Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Tuesday 12 March 1968, page 1


PM forms a

Cabinet

department

By Jonathan Gaul, Political Correspondent

The Prime Minister, Mr Gorton, announced officially last night that the Prime Minister's Department is to be split into two separate Departments of

State.

Mr C. L. S. Hewitt, who was chairman of the Australian Universities Commission, has been appointed Secretary of the Prime Minister's Department.

Its former secretary since 1959, Sir John Bunting, becomes the permanent head of the newly created Department of the Cabinet Office. The Prime Minister is responsible for both departments.

Mr Gorton's announcement officially confirmed changes in the Prime Minister's Department which have been expected for the past month.

The announcement says the new Department of the Cabinet Office will have the functions of servicing the Cabinet and the Committees of Cabinet. More cabinet committees will be created and the new department will also assist the Prime Minister in the "ex

peditious ordering of Cabinet business and proceedings".

Mr Hewitt

Statement by Gorton

The announcement I also said, "This decision means a division of the i former Prime Ministers Department between its Cabinet activities and its non-Cabinet activities with an expansion of service to the Prime Minister on each side".

In moving from the Prime Minister's Department, Sir John Bunting retains tho position _ of Secretary to the Cabinet. This means that he is the only public servant who is authorised to attend all Cabinet, or Cabinet committee meetings.

He also communicates Cabinet decision to relevant departments. _ The position was the main factor in the prestige and influence that went with the former job of permanent head of the Prime Minister's Department.

Sir John is expected to have a small staff of about 20 officers, but his department will be one of the most influential groups in die top levels of the public

service.

Mr Hewitt, who begins his new job today, now has the task of building- up the policy functions of the Prime Minister's Departmerit into an ideas bank

for Mr Gorton.

To succeed, he will need to attract recruits from other parts of the Public Service and obtain the full co-operation of other departments in obtaining the primary information necessary for policy formula

tion.

Uncompromising

administrator

Mr Hewitt is a former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury with a reputation as an uncompromising administrator. As chairman of the Universities Commission he was close to the then Senator Gorton, as Minister for Education and

Science.

In political circles it is generally believed that Mr Hewitt will have the ear of the Prime Minister, although Sir John Bunting's group will still vet Cabinet submissions including those from Mr Hewitt's department.

The decisions are generally regarded as a compromise, following Public Service opposition to the replacement of Sir John However, it has been stated

categorically on the Prime Minister's behalf that the creation of a new department was always his intention.

The official statement said that in the Government's view the time had now come when the two major activities of the Prime Minister's Depart

ment - Cabinet and policy ~ should be separated if each were to receive the necessary attention and control required for the full conduct of the Government's business.

The new appointments were not approved by a formal meeting of Cabinet, but followed consulta

tions between Mr Gorton and senior Ministers.

The new chairman of the Australian Universities Commission will be Sir Henry Basten, former vicechancellor of the Adelaide University.

A tough man for a changed department. -

Page 2.

Swift, the new Deputy Secretary of the Department of the

Interior.