Department of the Media
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 19 December 1972 |
| Preceding Department |
|
| Dissolved | 22 December 1975 |
| Superseding agency |
|
| Jurisdiction | Commonwealth of Australia |
| Headquarters | Canberra |
| Ministers responsible |
|
| Department executives |
|
Department of the Interior (II) - for government publicity and information
Department of Administrative Services (II) - for information, printing and publishing
The Department of the Media was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and December 1975.
The Department was one of several new Departments established by the Whitlam Government, a wide restructuring that revealed some of the new government's program. The Department was dissolved shortly after the Dismissal. It was replaced by the Postal and Telecommunications Department, representing a joining of the Department of the Media and the Postmaster-General's Department.
Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders, the annual Portfolio Budget Statements and in the Department's annual reports.
According to the Administrative Arrangements Order issued 19 December 1972, at its creation, the Department was responsible for:
The Department was an Australian Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for the Media, initially Doug McClelland (until June 1975), then Moss Cass (as part of a ministerial reshuffle in June 1975), and finally Reg Withers as a caretaker Minister for the month leading up to the December 1975 election (after the 11 November 1975 Dismissal in which the Governor-General appointed Leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Fraser, as caretaker Prime Minister).
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