CIA involvement in the Whitlam dismissal was[1][2] the alleged involvement of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the dismissal of Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam by Governor-General of Australia John Kerr, who had several ties to the CIA and predecessor.[3][4][5][6]
As documented by CIA whistleblower Christopher John Boyce and several authors, including John Pilger,[7][4][6] as well as some Australian politicians,[8] the CIA allegedly backed Governor-General and representative of Queen Elizabeth II in Australia, Kerr, to dismiss Whitlam, due to Whitlam's perceived left-wing policies[3] including Australian withdrawal from the Vietnam War, as well as his views on Australian sovereignty.[3] His conflict with the CIA is alleged[3] to have come to a head when he discovered several CIA-led operations occurring in Australia and overseas conducted by ASIO and ASIS, leading him to threaten cancellation of the lease on the Pine Gap facility, ending the US-led (nominally joint) operation, which was integral to the CIA's signals interception operations in the southern hemisphere.[9][4][3]
Whitlam's threat to not renew the lease on the Pine Gap facility was allegedly seen by the CIA as compromising the integrity of intelligence operations pertaining to the satellite projects Rhyolite and Argus, used for monitoring and surveillance of missile launch sites in the Soviet Union and China,[10] which were unknown to the Australian government at the time despite a blanket sharing agreement between the two countries.[7]
Kerr denied any CIA involvement and Whitlam said Kerr did not need any encouragement from the CIA to sack him, and also denied his involvement in private communications, although he allegedly maintained several links to CIA-funded organisations such as LawAsia and the magazine Quadrant, and was referred to as "Our Man" by the CIA according to whistle-blower and leaker Christopher John Boyce.[11][8][12]
The action of an unelected representative sacking an elected Prime Minister and replacing him with a caretaker prime minister caused the 1975 Australian Constitutional Crisis, referred to by Australian Labor Party and former Member of the House of Representatives Peter Staples as "the most blatant act of external interference in Australia's affairs and its autonomy as a nation and a democracy".[8]
- ^ Peake, Ross (24 April 2018). "Inside the ASIO vault: What the secret files say about Gough Whitlam and the dismissal". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
Conspiracy theories surrounding the alleged CIA involvement in the overthrow of the Whitlam Government are dismissed in an official history of the domestic spy agency, launched on Friday
- ^ McDonald, Joshua (17 July 2020). "New Light Shed on Australia's Greatest Constitutional Crisis". The Diplomat. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Pilger, John (1992). A secret country (12. print ed.). London: Vintage. ISBN 978-0-09-915231-6.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
:5was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:19was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
:6was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Pilger, John (23 October 2014). "The British-American coup that ended Australian independence". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ a b c "ParlInfo - GRIEVANCE DEBATE : Economy-Christopher Boyce-Tasmania-Taxation-Australian War Memorial-Middle East Conflict-Soviet Union: Jewish Culture-Victorian Land Sale". parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:10was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Martin, Ray (23 May 1982). "A Spy's Story: USA Traitor Gaoled For 40 Years After Selling Codes of Rylite and Argus Projects (transcript)". 60 Minutes. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
- ^ "LAWASIA | The Law Association for Asia and the Western Pacif… | Flickr". 29 August 2024. Archived from the original on 29 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Kerr, JR. "The struggle against communism in the trade unions: The legal aspect". Quadrant. 4 (4): 27–38 – via Informit.