Department of the Media

The Department of the Media was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and December 1975.

History

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.

Scope

Information about the department's functions and 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:

Matters related to the news, information and entertainment media
Film-making and development of the film industry
Government publicity and information
Government printing, publishing and advertising.

Structure

The Department was an Australian Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for the Media, initially Doug McClelland, then Moss Cass, and finally Reg Withers as a caretaker Minister for the month leading up to the December 1975 election.

Secretary role

Department officials were headed by a Secretary, initially Ebor Lane and then James Oswin. Gough Whitlam had initially offered the Secretary position to Talbot Duckmanton in January 1973, but Duckmanton was uncertain what the Department was supposed to do. After Oswin left the position in June 1975, he was replaced by James Spigelman, a 29-year-old who had previously been employed as the Prime Minister's Principal Private Secretary, the third person Whitlam had appointed as a Permanent Head of an Australian Government Department after time in that role.