High Court to rule on the release of letters between Queen Elizabeth and Sir John Kerr

Will the public ever get to see the correspondence between the Queen and Sir John Kerr in 1975 over the sacking of then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam? The High Court is set to decide.

Gough Whitlam on the steps of Parliament House in Canberra on November 11, 1975, immediately following his dismissal.

The fight to release the so-called “palace letters” between the Queen and the former governor-general who played a crucial role in Gough Whitlam’s dismissal is heading to the High Court.

Historian Jenny Hocking will seek special leave on August 16 to appeal a Federal Court decision to block the release of dozens of letters between Buckingham Palace and Sir John Kerr in the months before the unprecedented 1975 dismissal.

Professor Hocking believes the letters would give an insight into the then-governor general’s thinking in the lead-up to Mr Whitlam’s ousting and how much the palace knew.

In February, two of three judges in the Federal Court dismissed her appeal against a decision that the letters, held by the National Archives of Australia, were personal communications of the governor-general rather than official Commonwealth records.

Queen Elizabeth II shakes hands with Max Walker, watched by Dennis Lillee and other members of the Australian cricket team in 1975. Picture: Central Press Photos

Sir John Kerr picture in 1976.

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The dissenting judge, however, said it was “difficult to conceive” of documents that were more clearly Commonwealth records and not personal property.

Justice Geoffrey Flick said in his minority ruling the documents concerned “political happenings” which went to the “core of the democratic processes of this country”.

The letters are embargoed until at least 2027, but the Queen holds a final veto over their release.

Gough Whitlam examines the letter of dismissal signed by then Governor-General John Kerr which dismissed the government on November 11th 1975, on display at the National Archives in Canberra.