Beyond Conspiracy Theory: US presidential archives on the Australian press, national security and the Whitlam government

Abstract

Investigative journalists walk a fine line between being lauded as guardians of democracy and derided as “conspiracy theorists”. Those investigating the events that led to the fall of the Whitlam government in 1975 are often accused of an obsession with conspiracy, but documents from the presidential archives from the Eisenhower to Ford administrations provide evidence of the complex inter-relationship between the Australian press, security services and Whitlam's opponents. Recent archival work clearly establishes the ready complicity of the Australian press and a role for the US National Security Council in Whitlam's demise. Excisions from key documents on national security grounds point to the need for further investigative work before we can move beyond conspiracy theory to tell the full story of 1975.