Gough Whitlam made a "terrible mistake" by assuming the governor-general would allow him to continue leading the nation, former prime minister John Howard says, 50 years on from the dismissal that defined Australian politics for decades.

Mr Whitlam was dismissed on the front steps of Old Parliament House on November 11, 1975, over a deadlock which could have seen Australia run out of money for crucial services.

Liberal leader Malcolm Fraser had refused to pass Mr Whitlam's budget, leading to a constitutional crisis Governor-General Sir John Kerr resolved by firing the prime minister and appointing Mr Fraser to the role.

Mr Howard, who was a junior member of the Fraser opposition in the lead-up to the dismissal, said Mr Whitlam didn't handle the politics of the saga well.

"I think he ju

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