All Western Australian State Cabinet records in the State archives are opened to the public after 30 years to reveal the official decisions that have shaped our State.
The 1989 State Cabinet records are held by the State Records Office of Western Australia, the authority responsible for identifying, managing, preserving, and providing the community with an information service about the State’s archives.
The State Records Office has created a Guide to the 1989 State Cabinet Records that describes the papers, key issues and historical context for decisions at the time. The guide and selected papers can be accessed online at https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/state-records-office-of-western-australia
All 1989 State Cabinet papers can be viewed by appointment at the J.S. Battye Library for West Australian History at the State Library and State Archives in the Perth Cultural Centre. Research appointments can be booked online at https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/state-records-office-of-western-australia/new-research-support-service
Key issues considered by State Cabinet in 1989 included:
- the phasing down of activity in Wittenoom due to asbestos contamination;
- an Amendment to the Criminal Code (Incitement to Racial Hatred) Bill;
- the establishment of a private Catholic university (the University of Notre Dame);
- the suitability of daylight saving in Western Australia; and
- the need for laws regulating the use of artificial reproductive technology, such as in-vitro fertilisation.
As stated by Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman:
“State Cabinet records are historically significant archives that help shed light on key issues of the day.
“These and other State archives help reveal the past, providing new insight and helping us to understand the present. WA’s State archives, which are preserved and made accessible by the State Records Office, hold the memory of government in WA.
“I encourage all Western Australians to explore the State archives through the services offered by the State Records Office.”
