Department of Urban and Regional Development

{{Short description|Australian government department, 1972–1975}}

{{Infobox government agency

|agency_name = Department of Urban and Regional Development

|logo =

|logo_width = 200 px

|logo_caption =

|formed = 19 December 1972{{citation|title=CA 1493: Department of Urban and Regional Development, Central Office| url=https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?Number=CA+1493 |website= National Archives of Australia |access-date=9 February 2021}}

|preceding1 = Department of the Interior (II) - for National Capital Development Commission

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet - for National Urban and Regional Development Authority Act 1972

|dissolved = 22 December 1975

|superseding = Department of Environment, Housing and Community Development - for urban and regional planning and development

Department of Administrative Services (II) - for property and survey

Department of the Capital Territory - for National Capital Development Commission

|type = Department

|jurisdiction = Commonwealth of Australia

|employees =

|budget =

|minister1_name = Tom Uren

|minister1_pfo = Minister (1972‑1975)

|minister2_name = John Carrick

|minister2_pfo = Minister (1975)

| chief1_name = Bob Lansdown

| chief1_position = Secretary

}}

The Department of Urban and Regional Development was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and December 1975.

History

The Department was one of several new departments established by the Whitlam government, a wide restructuring that revealed some of the new government's program.{{citation|url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/whitlam/in-office.aspx|publisher=National Archives of Australia|title=Gough Whitlam: In Office|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419124214/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/whitlam/in-office.aspx|archive-date=19 April 2013|author=National Archives of Australia}} When the Fraser government took office in November 1975 following the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, the Department was abolished.{{cite news|first=Bruce|last=Juddery|author-link=Bruce Juddery|title=Bureaucratic Convulsion: Eight departments go|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=19 December 1975|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102192827|url-status=live|archive-date=20 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320082828/http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/102192827|page=1}}

Scope

Information about the department's functions and government funding allocation could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders, the annual Portfolio Budget Statements and in the Department's annual reports.

At its creation, the Department's functions were described as "matters related to city and regional planning and development, including assistance to, and co-operation with, the States and local-governing bodies".

Structure

The Department was a Commonwealth Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Urban and Regional Development. Hugh Stretton, urban planning and economic author and academic, was employed in the Department and had significant influence on its policies.{{cite web|last1=Prest|first1=Wilfred|title=Hugh Stretton AC|url=http://www.humanities.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/AAH-Obit-Stretton-2015.pdf|website=Annual Report 2015-16|publisher=Australian Academy of the Humanities|access-date=15 May 2017}}

References

Australia, Urban and Regional Development

Urban and Regional Development

Category:Urban planning in Australia