1969 – Gorton government

Mr John Gorton addresses the National Press Club in Canberra, October 1969 (NAA: A1200, L84029)

The 1969 Cabinet records

The 1969 Cabinet records comprise more than 370 submissions with related decisions and 254 decisions without submission. A further 49 submissions were withdrawn before being considered by Cabinet.

Submissions, decisions and files

Cabinet submissions were registered on receipt by Cabinet Office and allocated a unique number. Over 40 submissions without decisions were considered in 1969. Many of these were withdrawn when the election was called. Others did not get listed for attention at a Cabinet meeting for some weeks or months due to the pressure of business and reworking of priorities.

Cabinet decisions were also allocated a unique number but there is no correlation between the number of a decision and the number of the submission to which it relates. It is possible for a Cabinet decision to have been taken without a submission. Although much Cabinet business was conducted on the basis of submissions, the prime minister could decide to raise, or allow a colleague to raise, a matter without submission. The Cabinet decision itself is the only formal record of such deliberations.

The Cabinet Office ‘CO’ files and Prime Minister’s Department ‘C’ files contain a copy of the submission, briefing papers and relevant decisions. They also contain departmental advice and exchanges between officials and ministers not included in the formal Cabinet papers. Withdrawn submissions can also be found in the relevant ‘C’ or ‘CO’ file.

Collection references

	Series title	Date range	Series number
	Folders of Cabinet Submissions, Second Gorton Ministry	1968–69	A5868
	Third Gorton Ministry - folders of Cabinet submissions	1969–71	A5869
	Second Gorton Ministry - folders of decisions of Cabinet and Cabinet committees	1968–69	A5872
	Third Gorton Ministry - folders of decisions of Cabinet and Cabinet committees	1969–71	A5873
	Gorton and McMahon Ministries - Cabinet files, 'CO' single number series	1968–72	A5882
	Cabinet files, single number series with 'C' [Cabinet] prefix	1968–72	A5619

Cabinet notebooks

Officials of the Cabinet Office were usually present for meetings of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees. In 1969, the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary to Cabinet attended most Cabinet meetings. Their role included the recording of proceedings so that minutes accurately reflecting the decisions made or conclusions reached could be prepared. These records of proceedings are referred to as Cabinet notebooks.

Under section 22A of the Archives Act 1983, Cabinet notebooks (unlike other Commonwealth records) are not available to the public until fifty years have lapsed since their creation.

Viewing the records

The above series and items have been entered into RecordSearch. Digital copies of submissions and decisions can be viewed through RecordSearch also. The original records can be requested and viewed in the National Archives' Canberra reading room.

Folders containing copies of lists of the 1969 submissions and decisions are available for public access in the Canberra reading room.

Members and committees of the 1969 Cabinet

There were two Gorton ministries and Cabinets in 1969, known as the second and third Gorton Cabinets.  (The first Gorton Cabinet was in place until February 1968).

Second Gorton Cabinet

The second Gorton ministry commenced on 28 February 1968 and continued until 12 November 1969. The following 12 Ministers made up the second Gorton Cabinet.

Third Gorton Cabinet

At the 25 October 1969 federal election, the Gorton government was returned with its majority reduced from 39 to just seven. Despite being challenged by McMahon and Fairbairn, Gorton retained leadership and put in place a reshuffled third Ministry.

The third Gorton Ministry was in place from 12 November 1969 to 10 March 1971 and its Cabinet consisted of the following 13 Ministers.

During 1969 Parliamentary sittings, Cabinet meetings were usually held twice weekely and lasted for around four hours.

Committees of Cabinet

In 1969 the committees of Cabinet included the following:

The committee abbreviation is added to the decision number to identify its decisions.

Role of Committees

Cabinet Committees were first formally established, by Prime Minister Menzies, in 1950. Their role was to assist Cabinet to:

• make decisions more expeditiously and efficiently by having a Committee of Ministers sift through the issues and the facts and present Cabinet with a clear recommendation for action; and
• relieve Cabinet of much business of lesser importance.

Key political figures

Some of the political figures in Australia in 1969 are listed below. The roles and titles ascribed to them are those they held in 1969.

Government Ministers

Government Members of Parliament

Opposition Members of Parliament

Senior Public Servants

Back to top