The Burke Ministry was the 29th Ministry of the Government of Western Australia, led by Labor Premier Brian Burke and deputy Mal Bryce. It commenced on 25 February 1983, six days after the O'Connor ministry, led by Premier Ray O'Connor of the Liberal Party, was defeated at the 1983 election. It was followed by the Dowding Ministry upon Burke's retirement as Premier on 25 February 1988.
Most of its members followed on from the Burke shadow ministry which had functioned since September 1981.
At first, the Burke Ministry utilised roles which were largely inherited from the previous Government. As the government had come to power at a time of economic recession, it commissioned a State Employment Task Force under the direction of Dr John Wood to review the machinery of government. An earlier report commissioned by the previous government on mining and resource development had highlighted interdepartmental conflicts in these areas. On the basis of these, a major reshuffle took place on 23 December with no changes of personnel, although several roles were abolished and new ones created, and Arthur Tonkin, who was said to have presented "too hardline an image" in his dealings with business, was relieved of Consumer Affairs. Another reshuffle occurred on 22 March 1985.
The Ministry was reconstituted on 26 February 1986 following the 1986 election, due in part to the defeat of one minister, Ken McIver (MLA for Avon), and the decisions of Ron Davies and David Evans to stand down. At this point, two honorary Ministers were appointed, including Ernie Bridge, to assist ministers in a number of portfolios. On 25 July 1986, they were both promoted to full Ministers, making Bridge the first ever Aboriginal Cabinet minister in Australia.
On 25 February 1983, the Governor, Sir Richard Trowbridge, designated 15 principal executive offices of the Government under section 43(2) of the Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899. The following ministers were then appointed to the positions, and served until the reconstitution of the Ministry on 26 February 1986.
The list below is ordered by decreasing seniority within the Cabinet, as indicated by the Government Gazette and the Hansard index.
Office | Minister |
---|---|
Premier and Treasurer | Brian Burke, MLA |
Deputy Premier (from 23 December 1983:)
(from 22 March 1985:)
| Mal Bryce, BA, MLA |
Minister for Industrial Relations (until 22 March 1985) | Des Dans, MLC |
Attorney-General (until 23 December 1983:)
| Joe Berinson, LL.B., MLC |
Minister for Water Resources | Arthur Tonkin, BA, DipEd, MLA |
Minister for Police and Emergency Services | Jeff Carr, BA, MLA |
Minister for the Environment | Ron Davies, MLA |
Minister for Agriculture | David Evans, BA, MLA |
Minister for Education | Bob Pearce, BA, DipEd, MLA |
Minister for Health | Barry Hodge, MLA |
Ken McIver, MLA | |
Minister for Employment [3] (until 23 December 1983) | David Parker, BA, MLA |
Minister for Transport | Julian Grill, LL.B., MLA |
Minister for Housing
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs | Rev Keith Wilson, MLA |
(until 23 December 1983:)
(from 23 December 1983:)
Minister for Industrial Relations (from 22 March 1985) | Peter Dowding, LL.B., MLA |
On 26 February 1986, the Governor, Gordon Reid, appointed the new Ministry. He designated 15 principal executive offices of the Government and appointed the following ministers to the positions, who served until the Dowding Ministry was established on 26 February 1988. Three of the members were new to the Ministry, and two additional honorary members were also appointed to assist specific Ministers. One of these was Australia's first ever Aboriginal Cabinet minister, Ernie Bridge. These honorary ministers were elevated to ministerial posts following the assent of the Constitution Amendment Act 1986 (No.10 of 1986) on 22 July 1986, which officially grew the Ministry from 15 to 17 members.
The members of the Second Ministry were:
Office | Minister |
---|---|
Premier and Treasurer | Brian Burke, JP, MLA |
Deputy Premier | Mal Bryce, BA, JP, MLA |
Minister for Works and Services | Des Dans, MLC (until 16 March 1987) [6] |
Attorney-General | Joe Berinson, LL.B., MLC |
Minister for Police and Emergency Services | Arthur Tonkin, BA, DipEd, JP, MLA (until 12 May 1986) [4] |
Minister for Local Government | Jeff Carr, BA, JP, MLA |
Minister for Education | Bob Pearce, BA, DipEd, JP, MLA |
Minister for the Environment | Barry Hodge, MLA |
Minister for Minerals and Energy | David Parker, BA, MLA |
Minister for Agriculture | Julian Grill, LL.B., JP, MLA |
Minister for Housing | Rev Keith Wilson, MLA |
(Until 16 March 1987:)
(from 16 March 1987:)
Minister assisting the Minister | Peter Dowding, LL.B., MLA |
Minister for Health | Ian Taylor, B.Econ (Hons), JP, MLA |
Minister for Tourism | Pam Beggs, JP, MLA |
Minister for Community Services | Kay Hallahan, BSW, JP, MLC [6] |
Honorary Minister assisting the Ministers (from 12 May 1986:)
| Gavan Troy, B Bus, AFAIM, JP, MLA [4] |
(Until 25 July 1986:) Honorary Minister assisting the Ministers (From 25 July 1986:)
| Ernie Bridge, MLA [5] |
(12 May-25 July 1986:) Honorary Minister assisting the Ministers for (From 25 July 1986:)
| Gordon Hill, JP, MLA (from 12 May 1986) [4] [5] |
Minister for Sport and Recreation | Graham Edwards, MLC (from 16 March 1987) [6] |
Peter McCallum Dowding SC is an Australian lawyer and former politician who was the 24th Premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1988 until his resignation on 12 February 1990. He was a member of parliament from 1980 to 1990.
Brian Thomas Burke is an Australian former politician who was the 23rd premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1983 to his resignation on 25 February 1988. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 30 March 1973 to 25 February 1988, representing the electoral districts of Balga and Balcatta at various points, and was the leader of the Australian Labor Party in Western Australia from 18 September 1981 to 25 February 1988. Burke studied law at the University of Western Australia for one year before dropping out. During the 1960s and early 1970s, he worked as a journalist for The West Australian newspaper, 6PM radio station, and Seven News Perth. He was elected to Parliament at the 1973 Balcatta state by-election, becoming one of the most popular local members over the following years. In 1981, he became the leader of the Labor Party in a leadership spill. He led the Labor Party to its first election victory since 1971 at the 1983 Western Australian state election, defeating the Liberal-National government of Ray O'Connor.
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