The newly released 1974 cabinet papers from the National Archives show the Whitlam Government eager to pursue its visionary and ambitious reforms despite clear signs of an economic downturn, and the beginnings of the so-called ‘loans affair’.
The submissions, decisions and departmental files that make up the 1974 cabinet papers allow us to imagine ourselves pulling back the curtain and listening in on the once secret cabinet meetings. Although detailed minutes, by way of the cabinet notebooks, won’t be released for another 20 years, if we piece together submissions, decisions and the departmental files that go with them, we can gain a valuable insight into those meetings, now so long ago.
As the public grew dissatisfied with the government’s direction, Gough Whitlam and his ministers faced the New Year in a weakened political position. The appointment in March of Democratic Labor Party Senator Vince Gair as Ambassador to Ireland—known as the ‘Gair affair’—prompted the opposition under Billy Snedden to commence deferring the government’s supply bills. That decision ultimately doomed the government.
Whitlam had hoped to win Gair’s seat and thus control of the Senate. With supply denied, Whitlam secured a double dissolution election in May, but failed to win a Senate majority. Despite winning a second term—albeit with the loss of seats—the government languished in the polls for much of the year. Indeed, the Morgan Gallup Poll had rarely shown the government ahead of the opposition since mid-1973.
After the frantic early days of the Whitlam Government in 1972, when it made 40 major decisions in 14 days, and the rapid workload of 1973 which included 823 formal submissions and 221 new acts of legislation, the cabinet business of 1974 was equally gruelling. However, while there were fewer submissions to consider, Cabinet made almost twice as many decisions. In 1974 there were 626 submissions and 1264 decisions.
The latest papers show a similar cabinet style to that of previous years, which was ultimately detrimental to the government’s effectiveness. With all ministers in Cabinet, management was difficult and decision-making laboured. Ministers who lost in Cabinet could return to caucus and try to overturn decisions.
As the government was determined to implement its ‘mandate’ at almost any cost, it struggled to reconcile the implementation of policies with the deteriorating economic environment. Concerns expressed by Treasury over funding, or questions of implementation raised by ministers were given short shrift.
The 1974 cabinet papers show the government determined to introduce a