After 1972
After Labor won the 1972 election, Gorton served in the Shadow Ministry of Billy Snedden until after the 1974 election, when he was dropped. In 1973, Gorton moved a motion in Parliament calling for the decriminalisation of homosexual acts between consenting adults in Australia. The motion was successful following a conscience vote.
When Fraser became Liberal leader in 1975, Gorton resigned from the party, sat as an independent, and openly campaigned against Fraser, whom he detested. He denounced the dismissal of the Whitlam government by Sir John Kerr, and unsuccessfully stood for an Australian Capital Territory Senate seat at the 1975 election as an independent. He achieved 11 per cent of the vote, coming third behind the major parties.
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