Gough Whitlam and David Smith on the steps of parliament house, 11 November 1975

On 11 November 1975, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and his Labor government became the first (and only) government in Australian history to be dismissed by the Governor-General. The Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, dismissed the government because it couldn’t pass Bills, including its own Budget Bills, through the Senate. After the dismissal, an election was held and the Whitlam government was defeated. The dismissal was a controversial decision, and people still debate whether it was the correct thing for a Governor-General to do.