Joint Sitting of the Australian Parliament of 1974

[1] In early 1974, the conservative parties led by Billy Snedden had chosen to use their majority in the Senate to oppose key government legislation.

As the Senate had rejected the bills twice, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam advised a double dissolution under section 57 of the Constitution.

Campaigning for the Labor Party, Whitlam asked the electorate to let him "finish the job" and used the slogan "Give Gough a Go".

At Whitlam's request, on 30 July Sir John Kerr issued a proclamation convening the joint sitting.

The coalition parties sought to prevent the joint sitting by challenging its constitutional validity in the High Court.

Whitlam further commented that "at long last, after sustained stonewalling and filibustering, the parliament can proceed to enact these essential parts of the government's program."

[15] The primary challenge was that the States alleged that too much time had elapsed from the second rejection of the Bills by the Senate and the double dissolution.

In separate judgments, all of the judges Barwick CJ, McTiernan, Gibbs, Stephen, Mason, Jacobs and Murphy JJ, held that once the trigger conditions had been satisfied, the Governor-General could exercise the power at any time prior to 'six months before the date of the expiry of the House of Representatives by effluxion of time'.

A joint sitting was planned, but the bill was abandoned when it was realised its implementation would still have been subject to the whim of the Senate, which was hostile to the proposal.

"[18] However, a joint sitting was made unnecessary when the trigger bills were reintroduced to parliament after the election and all were passed with amendments.