Formed 21 April 1975 | Dissolved 22 December 1975 | |
Superseding agency Department of Environment, Housing and Community Development Department of National Resources Jurisdiction Commonwealth of Australia Ministers responsible Moss Cass, Minister (Apr‑Jun 1975)Jim Cairns, Minister (Jun‑Jul 1975)Gough Whitlam, Minister (Jul 1975)Joe Berinson, Minister (Jul‑Nov 1975)Andrew Peacock, Minister (Nov‑Dec 1975) | ||
The Department of the Environment was an Australian government department that existed between April and December 1975.
Contents
History
The Department was introduced by the Whitlam Government in April 1975, to replace the Department of Environment and Conservation. At the time, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam said that the reason for the re‑badging was that the name 'Department of Environment and Conservation' suggested that conservation was a separate matter from the environment, whereas it was in fact a major component of the Government's total environment program.
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 creation, the Department's functions were:
Structure
The Department was a Commonwealth Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for the Environment.