I just learned about this one yesterday:
One of the most successful CIA covert operations concerns the removal of Gough Whitlam, the prime minister of Australia.
As leader of the Labour Party he advocated the abolition of conscription and Australian withdrawal from the Vietnam War, and in 1971 visited China, promising to establish diplomatic relations. This left-wing stance was popular with the Australian people and on 2 December 1972, Whitlam led the ALP to its first electoral victory since 1946.
After 23 years of continuous conservative rule, the bureaucracy was unhelpful, and the conservative state governments were implacably opposed to reform. Nevertheless, Whitlam embarked on a massive legislative reform program. In the space of a little less than three years, the Whitlam Government:
? established formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China[3];
? took responsibility for tertiary education over from the states and abolished tertiary fees[4];
? established the Schools Commission to distribute Federal funds to assist non-government schools on a needs basis;
? introduced a supporting benefit for single-parent families;
? abolished the death penalty for Federal crimes;
? reduced the voting age to 18 years;
? abolished the last vestiges of the White Australia Policy;
? mandated equal opportunities for women in Federal Government employment;
? appointed women to judicial and administrative positions;
? abolished conscription
? established the Order of Australia, Australia's own honours system.
The Senate managed to block some of Whitlam's legislation including:
? a universal, free health insurance system to be known as Medibank.
? Regulate the size of House of Representatives electorates to ensure one vote one value.
? Institute government overseeing of exploitation of minerals and oil.
Whitlam?s foreign policy upset the CIA and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO). Whitlam became convinced that the ASIO was plotting against him and in March 1973, Attorney General Lionel Murphy ordered a raid on the ASIO offices.
According to Frank Snepp, his boss, Ted Shackley began to plot Whitlam?s removal. Ray Cline and William Colby have both admitted that the left-wing government in Australia caused a crisis for the CIA. James Angleton claimed that Whitlam was a Soviet agent (in Angleton?s world every left-winger was a KGB spy).
The situation got worse when the CIA discovered that Whitlam planned to close the American base, Pine Gap near Alice Springs. This was followed on 2 November, 1975, by Whitlam making a speech claiming that the CIA had been funding the National Country Party.
On 8th November, Ted Shackley sent a message of the ASIO, pointing out the dangers posed by Whitlam. Three days later, Governor-General Sir John Kerr, dismissed Whitlam and installed Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister until a federal election could be held.
The Murdoch press now launched a massive propaganda campaign against the Labour Party and with the two main opposition parties, the National Country/Liberal formed a coalition group and won the new election.