J~, AUSTRALIA L
FOR MEDIA MONDAY, 16 JULY 1979
ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR INTER-GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
The Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, today announced three
appointments to the Advisory Council for Inter-Government
Relations Professor R. C. Gates, as member and Chairman,
the Hon. Haddon Storey, Attorney-General and Minister for
Federal Affairs in the Victorian Parliament and the
Hon. W. D. Lickiss, Minister for Justice and Attorney-General
in the Queensland Parliament as members.
Professor Gates, currently Vice-Chancellor of the University
of New England, has had a distinguished academic career.
He was formerly Head of the Department of Economics at the
University of Queensland. Professor Gates is a member of many
eminent academic and professional associations and is also a
member of the Commonwealth Government's Economic Consultative
Committee. Mr. Fraser said that the Advisory Council for Inter-Government
Relations was an essential feature of the federalism policy
of the Commonwealth Government. The Advisory Council was
established in 1976 with the object of improving inter-government
co-operation. It receives references from the Premiers'
Conference to keep under consideration and review issues for
inter-government co-operation and to recommend ways and means
for improving inter-government co-operation.
The Advisory Council has been given two references. The first
is to examine the relationships which ought to exist between the
three spheres of government. The second is an examination
of interchanges of personnel between the three spheres of
government. Preliminary reports on each reference have
been published.
The Council has 22 members representing Commonwealth, State
and local government and the community. The Secretariat is
located in Hobart.
Mr. Fraser acknowledged the valuable contribution of the
Hon. Peter Howson who has been the Acting Chairman since May
this year when the office of Chairman became vacant on the
resignation of the foundation Chairman, Professor R. L. Mathews.
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Mr. Howson chaired a series of public meetings as
part of the information gathering exercise associated
with the major inquiry into the relationships which should
exist between the three levels of government. An
interim report of this inquiry was published recently.
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