Fairfax exposes evidence of Murdoch “kill Whitlam” order….Have your say

The political battle of 1975 between Murdoch and Whitlam seems to be commonly remembered by many, now Fairfax have written evidence they say demonstrates the deliberate demands of Murdoch influenced political downfall of the most socialist Prime Minister Australia has ever had.   I personally find it fascinating and look forward to hearing your memories and insights into the era.  

The media has always played a massive role in swaying populous opinion but was this call by Murdoch to “Kill Whitlam” in 1974 going too far knowing he did just that? Or is this just another blow in the tit for tat battle between Murdoch and Fairfax trying to kill each other in the public’s eye?  

We want to hear your insight into the era, having lived through Whitlam and Fraser and the turmoil in the economy, the media and the government.  We want to hear your thoughts knowing how the media world has evolved since and how they have used their power to influence our political environment.

Fairfax’s SMH has this morning released information about a telegram from the US Consult General back in 1974 pointing out that the Publisher had issued instructions to the editors of his newspapers to “Kill Whitlam”.

In information sourced from the Sydney Morning Herald, we provide the following outline:

The telegram was titled “Australian publisher privately turns on Prime Minister,” and was sent from the US Consul-General in Melbourne, Robert Brand.  He reported to the US State Department that “Rupert Murdoch has issued [a] confidential instruction to editors of newspapers he controls to ‘Kill Whitlam’ “.  

Describing Mr Murdoch as “the l’enfant terrible of Australian journalism,” Mr Brand noted that Mr Murdoch had been “the principal publisher supporting the Whitlam election effort in 1972 Labor victory”. 

The telegrams at the time stated “Australian elections are likely to take place in about one year, sparked by refusal of appropriations in the Senate. All signs point to a Liberal-Country victory, since the economy is in disturbingly bad condition and will probably not improve much of that time.”

Then almost exactly one year later, Whitlam was dismissed by Governor General Sir John Kerr when the budget was blocked by the Senate.

Whitlam had led the Labor Party to power for the first time in 23 years at the 1972 election; he went on to win the 1974 election he called as a double dissolution election, before his controversial dismissal.   He remains the only Australian Prime Minister to have his commission terminated in that manner.

The telegram between the US Consul General and his leaders is being claimed by the Sydney Morning Herald to demonstrate how directly Rupert Murdoch had made the call to drive a political wedge through the country, more than ten months prior.  But perhaps this was already known at the time, when staff at The Australian took industrial action to protest being influenced in such a way.

We want to hear your say about the era today.  Tell us about your memories of the political environment, the media environment, and reflect on it in the full body of what is being said about Murdoch and Whitlam in light of this telegram’s release.