VPRS 8377 Correspondence Files, Parliamentary Secretary of Cabinet, Cain/Kirner Government

Background: Records of the Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet When the Labor Government led by John Cain took office in April 1982, two distinct record-keeping systems were established within the office of the Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet. The first includes agendas, submissions and records of decisions of Cabinet meetings. All documents in this system are referred to as Cabinet documents. The second record-keeping system includes correspondence which relates to a range of functions performed by the Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet. This series was in effect the second record-keeping system, consisting of correspondence files which document the Parliamentary Secretary's role as co-ordinator of Cabinet and Cabinet meetings. Included in this series are files relating to:  -- parliamentary committees -- Cabinet processes and programmes -- arrangements for Cabinet meetings -- parliamentary legislative programmes -- Cabinet Office administration -- the Australian Labor Party, and -- various government policies. The series also includes correspondence and petitions from non-government organisations and individual members of the public relating to a wide range of matters. History of Portion of Series in Custody The Public Record Office holds a portion of this series covering the years 1982 to 1988. This corresponds to the period during which Dr Ken Coghill was Parliamentary Secretary. When Dr Coghill left the position in 1988 to become Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, most, but not all of the content of this filing system was removed from his parliamentary office and transferred to his Electorate Office in Werribee. The records were later lodged with the State Library of Victoria, together with other records maintained by the Werribee Electorate Office. In 1991 Dr Coghill arranged for those records at the State Library which related to his responsibilities as Parliamentary Secretary to be separated from the Electorate Office material and transferred to the Public Record Office. The existence of files created by Dr Coghill's successor is unknown.