Paul Keating says he advised Gough Whitlam to put John Kerr ‘under police arrest’ during dismissal saga

<p>Former PM calls incident a ‘coup’ but recalls both he and Whitlam were concerned about potential for standoff between military and police</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/gallery/2025/nov/10/dismissal-of-1975-whitlam-government-in-pictures">The dismissal: the day the governor general sacked the Whitlam government – in pictures</a></p></li><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>The former prime minister Paul Keating says he advised Gough Whitlam to arrest the then governor general Sir John Kerr at the height of the dismissal saga, calling the incident a “coup” from which Australian politics “never really recovered”.</p><p>Keating, recently promoted to a junior ministry position in the Labor government when Prime Minister Whitlam was dismissed on 11 November 1975, said Kerr should have been detained by officers of the law, but admitted he was concerned about a potential standoff between military and police.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/11/paul-keating-gough-whitlam-dismissal-comments-john-kerr-arrest">Continue reading...</a>

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