PM, Queen urged to release Whitlam letters

A Sydney historian, blocked from accessing letters to the Queen relating to the dismissal of Gough Whitlam, has urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to push for their release.

Jenny Hocking went to the Federal Court seeking to have the National Archives of Australia release the so-called "palace letters".

She previously said the dozens of secret letters between Buckingham Palace and then governor-general Sir John Kerr in the months before the 1975 dismissal would give an insight into his thinking and how much the palace knew.

But the court agreed with the archive that the letters were "personal property" and would not order their release.

Prof Hocking has now urged the prime minister to lobby the Queen to unseal the letters that hold "critical aspects" of Australian history.

The documents, at this stage, will remain sealed until at least 2027 when the existing embargo ends - unless the Queen decides to veto their release.