The referendum result was a disaster for the country and a tragedy for First Australians and there has been little appetite for public discussion about lessons to be learnt from this abject failure. By Frank Brennan
In his latest book, Fact and Fiction, Nicholas Hasluck draws upon the diaries he kept while serving as a judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. These provide not only a picture of judicial life but also an account of writing Dismissal, his novel about the final days of the Whitlam government. What follows are thoughts and recollectionss on the events of and before November 11, 1975