|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our History
Victoria separates from parent colony of New South Wales. Government is run by the Colonial Secretary, the most senior member of the Executive Council. His office contains the work of what will become the Premier's Department, and handles communication between all branches of the Government.
Victoria attains self-government. The Colonial Secretary is now known as the Chief Secretary. The Chief Secretary leads all Ministries. His office coordinates Government policy and channels communication between departments. The title of Premier is honorific and for the next 80 years will be assumed by the Chief Secretary (usually), the Treasurer or the Attorney-General.
The Premier's Office is created, with a Secretary and staff of three. The aim is to separate the duties specific to the Premier from those of the Chief Secretary. Home is the Treasury Building. Administratively, the Office is located within the Department of Treasury until 1890, when it briefly becomes a Department of State in its own right.
The Premier's Department becomes a subdepartment of the Chief Secretary's Department, where it remains until 1928.
At Federation, the Department has a staff of six. Over the next two decades it operates under several different names, remaining a small, allmale office where seniority reflects years of service and the vital skill is an ability to take shorthand.
The Office transfers to the Department of Treasury (because the Treasurer has assumed the portfolio of Premier). Already, it is situated in the 1874 Government Building now known as 2 Treasury Place.
Victoria gains its first separately commissioned Premier (Mr Albert Dunstan) with separate portfolio responsibilities. Consequently, the Department of the Premier is established independently. By 1939 it has 101 staff. In comparison, the Chief Secretary's and Treasury Departments, whose Under-Secretaries are the two most powerful public servants in Victoria, have 2445 and 1323 staff respectively.
The Department of the Premier, under its influential and long-serving secretary Sir John Jungwirth, begins to offer a policy role in emerging areas of government business. Staff increases from 195 in 1948 to 287 in 1954.
In a long-running era, close liaison between Premier Bolte and his Chief Secretary, Sir Arthur Rylah, means their two departments work well together.
The Department of the Premier takes in the Arts portfolio. Some is later relinquished to a Ministry for the Arts, but it returns in full in 1996.
An office move, to new premises at 1 Treasury Place.
Sir Henry Bland recommends sweeping reforms to the Victorian Public Service, criticising the lack of a genuine coordinating agency within the State Government. Premier Hamer introduces some reforms but these do not alter the role of his Department.
Premier Cain moves to implement reform. The Department begins to coordinate the policy work of Government and to improve Cabinet procedures.It takes in a research unit, a women's affairs office and an aboriginal affairs unit. Secretary Brouwer aligns every section of the Department with a government portfolio. The new name is the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
100 years on as a department, the report under the new Annual Reporting Act 1983discloses administrative responsibility for all or part of 19 Acts, 69 requests for information under the newly instituted Freedom of Information Act 1982–and 395 staff.
Premier Kennett brings in further reforms. He introduces contractual employment for public servants and becomes the formal employer of all department heads. Developmental work in information technology and multimedia have major importance for Victoria.
Premier Bracks places new emphasis on strategic issues and longer-term policy development, as a key focus of the Department’s work.
Beginnings - Formal Creation of our Department
- Order-in-Council of 29 May 1883
In view of the fact that the Premier is very frequently not Chief Secretary, it is submitted to His Excellency the Governor in Council that that part of the business of the Chief Secretary's Office which especially appertains to the Head of the Administration be separated from the Chief Secretary’s Office, and attached to a distinct department, to be called the Premier’s department. In addition to the main functions outlined above, the department is to deal with any particular division or department, issuing Cabinet circulars and generally attending upon the Cabinet, and any matter which, on future experience, it may be decided that it is desirable to attach to the Premier’s Office.
Staffing - A snapshot of the Premier's Office, 1901
NAME: Robert Samuel Rogers
D.O.B: 18.8.54
TITLE: Secretary
DUTIES: Charge of office
APPOINTMENT
TO PUBLIC SERVICE: 22.5.74
YEARS SERVED: 26
ANNUAL SALARY £: 485.00
NAME: William Cecil Cave-Brown-Cave
D.O.B: 8.10.38
TITLE: Senior Clerk
DUTIES: Distribution, supervision of work; correspondence etc
APPOINTMENT
TO PUBLIC SERVICE: 24.8.83
YEARS SERVED: 17
ANNUAL SALARY £: 200.00
NAME: Henry Fraser McRae
D.O.B: 18.4.67
TITLE: Clerk
DUTIES: Registration; accounts; and general clerical work
APPOINTMENT
TO PUBLIC SERVICE: 20.11.86
YEARS SERVED: 14
ANNUAL SALARY £: 200.00
NAME: Herbert Theodore Vickers
D.O.B: 27.5.66
TITLE: Clerk
DUTIES: General clerical work; and reporting in shorthand
APPOINTMENT
TO PUBLIC SERVICE: 9.5.88
YEARS SERVED: 12
ANNUAL SALARY £: 200.00
NAME: John Scott
D.O.B: 15.3.65
TITLE: Clerk
DUTIES: General clerical work; and reporting in shorthand
APPOINTMENT
TO PUBLIC SERVICE: 15.6.88
YEARS SERVED: 12
ANNUAL SALARY £: 200.00
NAME: David Alston Dowrick
D.O.B: 11.7.84
TITLE: Junior Messenger
DUTIES:
APPOINTMENT
TO PUBLIC SERVICE: 29.3.99
YEARS SERVED: 1
ANNUAL SALARY £: 36.00
Leadership - Secretary, Department of Premier and Cabinet
- Secretaries of our Department and its predecessor agencies
| E J Thomas | 1883-1891 | A G (Alec) Coulthard | 1962-1972 |
| R S Rogers | 1891-1908 | Major-General K D (Ken) Green | 1972-1982 |
| F T Short | 1908-1922 | G E (George) Brouwer | 1982-1991 |
| G S McLean | 1922-1925 | P (Peter) Kirby | 1991-1992 |
| H T Vickers | 1925-1931 | K P (Ken) Baxter | 1992-1995 |
| C C Gale | 1931-1934 | E M (Elizabeth) Proust | 1995-1997 |
| [Vacant] | 1935 | W I (Bill) Scales | 1998-2000 |
| Sir John Jungwirth | 1936-1962 | T F (Terry) Moran | 2000-2008 |
| |
|