Advisers and Decisions 1976

On 13 December 1975 the Liberal‐Country party coalition led by Malcolm Fraser conclusively won a double dissolution election with large majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives. The following year, 1976, was a year of policy debates – debates about economic policy, foreign policy, family policy, health policy (especially Medibank), uranium and the environment, human rights and Aboriginal land policy in particular. They were, in reality, political struggles over the direction of the country and the ideas and philosophy that would govern the course of policy. At the core of government there was an epic battle between the Prime Minister and the government's senior advisers in the Treasury, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Significant battles over foreign policy were modest compared with struggles over economic policy and the quest to control inflation. Debate came to a head with a devaluation of the dollar in the face of official advice. Among the consequences were division of the Treasury and creation of the Department of Finance, greater independence of the Reserve Bank and a confirmation of the need for elected leaders to have their own political staffs

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