The National Archives of Australia advises that its media briefing and embargoed access to the 1974 Cabinet records will be held at the Archives on Queen Victoria Terrace, Parkes ACT on
Friday 10 December at 10:30 am.

Journalists wishing to attend the briefing should call Matthew Eggins on (02) 6212 3957 or
0413 157 255 by Thursday 9 December.

At the briefing, Archives consultant historian, Ian Hancock, will talk about the political landscape of 1974, while former Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, John Menadue, will present a departmental perspective. Former Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, will also attend the briefing.

In a momentous year in which inflation reached 14 per cent, the ‘loans affair’ was exposed and the Family Law Bill heralded a single no-fault ground for divorce, it was the constant battles between the government and Treasury that dominated, leading to Whitlam’s eventual dismissal a year later.

The Cabinet papers highlight Labor’s high priority on Aboriginal advancement by funding programs in education, health and housing, and developing representative bodies and promoting land rights.

It was the year when Blue Poles arrived in Australia, Countdown was first screened on ABC TV, Richmond and Eastern Suburbs won their respective Grand Finals, The Lord’s Prayer became the highest selling Australian single and Think Big won the first of his two Melbourne Cups.

Copies of key 1974 Cabinet papers and lists of the submissions and decisions will be distributed at the briefing as part of the embargoed release. The complete set of 1974 Cabinet documents will be available to the media under embargoed conditions in our Canberra reading room after the briefing. In the meantime, journalists can find links to non-embargoed material about the prime ministership of Gough Whitlam on the Archives website whitlam.naa.gov.au.

Tea and coffee will be served from 10 am.