The ministries of Western Australia (also known as Cabinets) are the centre of executive power in the Government of Western Australia. They are composed of Ministers who are responsible for one or more portfolios, answer questions on those portfolios in Parliament, and control the operation and administration of departments, authorities, statutes and votes within those portfolios. In a formal constitutional sense, they possess executive power through being appointed to the Executive Council, which contains all members of the Ministry plus a Clerk (who is a staff member and not a member of Parliament), and is headed by the Governor of Western Australia who represents the Crown.
The members of the Ministry are selected by the Premier of Western Australia and then appointed by the Governor from members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly and Western Australian Legislative Council associated with the governing party or coalition. However, in Labor ministries generally, and the Nationalist Lefroy Ministry (1917–1919), Cabinet's composition is chosen by caucus (a meeting of all Parliamentary members of the party) rather than by the Premier. The Ministry must command the support of the Legislative Assembly—if it either loses a vote of no confidence on the floor of the Assembly, or loses a general election and hence a majority in the Assembly, it is expected to resign and the Opposition Leader, as prospective Premier, is then expected to form a Ministry.
The Constitution of Western Australia does not require Ministers to be members of Parliament, but provides that non-members can only be Ministers for a maximum of three months.[citation needed] This means that when a Government loses an election, the Ministry remains in office (in "caretaker mode") until a new Ministry is presented to the Governor for appointment. For example, when the state election on 6 September 2008 produced a defeat for the Labor government, the Labor ministers remained in office until 23 September 2008, when Premier Colin Barnett appointed a new Ministry.
Until 1948, it was necessary for Ministers, when appointed, to resign their seat in Parliament and re-contest it at a ministerial by-election—these were generally uneventful, but on two occasions, Ministers were defeated—in 1901 when half the Morgans Ministry were defeated, and in 1917 when John Scaddan was defeated upon his appointment to the Lefroy Ministry.
The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive branch of the Government of Western Australia and is accountable to the Parliament of Western Australia. The premier is appointed by the governor of Western Australia. By convention, the governor appoints as premier whoever has the support of the majority of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Western Australia. In practice, this means that the premier is the leader of the political party or group of parties with a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly. Since Western Australia achieved self-governance in 1890, there have been 31 premiers. Roger Cook is the current premier, having been appointed to the position on 8 June 2023.
Frank Wilson, was the ninth Premier of Western Australia, serving on two separate occasions – from 1910 to 1911 and then again from 1916 to 1917.
John Scaddan, CMG, popularly known as "Happy Jack", was Premier of Western Australia from 7 October 1911 until 27 July 1916.
Sir Henry Bruce Lefroy was the eleventh Premier of Western Australia.
The Electoral district of Brown Hill-Ivanhoe was a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. It covered part of the Goldfields city of Boulder, near Kalgoorlie, and neighbouring mining areas. It was created at the 1911 redistribution out of the former seats of Brown Hill and Ivanhoe, and was first contested at the 1911 election. It was abolished in the 1948 redistribution, with its area split between the neighbouring electorates of Boulder and Hannans, taking effect from the 1950 election. The seat was a very safe one for the Labor Party.
Philip Collier was an Australian politician who served as the 14th Premier of Western Australia from 1924 to 1930 and from 1933 to 1936. He was leader of the Labor Party from 1917 to 1936, and is Western Australia's longest-serving premier from that party.
John Collings Willcock was an Australian politician. He was the premier of Western Australia from 1936 to 1945, holding office as state leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1917 to 1947, representing the seat of Geraldton. Prior to entering politics he was a railways worker and train driver.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between the 1914 election and the 1917 election, together known as the Ninth Parliament. The re-election of Premier John Scaddan's Labor Government with a 26-24 majority in 1914 was tempered when, a year later, Labor member Joseph Gardiner's seat was declared vacant on account of his non-attendance and a Liberal was elected in his stead, and Labor became a minority government when on 18 December 1915, Edward Johnston resigned from the Labor Party and became an independent. On 27 July 1916, the Scaddan Ministry was defeated and the Liberals' Frank Wilson became the new premier.
The Lefroy Ministry was the 13th Ministry of the Government of Western Australia and was led by Nationalist Premier Sir Henry Lefroy. It succeeded the Second Wilson Ministry on 28 June 1917 due to most members of the former Liberal Party, of which the previous Premier, Frank Wilson, had been the leader, pledging allegiance to the new party. The Lefroy Ministry, which was the first Coalition ministry in Western Australia, was also the only Ministry of a non-Labor government to be chosen by caucus.
Rufus Henry Underwood was an Australian politician who represented the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Pilbara from 1906 until 1924. Initially active in the Labor Party and a minister without portfolio in the Scaddan Ministry, he left the party during the conscription crisis in 1917 and thereafter represented the National Labor Party for the rest of his political career.
The Gair Ministry was a ministry of the Government of Queensland and was led by Labor Premier Vince Gair. It succeeded the Hanlon Ministry on 17 January 1952 following Ned Hanlon's death two days earlier. On 26 April 1957, Gair and most of the Ministry were expelled from the Labor Party and formed the Queensland Labor Party (QLP), retaining the ministry but losing the confidence of the Assembly. The ministry was followed by the Nicklin Ministry on 12 August 1957 following the defeat of both Labor and the QLP at the resulting election.
The O'Farrell ministry was the 93rd ministry of the Government of New South Wales, and was led by Barry O'Farrell, the state's 43rd Premier.
The Keneally ministry is the 92nd ministry of the Government of New South Wales, and was led by the 42nd Premier Kristina Keneally.
The Holman ministry , also known as the Second Holman ministry or Holman Nationalist ministry was the 36th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 19th Premier, William Holman.
The McKell ministry (1944–1947) or Second McKell ministry was the 51st ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 27th Premier, William McKell, of the Labor Party. The ministry was the second of two occasions when the Government was led by McKell, as Premier.
The Minister for Forestry is a position in the Cabinet of Western Australia. The minister is responsible for the Forest Products Commission, an agency of the government of Western Australia, and may hold other portfolios in addition to forestry. The current Minister for Forestry is Jackie Jarvis of the Labor Party, who holds the position as a member of the Cook Labor Government.
Robert Thomson Robinson was an Australian lawyer and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1914 to 1921, representing the seat of Canning. He served as a minister in the governments of Frank Wilson, Henry Lefroy, Hal Colebatch, and James Mitchell.
George "Mulga" Taylor was an Australian labour leader and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1901 to 1930. He was a minister in the government of Henry Daglish, and later served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 1917 to 1924.
William Lemen Thomas was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1911 to 1917, representing the seat of Bunbury. He was a minister in the government of Henry Lefroy.
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