The third Gorton ministry spanned the period from 14 November 1969 to 9 March 1971 and the McMahon ministry covered the period from 10 March 1971 to 26 October 1972.

Submissions, decisions and files

Each submission is filed in numerical sequence with its decision. Copies of withdrawn submissions are also included in the submission series. While withdrawn submissions are not always found in the folders of submissions, they can usually be found in the relevant Cabinet file.

Cabinet did not consider all submissions.  A number were withdrawn before before being considered. Copies of all withdrawn submissions are included in the 1971 submission folders, accessible in the Archives' Canberra reading room. A number of other submissions were only for Cabinet's information, and did not require a decision. The submission title notes where this is the case.

Submission number 702 in the third Gorton ministry was not received. Submission numbers 200, 226 to 239, and 279 in the McMahon ministry were not allocated.

Although most Cabinet business was conducted through formal submissions, the prime minister could raise, or allow a colleague to raise, a matter without submission. Cabinet decisions are the only formal record of such deliberations and they're termed 'decisions without submission'. The decision number is not the same as the submission number to which it relates though. This is because decisions are not made in order of receipt of submissions and many decisions were made without a submission. Decisions on some 1971 submissions were not made until the following year.

Copies of decisions without submission can be found in the folders of Cabinet decisions in the Canberra reading room of the National Archives. The folders contain all the decisions of Cabinet for 1971 in a numerical sequence.

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.

Cabinet notebooks

In 1971, the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (Sir Edward John Bunting), the Deputy Secretaries (Peter Lawler and Peter Bailey) and the First Assistant Secretary (Robert Linford) 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 are not available to the public until 50 years have lapsed since their creation, unlike other Commonwealth records which are released after 30 years. Information relating to Cabinet notebooks for the years 1950 to 1954, is available on this website.

Viewing the records

Folders containing copies of lists of the 1971 submissions and decisions from both ministries are available for public access in the National Archives' Canberra reading room. All 1971 submissions, including those withdrawn, are included in these folders.

The Cabinet submissions and decisions are listed at item level on RecordSearch.  Digital copies of submissions and decisions can be viewed in RecordSearch also.  The original records can be ordered for viewing in the National Archives' Canberra reading room.

The Cabinet members of both the Gorton and McMahon ministries and the Cabinet committees and their abbreviations are listed below.

Cabinet members

There were two ministries and cabinets in 1971:

• the third Gorton ministry; and
• the McMahon ministry.

Members of the two cabinets are listed below. The roles and titles ascribed to them are those they held in 1971. During 1971 parliamentary sittings and cabinet meetings were usually held twice weekly and lasted for around four hours.

Third Gorton Ministry

At the 25 October 1969 federal election, the Gorton government was returned with its majority reduced from 39 to just 7. Despite being challenged for leadership 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.

McMahon Ministry

On 10 March 1971 at a Liberal Party meeting, John Gorton made the casting vote against himself (34–33) and stood down as prime minister and Leader of the Liberal Party. William McMahon stepped into both roles and the McMahon ministry was in place from 10 March 1971 to 26 October 1972.

There were a few reshuffles, most notably in August 1971, with Fraser joining Cabinet as Minister of Education and Science, Bowen taking over Foreign Affairs from Bury, and Fairbairn replacing Gorton as Minister for Defence.

Cabinet 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
• relieving Cabinet of much business of lesser importance.

1971 committees of Cabinet included the following.

Some of the political figures in Australia in 1971 who are still active in the community are listed below. The roles and titles ascribed to them are those they held in 1971.

Government Ministers

Government Members of Parliament

Opposition Members of Parliament

Senior Public Servants