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TRANSITION: TAKING OVER POWER IN 1983
Author(s) -
Weller Patrick
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8500.1983.tb00971.x
Subject(s) - caucus , cabinet (room) , public administration , christian ministry , workload , public service , political science , public relations , business , management , engineering , law , economics , politics , mechanical engineering
From 1979 the Labor Party had devoted considerable attention to planning for a future administration. It came to power with a detailed scheme covering the organization of cabinet, relations with caucus, the internal organization of the public service and public authorities. With the cooperation of a well‐prepared public service the transition appeared smooth and well coordinated. The decision taken by senior ministers, with the subsequent approval of caucus, to create an “inner” cabinet may cause future tensions with the outer ministry and in their relations with caucus. It also had an impact on the structure of cabinet committees. The committee system, designed to reduce the workload at cabinet meetings, appeared to function well in the first three months. Compared with 1972, relatively few changes were made to administrative arrangements and the appointment of ministerial staff proceeded smoothly.