CIA involvement in the Whitlam dismissal is an allegation[1][2] that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, which culminated in the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
The allegation made by several authors[3][4][5] and some Australian politicians[6] states that the CIA backed Governor-General and representative of Elizabeth II in Australia, John Kerr, to dismiss Whitlam, due to Whitlam's perceived left-wing policies[7] including Australian withdrawal from the Vietnam War, as well as his views on Australian sovereignty[7], particularly his opposition to Australian intelligence agencies and their involvement with the CIA.[8][4][7]
His 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[9] , which were unknown to the Australian government at the time despite a blanket sharing agreement between the two countries[3].
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 links to CIA-funded organisations[10][6][11].
The action of an unelected representative sacking an elected Prime Minister and replacing him with another caretaker prime minister caused the 1975 Australian Constitutional Crisis, referred to as "the most blatant act of external interference in Australia's affairs and its autonomy as a nation and a democracy."[6]
- ^ 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.
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