The Department of National Development was an

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

that existed between March 1950 and December 1972, and briefly between December 1977 and December 1979.

History

The Department of National Development was established in March 1950, with

Richard Casey, Baron Casey Richard Gavin Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey, (29 August 1890 – 17 June 1976) was an Australian statesman who served as the 16th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1965 to 1969. He was also a distinguished army officer, long-serving ...

as its Minister. Media reported that the new Department would plan for the supply of basic commodities, promote decentralisation and regional development and plan for the development of primary and manufacturing industries and the stimulation of housing construction. By 1969, the Department consisted of five divisions: the resources policy division; the northern development division; the Bureau of Mineral Resources; the Forestry and Timber Bureau; and the division of national mapping. The Department was one of six abolished by the Whitlam government in December 1972. It functions were split between four new departments, namely the Department of Environment and Conservation, the Department of Minerals and Energy and the

Department of Northern Development The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is the provincial ministry of the Government of Ontario that is responsible for transport infrastructure and related law in Ontario. The ministry traces its roots back over a century to the 1890s, when the pro ...

, as well as two established departments—the Department of Works and the Department of Primary Industry. The department was created for the second time on 20 December 1977 in the Fraser government before it was abolished two years later in 8 December 1979.

Scope

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. At its first creation, the Department was responsible for the following: *Survey of immediate shortages in basic commodities and planning of improvements by increased production or import *Promotion of decentralisation and regional development throughout the Commonwealth and the Territories of the Commonwealth *Surveys of natural resources and development * Planning the development of national resources generally, and in particular the development of primary and manufacturing industries and the stimulation of housing and building construction *Administration of Commonwealth-State Housing Agreements *Development planning in conjunction with the various States and, where necessary, co-ordination of such development planning, including the investigation of such national works as are referred to the Department by the Government *In conjunction with Treasury and other interested Departments, to make arrangements with the respective States and Other Governmental authorities with regard to the cost and execution of development projects *To control funds required for the approved programme of development work. At its second creation in 1979, the Department was responsible for the following: *National energy planning and research *Minerals exploration and resource assessment *Water resources and electricity *Geodesy and mapping *Decentralisation

Structure

The Department was a

Commonwealth Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...

department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for National Development. In order of appointment, the Department's Ministers were: Richard Casey,

Bill Spooner William "Sputnik" Spooner (born August 16, 1949) is a musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter, and the founder of The Tubes, a theatrical rock band. His songwriting is known for its use of humor and satire. He has released three solo albums ...

, David Fairbairn,

Reginald Swartz Sir Reginald William Colin Swartz KBE (14 April 1911 – 2 February 2006) was an Australian Liberal Party politician who was Minister during the governments of Sir Robert Menzies, Harold Holt and John Gorton. In particular, he is best known ...

and

Lance Barnard Lance Herbert Barnard AO (1 May 19196 August 1997) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1974 and held senior ministerial office in the Whitlam Government, most no ...

, and Kevin Newman between 1977 and 1979. The Secretary of the Department was A.J. Woods.

List of national development ministers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Department of National Development (Australia) Ministries established in 1950 National Development