Minister for Lands and Property

The Minister for Lands and Property, also called the Secretary for Lands was responsible for one of the key issues for the colonial administration of New South Wales, being the contest between squatters and selectors to dispossess the Aboriginal people of their land. [1]

Minister for Lands and Property of New South Wales
Incumbent
Steve Kamper
since 5 April 2023
Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
AppointerGovernor of New South Wales
PrecursorSecretary for Lands and Works
Formation1 October 1859
First holderBob Nichols

Role and responsibilities

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The land issue dominated the politics of the late 1850s, and in October 1859, towards the end of the second Cowper ministry, the Secretary for Public Works was split off from the Secretary for Lands and Works. This enabled John Robertson to concentrate on what became known as the Robertson Land Acts.[2] The Cowper ministry fell at the end of October 1859, replaced by the short lived Forster ministry. Robertson formed his first ministry in March 1860. While the four previous Premiers held the office of Colonial Secretary, Robertson chose to be Secretary for Lands.[3]

The main work of the department at this time was processing the selection claims, including the various commissioners for Crown Lands and the necessary survey work under the Surveyor General. The minister had numerous other responsibilities, including immigration until 1869, mining until 1874 and forestry until 1908.[4]

In the Holman Nationalist ministry from November 1916 William Ashford held the portfolios of Secretary for Lands and Minister for Forests and it became increasingly common for the minister to hold the portfolio along with other portfolios. In 1981 the Department of lands was temporarily amalgamated with the Department of Local Government,[4] with the minister Lin Gordon holding both portfolios,[5] until the departments were separated again in February 1984.[6] The portfolio of Minister for Lands was abolished in April 1984 and replaced by the Minister for Natural Resources whose responsibilities included waterways, reserves and parks, forestry.[7] The portfolio was briefly re-established in 1986, 1990 and 2004.

List of ministers

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Lands

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Ministerial title Minister [1] Party Term start Term end Time in office Notes
Secretary for Lands and Works George Nichols No party 6 June 1856 25 August 1856 80 days [8]
Terence Murray 25 August 1856 2 October 1856 38 days [9]
John Hay 3 October 1856 7 September 1857 339 days [10]
Terence Murray 7 September 1857 12 January 1858 127 days [9]
John Robertson 13 January 1858 30 September 1859 1 year, 286 days [3]
Secretary for Lands 1 October 1859 26 October 1859 [3]
John Black 27 October 1859 8 March 1860 133 days [11]
John Robertson[a] 9 March 1860 15 October 1863 3 years, 220 days [3]
Bowie Wilson 16 October 1863 2 February 1865 1 year, 109 days [12]
John Robertson 3 February 1865 19 October 1865 258 days [3]
William Arnold 20 October 1865 30 October 1865 10 days [13]
John Robertson 1 January 1866 21 January 1866 20 days [3]
Bowie Wilson 22 January 1866 26 October 1868 2 years, 278 days [12]
William Forster 27 October 1868 14 April 1870 1 year, 169 days [14]
John Robertson 13 August 1870 15 December 1870 124 days [3]
Bowie Wilson 16 December 1870 13 May 1872 1 year, 149 days [12]
James Farnell 14 May 1872 8 February 1875 2 years, 270 days [15]
Thomas Garrett 9 February 1875 5 February 1877 1 year, 362 days [16]
Ezekiel Baker 6 February 1877 21 March 1877 43 days [17]
Richard Driver 22 March 1877 16 August 1877 147 days [18]
Thomas Garrett 17 August 1877 19 November 1877 94 days [16]
Ezekiel Baker 20 November 1877 17 December 1877 27 days [17]
James Farnell 18 December 1877 20 December 1878 1 year, 2 days [15]
James Hoskins 21 December 1878 28 December 1881 3 years, 7 days [19]
Sir John Robertson 29 December 1881 4 January 1883 1 year, 6 days [3]
James Farnell 5 January 1883 6 October 1885 2 years, 274 days [15]
Joseph Abbott 7 October 1885 21 December 1885 75 days [20]
Gerald Spring 22 December 1885 25 February 1886 65 days [21]
Henry Copeland 26 February 1886 19 January 1887 327 days [22]
Thomas Garrett   Free Trade 20 January 1887 19 January 1888 364 days [16]
Sir Henry Parkes 26 July 1888 23 August 1888 28 days [23]
James Brunker 29 August 1888 16 January 1889 140 days [24]
William Lyne   Protectionist 17 January 1889 7 March 1889 49 days [25]
James Brunker   Free Trade 8 March 1889 22 October 1891 2 years, 228 days [24]
Henry Copeland   Protectionist 23 October 1891 2 August 1894 2 years, 283 days [22]
Joseph Carruthers   Free Trade 3 August 1894 3 July 1899 4 years, 334 days
James Young 3 July 1899 13 September 1899 72 days
Thomas Hassall   Protectionist 14 September 1899 9 April 1901 1 year, 207 days
Paddy Crick   Progressive 11 April 1901 14 June 1904 3 years, 64 days
Edward O'Sullivan 15 June 1904 29 August 1904 75 days
James Ashton   Liberal Reform 29 August 1904 1 October 1907 3 years, 33 days
Samuel Moore 2 October 1907 20 October 1910 3 years, 18 days
Niels Nielsen   Labor 21 October 1910 1 August 1911 284 days
Frederick Flowers 4 August 1911 26 November 1911 114 days
George Beeby 11 September 1911 9 December 1912 1 year, 89 days
John Treflé 10 December 1912 11 January 1915 2 years, 32 days
William Ashford 12 January 1915 15 November 1916 1 year, 308 days
  Nationalist 15 November 1916 12 April 1920 3 years, 149 days
Secretary for Lands
Minister for Forests
Peter Loughlin   Labor 12 April 1920 20 December 1921 1 year, 252 days
Walter Wearne   Nationalist 20 December 1921 20 December 1921 7 hours
Peter Loughlin   Labor 20 December 1921 13 April 1922 114 days
Walter Wearne   Nationalist 13 April 1922 17 June 1925 3 years, 65 days
Peter Loughlin   Labor 17 June 1925 19 November 1926 1 year, 155 days
Jack Lang 25 November 1926 26 May 1927 182 days
Ted Horsington 27 May 1927 18 October 1927 144 days
Minister for Lands Richard Ball   Nationalist 18 October 1927 3 November 1930 3 years, 16 days
Secretary for Lands Jack Tully   Labor 4 November 1930 15 October 1931 345 days
  Labor (NSW) 15 October 1931 13 May 1932 211 days
Ernest Buttenshaw   Country 16 May 1932 31 January 1938 5 years, 260 days
Colin Sinclair 1 February 1938 6 November 1940 2 years, 279 days
Alfred Yeo 6 November 1940 16 May 1941 191 days
Jack Tully   Labor 16 May 1941 9 May 1946 4 years, 358 days
Bill Dunn 9 May 1946 19 May 1947 1 year, 10 days
Bill Sheahan 19 May 1947 30 June 1950 3 years, 42 days
Jack Renshaw 30 June 1950 2 April 1952 1 year, 277 days
Frank Hawkins 3 April 1952 15 March 1956 3 years, 347 days
Roger Nott 15 March 1956 22 November 1957 1 year, 252 days
William Gollan 22 November 1957 1 April 1959 1 year, 130 days
Minister for Lands John McMahon 1 April 1959 31 May 1960 1 year, 60 days
Jack Renshaw 31 May 1960 3 March 1961 276 days
Keith Compton 3 March 1961 13 May 1965 4 years, 71 days
Tom Lewis   Liberal 13 May 1965 3 January 1975 9 years, 235 days
Minister for Lands
Minister for Forests
Milton Morris 3 January 1975 30 June 1975 178 days
John Mason 30 June 1975 23 January 1976 207 days
Col Fisher   Country 23 January 1976 14 May 1976 112 days
Minister for Lands Bill Crabtree   Labor 14 May 1976 29 February 1980 3 years, 291 days
Minister for Lands
Minister for Forests
Minister for Water Resources
Lin Gordon 29 February 1980 5 April 1984 4 years, 65 days [5]
Minister for Lands Jack Hallam   Labor 4 July 1986 21 March 1988 1 year, 261 days [26]
Minister for Lands and Forests Garry West   National 24 July 1990 6 June 1991 2 years, 306 days [27]
Minister for Conservation and Land Management 6 June 1991 26 May 1993
Minister for Land and Water Conservation George Souris 26 May 1993 4 April 1995 1 year, 313 days
Kim Yeadon   Labor 4 April 1995 1 December 1997 2 years, 241 days
Richard Amery 1 December 1997 21 November 2001 3 years, 355 days
John Aquilina 21 November 2001 2 April 2003 1 year, 132 days
Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources (Lands) Tony Kelly 2 April 2003 3 May 2004 7 years, 360 days [28]
Minister for Lands 3 May 2004 28 March 2011
Minister for Natural Resources, Lands and Water Kevin Humphries   National 23 April 2014 2 April 2015 344 days
Minister for Lands and Water Niall Blair 2 April 2015 30 January 2017 1 year, 303 days
Minister for Lands and Forestry Paul Toole 30 January 2017 23 March 2019 2 years, 52 days
Minister for Lands and Water Kevin Anderson   National 21 December 2021 28 March 2023 1 year, 97 days [29]
Minister for Transport Jo Haylen   Labor 28 March 2023 5 April 2023 8 days
Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper 5 April 2023 incumbent 1 year, 231 days [29]

Property

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Ministerial title Minister [1] Party Term start Term end Time in office Notes
Minister for Finance, Services and Property Dominic Perrottet   Liberal 2 April 2015 30 January 2017 1 year, 303 days
Victor Dominello 30 January 2017 23 February 2019 2 years, 24 days [30][31]
Minister for Water, Property and Housing Melinda Pavey   National 2 April 2019 21 December 2021 2 years, 263 days [32]
Minister for Transport Jo Haylen   Labor 28 March 2023 5 April 2023 8 days
Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper 5 April 2023 incumbent 1 year, 231 days [29]

Notes

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  1. ^ Concurrently Premier of New South Wales until 9 January 1861.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  2. ^ Nairn, Bede. "Robertson, Sir John (1816–1891)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Sir John Robertson (1816–1891)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b "AGY-1114 Department of Lands". NSW State Records & Archives. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b "The Hon. Alan Robert Lindsay Gordon". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  6. ^ "AGY-3307 Department of Lands". NSW State Records & Archives. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  7. ^ "PFO-41 Natural Resources". NSW State Records & Archives. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Mr George Robert Nichols (1809–1857)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Sir Terence Aubrey Murray (1810-1873)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Sir John Hay (1816-1892)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Mr John Black (1817-1879)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  12. ^ a b c "Mr John Bowie Wilson (1820-1883)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Mr William Munnings Arnold (1819-1875)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Mr William Forster (1818–1882)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  15. ^ a b c "Mr James Squire Farnell (1825–1888)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  16. ^ a b c "Mr Thomas Garrett (1830-1891)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Mr Ezekiel Alexander Baker (1823-1912)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Mr Richard Driver (junior) (1829-1880)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  19. ^ "Mr James Hoskins (1823-1900)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  20. ^ "Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott (1842-1901)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  21. ^ "Mr Gerald Spring (1830-1888)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  22. ^ a b "The Hon. Henry Copeland (1839-1904)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  23. ^ "Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  24. ^ a b "Mr James Nixon Brunker (1832-1910)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  25. ^ "Sir William John Lyne (1844–1913)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  26. ^ "The Hon. Jack Rowland Hallam (1942– )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  27. ^ "Mr Garry Bruce West (1949- )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  28. ^ "Mr (Tony) Anthony Bernard Kelly". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  29. ^ a b c "Parliament, Ministerial, Courts and Police (662)" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 21 December 2021.
  30. ^ Robertson, James (28 January 2017). "Anthony Roberts, Brad Hazzard take key roles in Gladys Berejiklian reshuffle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  31. ^ "Refreshed NSW cabinet sworn in". Sky News. Australia. AAP. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  32. ^ "Government Notices (30)" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 2 April 2019. p. 1088-1090. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
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