{"product_id":"the-truth-of-the-matter","title":"The Truth of the Matter","description":"\u003cp\u003ePassionate, pithy, learned, witty, and vigorously combative, The Truth of the Matter tells the extraordinary political story of the only Prime Minister of Australia ever deposed from office.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eOn Remembrance Day 1975 the Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr, sacked Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. The Dismissal was the culmination of almost three years of political conflict, as Whitlam's progressive Labor government rammed home legislative reform in the face of implacable and increasingly bitter conservative resistance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe focus of the Opposition's scheming was the Senate, where its leaders blocked supply in order to force a political crisis. Whitlam, famous for his 'crash through or crash' style, refused to compromise with his political enemies. At an election a month after the Dismissal, the conservatives were returned to office. Controversy and recrimination followed. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eMany Australians, including Whitlam himself, believed he had been the victim of a coup. In 1979 Whitlam published his own account of the events of 1975, The Truth of the Matter, an instant bestseller.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eAuthor: Gough Whitlam\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e Publisher: Melbourne University Press\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eFormat: Paperback\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e Pages: 320\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003ePublished: 5th March 2025\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eISBN:  9780522881172 \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Shop at Old Parliament House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52088030789943,"sku":"9780522881172","price":30.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0839\/9559\/0967\/files\/File-6634.png?v=1778035657","url":"https:\/\/shop.moadoph.gov.au\/products\/the-truth-of-the-matter","provider":"The Shop at Old Parliament House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}