In the trading pits of the stock exchanges, word of Whitlam's ouster was greeted with ear-splitting cheers and a 17-point jump in the Sydney Stock Exchange's index of shares, bringing it to a high for the year. In Brisbane, a woman telephoned a radio station to stress that "for all those in the streets, there are many more in their homes quietly celebrating Whitlam's departure...
...sparked the crisis, Sir John Kerr, 61, is a former judge and was appointed Governor General by Whitlam nearly two years ago. As the representative of the British Crown and the symbol of executive authority in Australia-with power to "summon, prorogue and dissolve" Parliament-the Governor General has always acted only on the advice of the leaders of the party commanding a majority in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Australian Parliament. Since his Labor Party holds 65 of the 127 seats in the House, Whitlam certainly could expect that the Governor General would take orders...
Fraser vowed that the Senate would tie up the budget bill until Whitlam called for new elections. Whitlam stood firm. Meanwhile, the budget bill remained in limbo, and the treasury began to run dry. The crisis was due to come at the end of November, when there would be insufficient funds to meet the $26 million weekly payroll for the country's 70,000-member armed forces. To avoid this, the Governor General, without consulting Queen Elizabeth, decided...
Terse Letter. Last week, Whitlam called on Sir John at his residence, Yarralumla. After the Prime Minister said he would not recommend a general election, Sir John handed him a terse, four-paragraph letter stating: "I hereby determine [withdraw] your appointment as head of government [and] the appointments of all the ministers in your cabinet." The Governor General then received Fraser, who had been waiting -unknown to Whitlam-in an anteroom. After agreeing that he would not institute new policies or dismiss government officials, Fraser was directed by Kerr to form a caretaker Cabinet that will govern until the elections...
...week's end the election campaign was beginning to take shape. Whitlam will obviously try to capitalize on the public's anger at what it considers to be Kerr's usurpation of power; he hoped to gain a large sympathy vote by hammering away at the theme that Fraser gained office shamefully. As he told a press conference last week, "Clearly the great issue, almost the sole issue of this campaign will be whether the government which the people elect with a majority in the House of Representatives will be allowed to govern from...