Department of the Vice-President of the Executive Council
12 March 1971 – 31 May 1971
Renamed Department of the Environment, Aborigines and the Arts in 1971.
Short-lived Department of State (March–May 1971) that administered the Commonwealth's Aboriginal affairs, arts and national collections functions after they were taken out of the Prime Minister's Department.
Names over time
- Department of the Vice-President of the Executive Council1971
- Department of the Environment, Aborigines and the Arts1971–1972
How it came into existence
Created on 12 March 1971 by order of the Governor-General in Council, when the McMahon government reorganised the Prime Minister's Department; Lenox Hewitt, previously head of that department, was secretary, and Alan Hulme, the Vice-President of the Executive Council, answered for it in the House of Representatives. It took the Office of Aboriginal Affairs and the Council for Aboriginal Affairs, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, the arts (Australian Council for the Arts, Commonwealth Literary Fund, Commonwealth Art Advisory Board and the planned National Gallery), the National Library and the Commonwealth Archives Office from the Prime Minister's Department, together with some functions from the Treasury.
- Aboriginal affairs (Office of Aboriginal Affairs, Council for Aboriginal Affairs)
- The arts
- National Library and Commonwealth Archives Office
- Government printing and publishing
The March 1971 announcement says the department took functions from the Treasury as well as the Prime Minister's Department; that these were government printing and publishing (the Australian Government Publishing Service, which the department's successor passed to the Department of the Media in 1972) is inferred, not confirmed.
How it ended
Renamed the Department of the Environment, Aborigines and the Arts on 31 May 1971, when Peter Howson became Minister for the Environment, Aborigines and the Arts and the department took on environment policy.
- Aboriginal affairs
- The arts
- National Library and Commonwealth Archives Office
- Government printing and publishing
Main functions
- Aboriginal affairs (Office of Aboriginal Affairs)
- Support for the Council for Aboriginal Affairs and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies
- Arts support (Australian Council for the Arts, Commonwealth Art Advisory Board, Commonwealth Literary Fund)
- Planning for a National Gallery
- National Library and Commonwealth Archives Office
Lineage
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Sources
Government records and websites
Some dates or links for this organisation are not fully confirmed. Corrections are welcome.