"Explain the impact that the dismissal of Gough Whitlam and the labour party has had on the civic life of Australia in the twentieth century."

'The Dismissal' is a term that has come into general use since 1975, to describe the termination of the elected Whitlam ALP Government by the then Governor-General, Sir John Kerr. The event came as the culmination of one of the most tension-filled years in Australian political history. The Whitlam Government, elected in 1972 after 23 years of Liberal rule, was dealing with an economic downturn and facing considerable criticism following a number of scandals. Its ability to govern was also destabilised by the fact that it lacked a clear majority in the Senate. In 1975, following the death o…