Thirty years on, the rules of the Constitution which allowed for
the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor Government remain unchanged.
The different readings of the Constitution put forward by Gough
Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser in 1975, and of the conventions
surrounding the operations of the Constitution, are still
possible. Our Constitution remains ambiguous on the question of
the Senate’s powers vis-a-vis the House of Representatives, and
the propriety of the exercise of those powers. Whether or not it
is appropriate for the Senate to exercise its power to block
Supply, it retains that power and can use it to force an
election. Yet the Constitution does not specify whether the
Prime Minister is required to call an election under such
circumstances. Therefore, a possibility remains that Parliament
may again become deadlocked. Moreover, should such a situation
arise, the Governor-General still holds reserve powers to break
that deadlock. Gough Whitlam remained at the helm of the Labor
Party throughout the first term