On 7 November 1946 the Tariff Board, reporting to the Minister of Trade and customs, recommended the creation of an authority to investigate the publishing industry in Australia. This proposal was considered at a Cabinet meeting on 12 December 1946. No immediate decision was made; instead Cabinet appointed a Committee of three of its members (Ministers of Post-War Reconstruction, Information and Health) to consider the proposal further.
 
The Cabinet committee was assisted in this task by the creation of an Inter-Department Committee consisting of officers drawn from
Departments of the Prime Minister, the Attorney-General, Trade and Customs, Post-War Reconstruction and Information, as well as the National Library and the Commonwealth Office of Education. The Inter- Department Committee first met in February 1947 and deliberated the question of establishing an authority to investigate the publishing industry for about a year before making its recommendation to the Cabinet Committee.
 
On 10 March 1948 the three appointed members of the Cabinet Committee, augmented by the Minister for Trade and Customs, considered this recommendation. Though the proposal before them was that an authority should be established in the form of a Parliamentary Standing Committee, together with a supporting committee of officers drawn from various Departments, the Cabinet Committee decided to propose to Cabinet that the authority should consist of an inter-departmental committee only, to report to Cabinet through the Minister of Post-War Reconstruction. On 5 April 1948, Cabinet adopted this proposal and the Publishing Industry Committee was thereby created.
 
The Committee which held its first meeting on 15 July 1948 consisted of three members:
 Prof. R.C. Mills (Director, Commonwealth Office of Education) (CP 50)  Mr A.J. Day (Department of Commerce and Agriculture)
 Mr H.L. White (Librarian, National Library)
Mr N.M. Parr of the Department of Trade and Customs acted as executive officer to the Committee.
 
The Committee met from July 1948 to May 1950. It conducted a
systematic examination of the publishing industry, which included discussions with representatives of interested organizations and individuals who had expressed the desire to be heard by the Committee or who, by specialised knowledge on particular aspects of the industry, were invited to put forward their views. These discussions were supplemented by numerous interviews and investigations conducted by the Executive Officer into the various activites of the industry.  
A report on the findings of the Committee dated 12 July 1950 was submitted to the Prime Minister (in lieu of the Minister for Post-War Reconstruction).
 
Source:
Australian Archives Accession SP 430/2, History of Series Prior to Transfer.
 

Historical agency address
1st Floor, Grace Building, York Street, Sydney

Previous agency unregistered

1948: Cabinet Sub Committee to investigate the Australian Publishing
      Industry, 1946-1948
1948: Inter-Departmental Committee to investigate the Australian
      Publishing Industry, Feb 1947-?1948