Ian Killey

This is an exploration of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, in which Australia’s Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was dismissed by its Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, using the vague and (to most people) unknown reserve powers of the Crown. By examining those events and their background, the constitutional and legal powers at play, the various explanations given for the dismissal (including claims that Kerr acted conspiratorially or followed instructions from either the Queen or the CIA), and the long-term political consequences, Killey sheds new light on a historic event in Australia’s constitutional history.

Despite the Australian Constitution having been one of the most stable since its commencement in 1901, it is becoming fatally flawed. The Naked Australian Constitution examines these flaws and the lack of public appreciation of those defects. This is due to several serious errors, including the racial basis of its origin, and the misleading nature of its text—with the High Court having interpreted it in a remarkably subjective manner, undermining the few express requirements and freedoms in the Constitution while also applying concepts that are not required by the constitutional text. As a result, the Constitution is now what the High Court says it is, instead of what it was expected to be by its drafters. Most Australians have no knowledge of the Constitution or its operation, but with the growing subjective application of the Constitution, this constitutional digression requires remedy by a Constitutional review. Ian Killey argues that without review, the Australian people will eventually see the Australian Constitution for what it is rapidly becoming—an Emperor with no clothes.

Australia's constitutions tell only part of the story. They omit or barely mention many of the essential and well-known elements of the system of government, such as the cabinet, the prime minister or premier, ministerial responsibility or the opposition. This work fills that void by explaining the nature of conventions, how they arise, how they are altered, as well as their operation and development. This is a book for anyone who has an interest in understanding the complexities and mysteries of the unwritten rules of Australian systems of government.