Page 129 - Planning Group Induction Pack_Neat

When government is being spoken about more generally then lower case should always be used.

Examples:
Land management is a state government responsibility.
Balancing the needs of agricultural production and residential development is a key government priority.

Departments
When naming a department for the first time, it should be spelt out in full with its acronym in brackets.

After the full name is used, it should be referred to as the department or by its acronym.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) is responsible for managing Victoria’s
public land. The department has offices and depots in 80 locations across the state.

Referencing Ministers
A minister’s full title should be written out when first referring to him or her. After that, the Minister. If there is
more than one minister being referred to in the same text:

Example:

Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio and Minister for Agriculture Jaala
Pulford met today to discuss arrangements for the upcoming duck season.
Minister D’Ambrosio later travelled to Bendigo for meetings and Minister Pulford held a media conference.

Minister or minister?
Use a capital when referring to a specific minister, secretary, deputy secretary, regional director or executive
director.

According to the Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water. The Secretary said Minister
Pulford’sviews are shared by...

Use lower case for other, less senior roles such as manager, compliance officer, communications officer,
wildlife officer, and ranger.

Colons
Colons can be used to introduce a list or a further explanation and introduce a quotation.

Example:
The system is inefficient: it fails to make use of current technology, it’s too expensive and no-one
understands it.
The Romans had a saying: ‘One man’s meat is another man’s poison’.

Semicolons

Semicolons are used to link separate sentences that have a common theme.

Examples:
We told the Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water that the community was generally
supportive; no-one could provide specific information.

Writing with style 9
Our guide to better writing and reaching your readers