1980 Cabinet Papers Released

The 1980 Cabinet Papers of the Fraser Government have been released by the National Archives of Australia.

The Liberal/National Party coalition government was in its fifth year in office. It won its third and final election on October 18.

The Fourth Fraser Ministry after being sworn in by the Governor-General, Sir Zelman Cowan

The Cabinet papers are released under the 30-year-rule. This has now been reduced to 20 years, to be phased in over the next ten years with two years of documents to be released each year. Because of the workload involved in the releases, Cabinet documents from 1981 will be released periodically during 2011.

An embargoed media briefing was held in early December. Click PLAY to listen to the preliminary comments:

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Jim Stokes, from the National Archives, talks about 1980 and the release of Cabinet papers under the 30-year rule. A transcript of Stokes’s remarks is here. Click PLAY to listen to Stokes:

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Journalist Paul Kelly gives his views on the significance of events in 1980. A transcript of Kelly’s comments is available here. Click PLAY to listen to Kelly:

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Kelly and Stokes take questions from the media about the 1980 Cabinet Papers.

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The Second Gillard Government: Politics Is Personal

The 42 members of the Second Gillard Government will rarely meet together in one place as they did yesterday at Government House for their swearing in by the Governor-General.

Most of the time, the Cabinet of 20 will meet weekly. Occasionally, the 10 members of the outer ministry will join the Cabinet. Only rarely will the 12 Parliamentary Secretaries sit in the same room with the inner circle.

To watch them yesterday was to be reminded that politics is a business of hierarchies, competing ambitions, animosities and long memories. Disappointment is never far away. Friendship is fraught. As they say in the cities of government the world over, if you want a friend here, get a dog.

Behind the palpable relief that these Labor members were even present at Yarralumla to be commissioned as members of the government lay a picture of the possibilities and problems before them. [Read more...]

Ken Henry’s Address To The National Press Club

Ken Henry, Secretary to the TreasuryThe Treasury Secretary, Ken Henry, has addressed the National Press Club, in Canberra.

An affable, confident, articulate and impressive Henry delivered a speech on taxation and then took questions on allegations from the Liberal Party that he has conspired with the Federal government to manipulate the economic growth forecasts.

The speech introduced Jim from Jericho, an Australian equivalent of Joe the Plumber, who gave Henry a lesson on the taxation of fencing wire.

Click the Play button to listen to Ken Henry’s speech and responses to questions:

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This is the text of Ken Henry’s prepared speech:

Towards a tax and transfer system of human scale

1. My working holiday

As people all around the world quickly learned – such is the reach of the electronic media these days – I spent July with my wife, Naomi, in the Epping Forest Scientific National Park in central Queensland, helping look after what may be the last 115 northern hairy nosed wombats left on the planet.

The care of our native wildlife is one of my passions. Another is tax policy. That, too, has occupied a fair bit of my time this year as we have been undertaking one of the most fundamental tax reviews ever attempted in this country.

Spending time on one’s passions would normally be considered a good thing. In some respects, then, this has been a good year.

[Read more...]

Rudd Government Faces First Question Time

The Rudd Government has faced its first Question Time in the new Parliament.

The Opposition Leader’s first question was about petrol and food prices. It required a Dorothy Dixer from the government’s backbench for the stolen generations apology to be raised.

Julia Gillard delivered the most assured and polished performance, emphasising the government’s mandate on industrial relations when asked about the legislation introduced today to dismantle the Howard government’s WorkChoices. [Read more...]

The Rudd Ministry: Who Does What

The detailed administrative arrangements for the Rudd Labor government have been issued.

The administrative arrangements are made in the form of an order from the Governor-General-in-Council.

The order sets out the matters dealt with by each government department and the acts of parliament to be administered by each minister. [Read more...]

Kevin Rudd Sworn In As Australia’s 26th Prime Minister

Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia

10.00am – Kevin Rudd has been sworn in as Prime Minister by the Governor-General, Michael Jeffery, in a ceremony at Government House, in Canberra. [Read more...]

Rudd Announces New Labor Government Ministry

The Prime Minister-elect, Kevin Rudd, has announced his new ministry at a press conference in Canberra.

One of the most significant changes is that Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard will be both Education Minister and Employment & Workplace Relations Minister.

The highly-regarded Senator John Faulkner has been appointed Special Minister of State and Cabinet Secretary.

The ministry will be sworn in by the Governor-General next Monday.

Listen to Kevin Rudd’s Press Conference Announcing the Labor Ministry:

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Listen to Kevin Rudd Address the ALP Caucus:

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The Rudd Ministry

Cabinet:

  1. Prime Minister: Kevin Rudd
  2. Deputy Prime Minister, Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Social Inclusion: Julia Gillard
  3. Treasurer: Wayne Swan
  4. Immigration and Citizenship, Leader of the Government in the Senate: Sen. Chris Evans
  5. Special Minister of State, Cabinet Secretary, Vice President of the Executive Council: Sen. John Faulkner
  6. Trade: Simon Crean
  7. Foreign Affairs: Stephen Smith
  8. Defence: Joel Fitzgibbon
  9. Health and Ageing: Nicola Roxon
  10. Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs: Jenny Macklin
  11. Finance and Deregulation: Lindsay Tanner
  12. Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Local Government, Leader of the House: Anthony Albanese
  13. Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate: Sen. Stephen Conroy
  14. Innovation, Industry, Science and Research: Sen. Kim Carr
  15. Climate Change and Water: Sen. Penny Wong
  16. Environment, Heritage and The Arts: Peter Garrett
  17. Attorney General: Robert McClelland
  18. Human Services, Manager of Government Business in the Senate: Sen. Joe Ludwig
  19. Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry: Tony Burke
  20. Resources and Energy, Tourism: Martin Ferguson

Outer Ministry:

  1. Home Affairs: Bob Debus
  2. Assistant Treasurer, Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs: Chris Bowen
  3. Veterans’ Affairs: Alan Griffin
  4. Housing, Status of Women: Tanya Plibersek
  5. Employment Participation: Brendan O’Connor
  6. Defence Science and Personnel: Warren Snowdon
  7. Small Business, Independent Contractors and the Service Economy, Assisting the Finance Minister on Deregulation: Craig Emerson
  8. Superannuation and Corporate Governance: Sen. Nick Sherry
  9. Ageing: Justine Elliot
  10. Youth, Sport: Kate Ellis

Parliamentary Secretaries:

  1. Prime Minister and Cabinet: Maxine McKew
  2. Defence: Greg Combet
  3. Defence: Mike Kelly
  4. Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development: Gary Gray
  5. Families, Housing, Community Servies and Indigenous Affairs: Bill Shorten
  6. Foreign Affairs: Bob McMullan
  7. Foreign Affairs: Duncan Kerr
  8. Prime Minister and Cabinet: Anthony Byrne
  9. Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector: Sen. Ursula Stephens
  10. Trade: John Murphy
  11. Health and Ageing: Sen. Jan McLucas
  12. Immigration and Citizenship: Laurie Ferguson

Kevin Rudd’s Brisbane Press Conference

Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd has paid tribute to Bernie Banton, the man who led the fight for compensation for asbestos victims from James Hardie, who died today, aged 61.

At his press conference in Brisbane, Rudd also said he hoped to have the new Labor ministry finalised and sworn into office by Monday. He said he would announce who he had chosen for the ministry to the caucus meeting on Thursday.

Listen to Rudd’s Press Conference:

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Whitlam And Fraser Call For Strengthening Of Ministerial Accountability

Two former Australian prime ministers, Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, have called for the modernisation of the principle of ministerial accountability.

In a letter published in the Herald-Sun, Fraser and Whitlam say that "no matter how grave their failings may be, ministers no longer resign".

Whitlam was prime minister from 1972-75 and Fraser from 1975-83. Both men experienced a number of spectacular resignations and sackings from their ministries.

They have called for a comprehensive review of ministerial accountability, arguing that "this principle is the bedrock of responsible government".

They point to four significant developments in recent years:

  1. enormous growth in executive powers
  2. the pivotal role of ministerial advisers
  3. outsourcing of many government functions
  4. expanding influence of the lobbying industry

The publication of the letter comes one day after the 32nd anniversary of the Dismissal of the Whitlam government on November 11, 1975. The dismissal resulted from the Fraser-led Opposition blocking Supply in the Senate, following the departure of Rex Connor, the Minister for Minerals and Energy, for lying to Parliament.

This is the text of the letter to the Herald-Sun from Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser.

In the last two decades the constitutional principle that ministers should be held accountable for the failings of their policies or administration has been seriously undermined.

No matter how grave their failings may be, ministers no longer resign.

This principle is the bedrock of responsible government. In its absence, the capacity of the parliament and the people to hold a government to account for its actions is substantially weakened.

It is 31 years since the last official inquiry regarding the principles of ministerial accountability at a federal level. That inquiry framed the doctrine for simpler times. It could not anticipate the major changes in governance that have occurred since then.

These include an enormous growth in the powers of the executive, the now pivotal role of ministerial advisers, the outsourcing of many crucial governmental functions and the expanding influence of the lobbying industry.

The Freedom of Information Act, an important safeguard introduced in 1982, has also been undermined significantly by the practices of recent governments and restrictive interpretation by the courts.

The Canadian and British governments (of different political persuasions) have recently taken steps to strengthen ministerial accountability. They have recognised its fundamental importance and the need to re-evaluate and fortify it so that the representative democracy may function as it should.

We believe it is critical that this issue is addressed in the forthcoming national election and then acted upon by whichever party forms the new government.

We take this opportunity to urge all political parties to commit to the establishment of an independent and comprehensive review of the operation of ministerial accountability so as to modernise and strengthen it.

This is a matter that transcends party politics. It goes to the very heart of the way we are governed.

Malcolm Fraser and Gough Whitlam, former prime ministers.

Santoro Resigns From Ministry Over Share Dealings

Senator Santo Santoro, the Minister for Ageing, has resigned from the Howard ministry after a week of allegations and revelations over an undeclared share ownership.

Senator Santo Santoro, former Minister for AgeingHe is the second minister to resign in the past fortnight.

It was revealed earlier this week that Senator Santoro had failed to sell off shares in a biotechnology company, CBio, after he was appointed to the Ageing portfolio last year. This constituted a perceived conflict of interest with his health-related position.

Santoro sold the shares sometime last year and advised the Prime Minister, John Howard. He went public with details of the shareholdings at the beginning of this week to head off media disclosure. Santoro claimed he donated the profits from the shares to a charity but it was revealed yesterday that the money was given to the conservative lobby group, Family Council of Queensland, However, the organisation is not a charity. Moreover, its president, Alan Baxter, is the person who originally advised Senator Santoro to purchase the shares.

At a press conference today, Santoro described his behaviour this week as “further oversights”. However, it now appears that he has traded shares in around 50 companies during his time as a minister. He said he had now made additions to his parliamentary statement of interests.

A former Queensland state minister, Santoro lost his seat in the 2001 Queensland election but was appointed to the Senate to replace John Herron in 2002. He is regarded as an important factional powerbroker in the Queensland Liberal Party.

Santoro’s resignation follows Senator Ian Campbell’s resignation on March 3. Three other Queensland Liberal MPs (Andrew Laming, Gary Hardgrave and Ross Vasta) are currently under police investigation over alleged rorting of their electorate allowances. A week ago, an ALP shadow minister, Kelvin Thomson, resigned over revelations he wrote a reference for crime figure Tony Mokbel. This week, Prime Minister Howard came under attack over attending a function in 2004 which was also graced by a pornographer who is now in prison.

This is the text of a media release from the Prime Minister, John Howard.

Earlier today I accepted the resignation of Santo Santoro as Minister for Ageing.

After a detailed review of his financial records, required by me, he provided advice indicating a number of investments not hitherto disclosed to the Senate or to me.

He has written to the Registrar of Senators’ Interests today providing the relevant information.

While commonsense needs to be applied to issues of ministerial conduct including the capacity to accept inadvertent error, circumstances such as those now outlined by him are unacceptable.

Senator Santoro clearly has failed to comply with the rules of the Senate and has not made the disclosures to me required of him as a Minister.

He had no option but to resign.