Wran ministry (1981–1983)

Fourth Wran ministry
74th Cabinet of Government of New South Wales
Premier Neville Wran
Date formed	2 October 1981 (1981-10-02)
Date dissolved	1 February 1983 (1983-02-01)
People and organisations
Monarch	Queen Elizabeth II
Governor	Sir James Rowland
Premier	Neville Wran
Deputy Premier	Jack Ferguson
No. of ministers	19
Member party	Labor
Opposition parties	Liberal National coalition
Opposition leader	John Dowd
History
Predecessor	Third Wran ministry
Successor	Fifth Wran ministry

The Wran ministry (1981–1983) or Fourth Wran ministry was the 74th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 35th Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, representing the Labor Party. It was the fourth of eight consecutive occasions when Wran was Premier.

Background

Wran had been elected to the Legislative Council of New South Wales by a joint sitting of the New South Wales Parliament on 12 March 1970.[1] He was Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council from 22 February 1972.[2] He resigned from the council on 19 October 1973 to switch to the Legislative Assembly, successfully contesting the election for Bass Hill, which he would hold until his retirement in 1986.[3] Wran successfully challenged Pat Hills to become Leader of Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 3 December 1973 and became Premier following a narrow one seat victory at the 1976 election.[4]

Labor retained government at the 1981 election, gaining an additional 6 seats despite a 2% swing against Labor, giving a majority of 19 seats in the Legislative Assembly and two seats in the Legislative Council.

Composition of ministry

The ministry covers the period from 2 October 1981. There was a slight rearrangement in May 1982 that altered the titles of two ministers.[5] The ministry ended on 1 February 1983, when Wran reconfigured his ministry, and the Fifth Wran ministry was formed.

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Premier Minister for Mineral Resources	Neville Wran		Labor	2 October 1981	1 February 1983	1 year, 122 days
Deputy Premier Minister for Public Works Minister for Ports	Jack Ferguson [a]
Minister for Transport	Peter Cox [a]
Attorney General Minister for Justice Minister for Aboriginal Affairs	Frank Walker, QC
Minister for Industrial Relations Minister for Technology	Pat Hills
Minister for Energy Minister for Water Resources Vice-President of the Executive Council Leader of the Government in Legislative Council	Paul Landa, MLC
Treasurer	Ken Booth
Minister for Industrial Development Minister for Decentralisation	Don Day
Minister for Corrective Services	Rex Jackson
Minister for Planning and Environment	Eric Bedford [a]
Minister for Youth and Community Services	Kevin Stewart
Minister for Education	Ron Mulock
Minister for Local Government Minister for Lands Minister for Forests	Lin Gordon
Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries	Jack Hallam, MLC [a]
Minister for Housing Minister for Co-operative Societies Minister Assisting the Premier	Terry Sheahan
Minister for Health	Laurie Brereton
Minister for Police Minister for Services	Peter Anderson				26 May 1982	1 year, 122 days
Minister for Police and Emergency Services				26 May 1982	1 February 1983
Minister for Sport and Recreation Minister for Tourism	Michael Cleary			2 October 1981	26 May 1982	236 days
Minister for Leisure, Sport and Tourism				26 May 1982	1 February 1983	251 days
Minister for Consumer Affairs Minister for Roads	Paul Whelan			2 October 1981	1 February 1983	1 year, 122 days

  Ministers are members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

See also

• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1981–1984
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council, 1981–1984

Notes

1. Retained portfolios from the third Wran ministry.

References

1. "Candidates declared to be elected Members of the Legislative Council". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 36–37. 13 March 1970. p. 849. Retrieved 3 December 2020 – via Trove.
2. "Part 3 Members of the Legislative Council" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
3. Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Bass Hill". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
4. "The Hon. Neville Kenneth Wran (1926–2014)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
5. "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 14 March 2022.

 

Preceded by Third Wran ministry (1980–1981)

Fourth Wran ministry 1981–1983

Succeeded by Fifth Wran ministry (1983–1984)