CANBERRA – In a dramatic historical disclosure, former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating has revealed he advised then-Prime Minister Gough Whitlam to arrest Governor-General Sir John Kerr during the 1975 constitutional crisis, an event he labels a "coup". The bombshell claim was made during an interview with journalist Niki Savva, broadcast on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, at an event at Old Parliament House marking the 50th anniversary of the unprecedented dismissal of a democratically elected government.

The crisis, which remains the most significant in Australia's political history, culminated on November 11, 1975, when Governor-General Kerr, the representative of Queen Elizabeth II, dismissed the popularly elected Whitlam government. This action followed a protracted political deadlock where the opposition, led by Malcolm Fraser, used its Senate majority to block the government's budget bills, effectively cutting off its funds to govern.

The Advice: 'Put Kerr Under Police Arrest'

Keating, who was a junior minister for Northern Australia at the time, recounted his advice to Whitlam in the immediate aftermath of the dismissal. "My proposition was that Gough should ask the queen to accept his advice to appoint a new governor general," Keating stated. "In the event that Kerr resisted, I said to Gough he should be put under police arrest."

Keating admitted both he and Whitlam were concerned about a potential standoff between the military and the police had they pursued such a course. He recalled Whitlam, a committed constitutionalist, dismissing the advice. Keating, however, stood by his conviction, stating, "That is certainly what I would have done if I had been prime minister." He described Kerr's action as a "brutality" and a profound deception, noting he had seen the two men laughing together just days before the dismissal, which lulled Whitlam into a false sense of security.

A Commonwealth Crisis with Global Echoes

The 1975 dismissal was a seismic event that shook the foundations of Australian democracy and reverberated across the Commonwealth. It centered on the reserve powers of the Crown, vested in the Governor-General, to dismiss a prime minister who still commanded a majority in the lower house of parliament. Kerr justified his decision by citing the opposition's blockage of supply bills, which prevented the government from funding its operations. After dismissing Whitlam, Kerr immediately appointed opposition leader Malcolm Fraser as a caretaker prime minister on the condition that he pass the budget and call a general election. The subsequent election in December 1975 resulted in a landslide defeat for Whitlam's Labor Party.

For Kenya and other Commonwealth nations, the Australian crisis serves as a critical case study in constitutional governance. While Kenya and Australia established diplomatic relations after Kenya's independence and share a heritage within the British Empire, their political trajectories have differed significantly. Kenya's own history has been marked by profound debates over the concentration of executive power, constitutional amendments, and the roles of various arms of government. The 1975 Australian saga underscores the inherent tensions in systems that blend parliamentary democracy with the reserve powers of a head of state, whether an appointed governor-general or an executive president.

The events in Australia highlighted how constitutional norms and unwritten conventions are as crucial as the letter of the law. The crisis sparked a fierce, decades-long debate in Australia about the legitimacy of the Senate's power to block government funding and the Governor-General's authority to intervene in a political dispute. It also fueled a long-running, though ultimately unsuccessful, movement for Australia to become a republic and remove the British monarch as its head of state.

Enduring Relevance

Fifty years on, the dismissal remains a defining moment. Current Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, speaking on Monday, November 10, 2025, characterized the event not as a constitutional crisis but as a "calculated plot" and a "partisan political ambush". Keating's stark description of the event as a "coup" continues to frame one side of the historical debate.

While direct ties to Kenya are historical and institutional through the Commonwealth, the core issues of the 1975 crisis—the limits of executive authority, the powers of a bicameral legislature, and the role of a head of state in resolving political deadlock—are of universal and enduring relevance. As Kenya continues to navigate its own complex political landscape, the lessons from Australia's most profound political crisis offer a powerful reminder of the fragility of democratic conventions and the constant need to safeguard constitutional order against political expediency.