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<\/p>\n\u201cMake no mistake: November 11th, 1975, was not a \u2018constitutional crisis\u2019, it was a partisan political ambush. There was no real precedent, and no legitimate pretext,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe opposition orchestrated a parliamentary gridlock over the budget and then secretly prevailed upon the governor-general to break it by sacking the prime minister.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the scenes in this building on 11 November may have been chaotic, the dismissal was a calculated plot, hatched by conservative forces which sacrificed conventions and institutions in the pursuit of power.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the result of the election that followed does not wash any of that away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Albanese admitted the Whitlam government was not perfect, noting the opposition had \u201cpreyed\u201d on Kerr\u2019s desire to be at the centre of events while cultivating his paranoia that the prime minister was about to sack him.<\/p>\n
But he said the government still had a majority in the House of Representatives and was just a year into its second term.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn those circumstances, the decision as to when to call an election should belong to the prime minister, not the opposition, not the governor-general,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Anthony Albanese says the dismissal of the Whitlam government was a partisan political ambush.Credit: AAP\/Archive<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd in precisely the same way, the choice as to whether a new government is formed, belongs to the people of Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind all the various schemes and subplots that will be unpacked and revisited tomorrow lies an overt refusal to respect the mandate or even acknowledge the legitimacy of a Labor government that had secured a majority in two consecutive federal elections inside three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Credit: Matt Golding<\/p>\n
The statue of Whitlam will join a growing number of permanent memorials to past political giants in central Canberra. It will be within sight of the most recent statue, that of the first women to sit in parliament, Dorothy Tangney and Dame Enid Lyons, and not far from a bronze memorial of John Curtin and Ben Chifley.<\/p>\n
Other statues in the parliamentary area include representations of Sir Robert Menzies, Edmund Barton, John McEwen and Neville Bonner.<\/p>\n
Albanese said the statue would celebrate the ability of democracy to change the nation for the better.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralians will be able to stand with Gough, put an arm around the great man\u2019s shoulders, and remind ourselves that if we maintain our enthusiasm, it\u2019s always time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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The statue will not be the first memorial to Whitlam in Canberra. In line with past prime ministers, a suburb in the city\u2019s west is being established. It includes a children\u2019s playground called the Blue Poles Park to honour the Whitlam government\u2019s purchase of the famous Jackson Pollock artwork.<\/p>\n