VPRS 11941 Submissions to the Rural Affairs Committee of Cabinet, Cain/Kirner Government

This series includes submissions to the Rural Affairs Committee of Cabinet from 1985 to 1986. The Committee's terms of reference are set out in the first submission in this series and were: -- to advise on measures for providing greater coordination of government services in rural areas and raising the prominence given to community services beyond farming -- to advise on the political implications of developments in rural areas -- to advise on ways of improving the targeting of government policies and strategies in rural Victoria -- to build on the recent initiative of the Government in setting up a Rural Affairs Office in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and -- to advise on ways of improving relations with other levels of government in relation to rural Victoria. The Committee continued to operate until 1988 and was replaced a Rural Affairs, Conservation and Environment Committee of Cabinet. Although the submissions in this series were created solely in the period the government was led by John Cain, the series title is attributed to the government led by him and his successor as Premier, Joan Kirner. This was done to facilitate the identification of all Cabinet series created by this government. Cabinet Recordkeeping prior to 1982 Although a system of Cabinet Government is thought to have operated in Victoria since the commencement of responsible government, very few records relating to Cabinet meetings prior to April 1982 were created. Submissions such as those in this series were not created. Most of the pre April 1982 cabinet are held in VPRS 11935. Cabinet and Cabinet Committee Recordkeeping from 1982 In April 1982 the Labor Government led by John Cain was elected. The new government established the  process for the creation and distribution of cabinet records. A Cabinet Office was created within the Department of the Premier and Cabinet to operate as a Secretariat.  This government also established a number of standing and ad hoc committees which examined and reported to Cabinet on particular issues. Cabinet Committees used submissions as a means of bringing matters to Committee in a similar manner to the full Cabinet. Submissions were lodged with the Cabinet Office and distributed to Committee members prior to the meeting. The Cabinet Office also assisted in preparing agendas for Committees and recording their decisions, although the exact practice varied between different Committees. In many instances the deliberations of a Cabinet Committee were written into the form of a submission to the full Cabinet. These submissions may be found in VPRS 11944  Cabinet and Cabinet Committee Submissions, Cain/Kirner Government. Subsequent Series In January 1987, as a result of the introduction of a computer system for registering Cabinet submissions, the practice of filing the submissions of each Committee separately was abandoned. Thereafter submissions to the Rural Affairs Committee and all other Committees were numbered and filed in the same sequence as submissions to the full Cabinet. They will therefore be found in VPRS 11944.