Palace letters thwart republican agenda, says senator Dean Smith

Dean Smith has lashed Anthony Albanese’s claims the palace letters tie the Queen to Gough Whitlam’s sacking.

Coalition senator Dean Smith. Picture: AAP

West Australian senator Dean Smith has lashed Labor’s claims that the palace letters tie Queen Elizabeth to the dismissal of Gough Whitlam, saying the oppos­ition is “clutching at straws” to propel the political agenda of Australian republicanism.

Senator Smith, chairman of the parliamentary supporters of constitu­tional monarchy group, said the correspondence between Buck­ingham Palace and former governor-general Sir John Kerr proved there was “no grand conspiracy” behind Whitlam’s sensa­tional dismissal on November 11, 1975.

Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday the fact the nation had waited 45 years for correspondence between the palace and Sir John showed there was something “very wrong” with Australia’s government structure, as someone on the other side of the world had been “involved and engaged”.

Senator Smith dismissed the new details released publicly on Tuesday as “very Shakespearean” and “much ado about nothing”.

“What people are doing is looking for excuses or justifications. People like Mr Albanese and (Labor MP) Mr (Mark) Dreyfus are clutching at straws in looking for excuses to propel the Australian republicanism political agenda — the release of the correspon­d­ence makes it clear there has been no grand conspiracy.”

Buckingham Palace issued a statement on Tuesday and disputed its involvement, saying the letters confirmed the Queen had respected the “independence” and “primacy” of the Constitution.

“The release of the letters by the National Archives of Australia confirms that neither Her Majesty nor the Royal Household had any part to play in Kerr’s decision to dismiss Whitlam,” the palace said.

Senator Smith said the letters proved the sacking was a “very Australian affair” and he was confid­ent the release of the previously private letters would “do nothing to enliven the debate about an Australian republic”.

The letters revealed Kerr did not give the Queen prior warning about his plans to dismiss Whitlam, but canvassed options with her private secretary in the weeks before November 11. Australian Republic Movement chairman Peter FitzSimons said he was “gobsmacked” by the new details.

“This is not about whether you like the Queen personally or if you think the Whitlam government was a good one,” Mr FitzSimons said. “It is the undemocratic power structure in our Constitution that should offend all Australians.”

He said 45 years on the nation­ still had democratically elected leaders reporting to unelected English­ people. “It was an affront to national dignity then,” he said. “It is a double affront now.”

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who led the campaign for Australia to become a republic at the unsuccessful 1999 referendum, said even though Kerr made the final decis­ion to dismiss Whitlam, he was “getting a lot of advice on the way through”.

“(He) was discussing in the most intimate way the confidential considerations he was making in the course of this constitutional crisis in Australia as it developed,” Mr Turnbull said. “So he was disclosing his thoughts, the options he had before them, and he was seeking advice on them and receivi­ng advice on them from Buckingham Palace.”

The Opposition Leader said the release of the letters showed the need for a national debate about Australia’s head of state, saying the dismissal was a “blight” on the nation’s history. “The actions of the governor-general on November 11 to dismiss a government, to put himself above the Australian people, is one that reinforces the need for us to have an Australian head of state, reinforces the need for us to stand on our own two feet,” Mr Albanese said.

This was echoed by Labor’s constitutional affairs spokesman Matt Thistlewaite, who flagged discussions about Australia becoming a republic. “The uncovering of these documents today highlights the fact that in the future­, once we get through the COVID crisis, Australia must begin a mature and serious discussion about our future constit­utional arrangements,” he said.

Historian Jenny Hocking, who fought for four years to secure the release of the letters, claimed the Queen and Kerr had “inapprop­riate conversations” on the political situation before the dismissal.