this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2025
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Today I learned

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TIL In 1975, the US overthrew the democratically elected leader of Australia for his opposition to the war on Vietnam. (www.greenleft.org.au)
submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by dessalines@lemmy.ml to c/todayilearned@lemmy.ml
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A few more articles on this:

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[–] Soot@hexbear.net 38 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (4 children)

Boyboy have a very good video on Pine Gap where they talk about this exact issue at the start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHMa-Ba-2Mo

When Gough said they wouldn't join in the fun overseas wars, the CIA bugged cabinet meetings and did all sorts. After Gough threatened to close Pine Gap, the Australian Governor General at the time (a supposedly entirely ceremonial position) worked for the CIA (which we only now know due to leaked documents). The Governor General just straight up sacked the prime minister despite having a parliament majority. Just that easy.

Even if you don't believe the CIA involvement, at the absolute most innocent this was an incident where a very pro-Western unelected ceremonial guy, with completely private communications with US and UK governments, dismissed a democratically elected prime minister and installed a new one. It was a coup, by definition.

[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml 19 points 4 days ago

Thx, I'll add it to the list. Love that channel too so I'll watch this soon.

[–] eldavi@lemmy.ml 12 points 4 days ago

it was so bizarre to watch the pine gap guards be so cordial to the youtubers and watch the youtubers joke about the police confiscating their materials at the end of the video.

in another generation or 2, there will be isreali youtubers that correctly identify palenstine as stolen land like these youtubers and also leverage the same privilege that these youtubers used to make another video.

[–] Cruxifux@feddit.nl 13 points 4 days ago

The queen of England was also involved was she not?

[–] Tenderizer78@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 days ago

Oh yay, Jordan Shanks, one of the few actual journalists left in Australia.

[–] HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml 25 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Explains a lot about modern Australia tbh

[–] Cruxifux@feddit.nl 25 points 4 days ago

The dollop does an excellent episode on this. I was flabbergasted.

[–] sad_detective_man@leminal.space 16 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Fuck, I thought we didn't do that to white people

[–] PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

when you realize racism is nothing but a distraction, you will understand the world better.

[–] shplane@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I mean … racism is very real. Calling it nothing but a distraction tells me you are not a person of color.

[–] PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml 0 points 3 days ago

It exists, yes. But using its existence as having any shielding qualities against the desires of global Capitalism, or the police-state that enforces those desires is the worst kind of naivety. Racism is merely a tool, it can and will be discarded when convenient. When you are analyzing the actions of nation-states it is actually harmful to view those action through the lens of racism, the racial lens becomes thought-terminating, discouraging any further analysis. A distraction.

For example, assuming that the US only coups non-white countries, in addition to being an extremely racist notion in itself, leads to the following absurd world-views.

Why did the CIA overthrow an Australian Prime minister? Because the CIA is so racist that they don't see Australians as white. Why was America in Vietnam? America is just so racist that they wanted to kill a bunch of Vietnamese people for no other reason.

[–] Aria@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 3 days ago

You probably killed Olof Palme, the prime minister of Sweden.

[–] Tenderizer78@lemmy.ml -2 points 3 days ago

Yep. And thanks to that we had the Coalition which more than anything is a party that doesn't want to do any work (much like our Greens party).

If it wasn't for the CIA ousting Whitlam (which they did do) then Australia may well have been a major world superpower.

[–] vk6flab@lemmy.radio -2 points 4 days ago (6 children)

WTF? No.

On 15 October 1975, the Leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Fraser announced the opposition would block the governments' supply or money bills in the Senate until an election was called. The opposition took this action because it believed the government was incompetent and the worst government in our history.

https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/your-questions-on-notice/questions/why-was-whitlam-sacked-and-not-just-a-double-dissolution-called

[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml 28 points 4 days ago

Not going to take any official australian government response at their word, sorry. Their case doesn't hold water if you read any of the articles above.

[–] dreadbeef@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 3 days ago

yes, that is government propaganda, courtesy of western imperialism.

[–] FuckyWucky@hexbear.net 21 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Bullshit, Prime Minister should only be removed by confidence vote, this is not it.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

The opposition took this action because it believed the government was incompetent and the worst government in our history.

Yeah, I'm sure the opposition didn't have any reason to lie to you. Like, really dude?

[–] Lemmygradwontallowme@hexbear.net 16 points 4 days ago

WTF? No.

On 15 October 1975, the Leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Fraser announced the opposition would block the governments' supply or money bills in the Senate until an election was called. The opposition took this action because it believed the government was incompetent and the worst government in our history.

https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/your-questions-on-notice/questions/why-was-whitlam-sacked-and-not-just-a-double-dissolution-called

Yes, and YOU CAN ASK Anton Chigurh why he stungun'd a guy...

[–] galoisghost@aussie.zone 16 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Bullshit: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/asio-role-in-whitlam-dismissal-addressed/0bo7hzbre

Unless you of course believe the bit where ASIO clears itself of following US directions in a book it wrote about its own history.

[–] vk6flab@lemmy.radio -2 points 3 days ago

From that page:

But the chapter - ASIO on the Brink - also reveals details of the "false allegations that ASIO was working in response to US intelligence direction and not on behalf of the Australian Government, and that US intelligence was implicated in the dismissal of the Whitlam Government".