How robust is Australia’s democracy? Exactly fifty years ago, an elected government was abruptly dismissed by a governor-general whose reasons, methods and secret correspondences have yet to be revealed in full. This season we examine how the Dismissal continues to shape Australia today.

No Australian government had ever matched Gough Whitlam’s impact. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land rights. The Racial Discrimination Act. No-fault divorce. Universal healthcare. Legal aid. Equal pay for women and men. The Australian Film Commission, the Technical and Further Education Commission and the Australia Council. Blue Poles. Tripling arts funding. Ending the White Australia policy. Abolishing conscription and the death penalty. Free university education. Advance Australia Fair, not God Save the Queen.