PLEASE FILE
FOR REFERENCE: 1J AY, 1956
JANUARY, 1956
STATEMENTS, SPEECHES, BROADCASTS BY THE
PRIME : i: INISTER. THE RT. HUN. R. G. MENZIES, C. HM. P.
FEDERAL CABINET RE-CONSTRUCTION
On January 10, the Prime Minister announced the names
of the Ministers in the new Government, together with their
departments. as follows
Prime MinisterSRt. Hon.
TreasurerRt. Hon.
Vice-President of the Executive'
Council; Minister for Defence.
Production
Minister for Labour and
National Service; and Minister.
for Immigration
Minister for Trade
Minister for External Affairs
( and in charge of C. S. I. R. O.)
Minister for Defence
Leader of the Government in the
Senate; and Minister for
the Navy
Attorney-General; and Deputy
Leader of the Government in
the Senate
Minister for National
Development
Minister for Air; and Minister
for Civil Aviation
Minister for Territories Robert Gordon MENZIES,
C. Ho, M. P.
Sir Arthur William FADDEN
M. P.
Rt. Hon. Sir. Eric John HARRISON,
M. P.
Rt. Hon.
Rt. Hon.
Rt. Hon.
Hon. Sir Harold Edward HOLT, M. P.
John McEWEN, M. P.
Richard Gardiner CASEY, M. P.
Philip Albert Martin
McBRIDE, K. C. M. G. , M. P.
Senator the Hon. Neil O'SULLIVAN
Senator the Hon. John Armstrong
SPICER, Q. C.
Senator the Hon. William Henry
SPOONER, -Mi..
The Hon. Athol Gordon TOWNLEY, M. P.
Hon. Paul Meernaa Caedwalla
HSLUCK, ! M. P.
The above will constitute THE CBINET
Minister for Repatriation
Minister for Supply
Minister for Primary Industry
Minister for Shipping and
Transport
Minister for Health
Minister for the Arrmy
Postmaster-General
Minister for Customs and Excis
Minister for the Interior and
Minister for Works
Minister for Social Services Senator the Hon. Walter Jackson
COOPER, M. B. E.
Hon. Howard BEALE, M. P.
SHon. William McMi HON, M. P.
SSenator the Hon. Shane Dunne
PJLTRIDGE
SDr. Donald Alastair CAjERON, M. P.
Mr. John Oscar CRAMER, M. P.
. Mr. Charles Willimn Di. VIDSON,
M. P.
e. Mr. Frederick Meares OSBORNE,
M. P.
Mr. Allen FAIRHALL, iN. P.
Mr. Hugh Stevenson ROBERTON, M. P. ml
It will be seen that certain very important changes have been made.
In order to secure more concentration of discussion and expedition of decision on policy'matters, the size of the Cabinet is being reduced to 12. I have decided to adopt something like the United Kingdom system of having-a Cabinet which includes certain Ministers and of having other Ministers, not in Cabinet, who will be responsible for the administration of their ow'n departments. Minis not in Cabinet will be invited to attend and to participate whenever matters affecting their own department are under Cabinet consideratic I will also have the right to invite to a Cabinet discussion any non-Ci-inet Minister who has 'special knowledge or experience on the partic-lar matter under consideration.
In order to render this new system fully effective, I will invite Parliament to alter the Ministers of State ict to provide for t::c additional ministers. Mr. Cramer and Mr. Roberton will, therefore, not be sworn as Ministers until the statutory amendment has been made.
The practice of having ,a Defence Preparations Committee will be continued. On this Committee there will continue to be present (interalia) the three Service Ministers and the three Chiefs of Staff.
The principal departmental re-organisation is to be found in the creation, for urgent and obvious purposes, of a new Department of Trade which will not only embrace the trade aspects of the present Department of Commerce and Agriculture, including the work of the statotory marketing boards for certain primary industries, but will also be equipped, to ensure that.bo.th inward and outward trade are dealt with comprehensively. The new department will take over from Trade and Customs the administration of the Tariff Board and the Central Import Licensing Committee. The normal administration of import licensing',. subject to the rules laid down in the new departmen will rem'ain with Customs.
The Dep.artment of Trade and Customs will become the Department of Customs and Excise, a title which will more accurately describe its functions under the new organisation.
In order that the.Department of Trade may not, under thesej circumstances, be overloaded and so that it may direct its major attention to the stimulation of trade, a new Department of Primary Industry is being created. It will, subject to the activities of the Department of Trcde in respect of mcrketing boards, deal with the Commonwealth'd activities in relation to primary industries, including sugar, cotton and wine, which have hitherto been in the Department of Trade and Customs. It will also embrace such matters as the tractor bounty and the sulphur bounty, fisheries and whaling. It will have transferred to it from.the Department of the Interior, war service land settlement. There will be some other re-allocations of function as between departments, details of which will be announce shortly.
These changes necessarily involve an additional Minister. I have also thought it undesirable that any one minister should administer two Service departments, since the interests of these departments are not always identical. To do this, requires another additional minister. These considerations hove led to the conclusion that, while it would be completely unvrkable to have a single Cabinet of 22 Ministers, there is no reason vihy there should not be two additional ministers outside of the Cabinet, particularly as the Cabinet proper is being reduced to 12, and should certainly be no larger if the greatest possible efficiency is to be achieved.
I sincerely regret'the loss of good colleagues who have fin records of public service, but I have felt that the circumstances of today require very wide reconstruction, the introduction of relatively new Members of Parliament who can contribute fresh experience and ….