Labor welcomes the High Court’s decision that the Commonwealth was wrong to refuse access to the letters between Sir John Kerr and The Queen surrounding the 1975 Dismissal of the Whitlam Government.
The High Court has rejected the Commonwealth’s claim that the letters did not need to be made available for public access because they were private or personal to Sir John Kerr and so not the property of the Commonwealth.
Labor is a strong supporter of the public’s right to know and freedom of information laws.
The Australian people have a right to know the full history of the greatest political and constitutional crisis in Australia’s history.
All 211 of the so-called “Palace Letters” between The Queen, her private secretary, and the then Governor-General should be made accessible to the Australian people immediately.
Labor congratulates Jenny Hocking for her four year campaign to have these letters made public and her commitment to tell the full story of the events of 1975.
