The 1974 double dissolution and the Gair affair

This video discusses the lead-up to the Australian 1974 double dissolution election and the joint sitting. It discusses the Gair affair, where there was an attempt to manipulate the Senate numbers by appointing a DLP Senator as Ambassador to Ireland. It explains how it all went wrong and how the Governor-General was twice given legal advice that was contrary to what was later claimed in Parliament. It also notes how the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was warned by the Governor-General, Sir Paul Hasluck, that he had to secure supply before he could be granted an election. It then discusses the dubious legal advice given to the Governor-General about whether the PMA Bill qualified as a trigger for a double dissolution, and the subsequent finding by the High Court that it did not. Sir John Kerr faced the same problem when he replaced Hasluck and was advised to issue a proclamation for a joint sitting to deal with the double dissolution bill. Kerr thought the legal advice on the PMA Bill was wrong, but was then advised that he could not act contrary to Hasluck's earlier treatment of the PMA Bill as a double dissolution bill. While Kerr acted on the advice he received, the incident led him to distrust the legal advice he received from the Crown law officers, contributing to the poisoning of trust between the Governor-General and the Whitlam Government.