VPRS 11938 Submissions to the Urban Infrastructure Committee of Cabinet, Cain/Kirner Government

This series comprises submissions to the Urban Infrastructure Committee of Cabinet during 1986. An examination of the records in this series suggests that the Committee's main activity was to oversee the development of a Melbourne Urban Strategy designed to determine how the Government should seek to influence the growth of Melbourne. The Committee continued to operate until 1988. Although the submissions in this series were created solely in the period this government was led by John Cain, the series title attributes it to the government led by Cain 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 are known to be extant and little is known about the record-keeping processes associated with Cabinet throughout this period.  Cabinet and Cabinet Committee Recordkeeping from 1982 In April 1982 the Labor Government of John Cain was elected. The new government established the process for the creation and distribution of cabinet records.A Cabinet Office within the Department of Premier and Cabinet was also created to operate as a secretariat. This government 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.  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 Urban Infrastructure 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 Master Copy of Cabinet and Cabinet Committee Submissions.