'To Dust Off the Cobwebs': The Whitlam Government's Failure to Completely Abolish Appeals From Australian Courts to the Privy Council. Issue 1 (2nd January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Changwei
• Is Part Of: Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth history. Volume 49:Issue 1(2021)
• Page Start: 178
• Page End: 200
• Publication Date: 2021-01-02
• Subjects: Appeals to the Privy Council -- abolition -- constitutional conflict -- Edward Heath -- Harold Wilson -- Gough Whitlam; Commonwealth countries -- History -- Periodicals; Great Britain -- Colonies -- History -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 909.0971241
• DOI: 10.1080/03086534.2020.1783114
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0308-6534

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The Whitlam Government's efforts to revoke the London-based Privy Council's ability to hear appeals on the decisions of Australian courts constituted a significant chapter in paving the way for Australia's final judicial independence. The significance of this issue was also reinforced by its serving as the point where Australia's internal politics became inseparably intertwined with its British connection. To untie this historical knot left over from Australia's colonial past and, as such, support from both the British government and the Australian States were essential for Whitlam Government's success. The troubled course of the Australian government's reform offers an opportunity to assess the contested nature of official Anglo-Australian relations during the Whitlam years and the ways in which his reforms fostered renewed attempts to protect State rights through the preservation of traditional ties to Britain.