Anthony Albanese condemned the 1975 Dismissal as a partisan ambush. Yet he refuses to pursue the constitutional reforms needed to prevent another vice-regal intervention. Australia remains exposed, and neither government nor public sentiment seems ready for the changes required.

In a speech at the 50th anniversary of the Dismissal of the Whitlam government, Prime Minister Albanese railed at its “injustice” and described it for what it was, “a partisan political ambush”. Hitting his straps, he said “the choice of whether a new government is formed belongs to the people…”. Unfortunately that’s where Albanese’s fizz runs out. Is he going to do anything to ensure the primacy of “the people” and make vice-regal coups impossible? Fat hope.

Insulating Australian democracy against a repeat of 11 November 1975 would require a referendum for significant Constitutional change – something for which Albanese doesn’t have the stomach. He now claims he only wants to hold one referendum while he is the Prime Minister and says “we did that”.

There’s no rational reason why Prime Ministers should put themselves on a referendum ration. They should be held when there is a clear need in the public interest.

At another level, however, Albanese is being rational. He’s scarred by his failure to get anywhere near a majority of the people behind the Indigenous Voice, a campaign in which in numerous speeches he failed to make a clear case for “Yes”. He probably realises that, whatever else he is, he’s an unconvincing advocate who doesn’t want to expose himself to the risk of campaigning for fundamental change to the structure of Australian government when a significant proportion of citizens retain a mawkish, juvenile fondness for the House of Windsor and its unadmirable denizens.

A respected........

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