The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) reports…..Historian Jenny Hocking has won her High Court bid to access the letters exchanged between then governor-general Sir John Kerr and the Queen around the time of the dismissal of the Whitlam government.
Key points:
- The High Court rules the documents, known as the “Palace letters”, are public not private
- Historian Jenny Hocking has been fighting for access to the correspondence since 2016
- The letters and clippings may shed light on what the Queen knew about the Whitlam dismissal
Until now, the National Archives of Australia had refused to release the documents, known as the “Palace letters”, saying they were private papers.
But Professor Hocking told the High Court correspondence between a governor-general and a monarch was the property of the Commonwealth, and not private.
In a majority ruling, the High Court agreed with Professor Hocking, and found the letters to be Commonwealth records.
Today’s ruling means Professor Hocking will be able to view the letters, which she believes hold important information about Australia’s history.
The reasons for the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975 have long been debated, and these letters could provide clarity about what the Queen knew about Australia’s greatest constitutional crisis.
Alongside the correspondence between the Queen and Sir John, the National Archives also holds telegrams and attachments like newspaper clippings, exchanged between August 15, 1974 and December 5, 1977.
The material was deposited in 1978, after Sir John left the office, by Sir David Smith, the official secretary to the governor-general.
The letters were due for release 12 years ago, but, because they had been marked as “private” correspondence rather than “Commonwealth records”, they were not covered by the rules binding Commonwealth documents.
Today’s win comes after a series of court battles, since Professor Hocking first sought access to the letters in 2016.
Professor Hocking had already lost a Federal Court bid to overturn the decision to keep the letters private, which was made by the National Archives.
During the High Court hearing in February, Professor Hocking acknowledged the long legal process, but she was delighted to have had the case heard by the highest legal court in Australia.
“It’s about our history, it’s about our knowledge of our history, but it’s also about having control over our own national archival resources,” she said.
Professor Hocking’s lawyers told the High Court that the documents were created and received by the governor-general as part of his official job, and therefore were the property of the Commonwealth.
“[The] evidence did not show that any person who dealt with the records or similar correspondence between a governor-general and the Queen perceived that the Australian copy of those records was the personal property of the person who was governor-general,” the submissions read.
The High Court was also told there was a constitutional issue if a governor-general were to derive personal property in his communications with the Queen while in office.
The judgement was delivered in Brisbane this morning, because COVID-19 restrictions have prevented the bench to travel to the High Court of Australia in Canberra.
Professor Hocking received the news in Melbourne, and is planning to travel to Canberra to access the letters as soon as restrictions are lifted by the Victorian Government.
