Correspondence relating to election as Leader of the Opposition, Bass by-election and the 1975 political crisis

This series of paper-based records relates to particular events in 1975, in the period when J M (Malcolm) Fraser was Leader of the Opposition (March-November 1975). The events covered are:
1. Mr Fraser's election as Leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition on 21 March, replacing B M (Billy) Snedden.
2. The Bass (Northern Tasmania) by-election on 28 June 1975, following the resignation of L H (Lance) Barnard, a senior member of the Whitlam Labor Government. The by-election resulted in a convincing win by the Liberal Party candidate, Kevin Newman.
3. Opposition strategy to effect an early election brought to a head through the rejection of Appropriation Bills in the Senate in mid-October. The blocking of supply, as it is often referred to, prompted a deadlock between the House of Representatives and the Senate. This constituted a major political crisis resulting in the controversial dismissal of the Whitlam Government by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, on 11 November 1975.
These records are currently held at the University of Melbourne Archives.

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