Unsworth ministry

Unsworth ministry
Unsworth ministry
79th Cabinet of Government of New South Wales
Date formed	4 July 1986
Date dissolved	21 March 1988
People and organisations
Head of state	Queen Elizabeth II (represented by Sir James Rowland)
Head of government	Barrie Unsworth
Deputy head of government	Ron Mulock
No. of ministers	20
Member party	Labor
Status in legislature	Majority Labor Government
Opposition parties	Liberal–National coalition
Opposition leader	Nick Greiner
History
Outgoing election	1988 New South Wales state election
Predecessor	Eighth Wran ministry
Successor	First Greiner–Murray ministry

The Unsworth ministry was the 79th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 36th Premier of New South Wales, Barrie Unsworth, representing the Labor Party.

After the surprise announcement in June 1986 that Neville Wran MP would retire as Premier, NSW Labor Leader, and from Parliament with effect from 4 July 1986,^[1] Unsworth, then a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, was elected as the leader of the NSW Labor Party and thus became Premier. However, by parliamentary convention, Premiers are members of the Legislative Assembly. In order for Unsworth to move from the Legislative Council to the Legislative Assembly, Brian Bannon, the member for Rockdale, resigned to accept a role as Chairman of the Homebush States Sport Centre Trust,^[2] and Unsworth contested the resulting by-election held on 2 August 1986. He narrowly won the seat, with a 17.1% decline in the primary vote and independent preferences giving him a margin of just 54 votes.^[3] A by-election for Wran's safe Labor seat of Bass Hill was even worse, with a 22.2 per cent decline in the primary vote delivering a 103–vote victory to the Liberal candidate.^[3]

The ministry covers the period from 4 July 1986 when Unsworth was elected by Labor caucus as the NSW Labor Leader until 21 March 1988 when Labor suffered a landslide defeat at the state election by the Liberal–National coalition, led by Nick Greiner and Wal Murray. Unsworth did not contest the 1991 election.

Composition of ministry[]

Ministers are listed in order of seniority.^[4]^[5]

First arrangement[]

The first arrangement covers the period from 4 July 1986 until 5 November 1986, when Jack Hallam took on additional responsibilities.

Portfolio	Minister		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Premier Minister for State Development Minister for Ethnic Affairs	Barrie Unsworth, MP	Labor	4 July 1986	21 March 1988	1 year, 261 days
Deputy Premier Minister for Transport	Ron Mulock			26 November 1987	1 year, 145 days
Minister for Housing Minister for the Arts	Frank Walker, QC MP			21 March 1988	1 year, 261 days
Minister for Public Works and Ports Minister for Roads	Laurie Brereton			26 November 1987	1 year, 145 days
Minister for Industrial Relations Minister for Employment	Pat Hills			21 March 1988	1 year, 261 days
Minister for Health Minister for the Drug Offensive	Peter Anderson
Treasurer	Ken Booth
Attorney General Minister Assisting the Premier	Terry Sheahan			26 November 1987	1 year, 145 days
Minister for Industry and Small Business Minister for Energy and Technology	Peter Cox			26 November 1987	1 year, 145 days
Minister for Agriculture Minister for Lands Vice-President of the Executive Council	Jack Hallam, MLC			21 March 1988	1 year, 261 days
Minister for Education	Rodney Cavalier
Minister for Sport and Recreation Minister for Racing Minister for Tourism	Michael Cleary
Minister for Police and Emergency Services	George Paciullo
Minister for Local Government Minister for Water Resources	Janice Crosio, MBE MP
Minister for Finance Minister for Co-operative Societies Assistant Minister for Education	Bob Debus
Minister for Corrective Services Assistant Minister for Transport	John Akister
Minister for Planning and Environment Minister for Heritage	Bob Carr
Minister for Youth and Community Services Assistant Minister for Ethnic Affairs	John Aquilina
Minister for Mineral Resources Minister for Aboriginal Affairs	Ken Gabb			26 November 1987	1 year, 145 days
Minister for Consumer Affairs	Deirdre Grusovin, MLC			26 November 1987	1 year, 145 days

Second arrangement[]

The second arrangement covers the period from 5 November 1986 until 26 November 1987, when Laurie Brereton resigned from the ministry, triggering a reshuffle. Only changes in portfolio are shown.

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Minister for Agriculture Minister for Lands Vice-President of the Executive Council Minister for Forests	Jack Hallam, MLC		Labor	5 November 1986 (1986-11-05)	21 March 1988 (1988-03-21)	1 year, 137 days

Third arrangement[]

The third arrangement covers the period from 26 November 1987 until the state election, held on 21 March 1988, when the Unsworth government was defeated. Only changes in portfolios are shown.

Portfolio	Minister		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Deputy Premier Attorney General	Ron Mulock	Labor	26 November 1987	21 March 1988	116 days
Minister for Transport	Terry Sheahan
Minister for Public Works Minister Assisting the Premier	Peter Cox
Assistant Minister for Transport	Janice Crosio
Minister for Minerals and Energy Minister for Aboriginal Affairs	Ken Gabb
Minister for Consumer Affairs Minister for Small Business Assistant Minister for Health	Deirdre Grusovin, MLC

References[]

^ "After Wran, the Unsworth push". The Sydney Morning Herald. Google. 9 June 1986. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
^ Green, Antony. "Rockdale by-election 1986". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
^ ^a ^b "By-election bloodbaths". Crikey. 27 November 2005. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
^ "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)" (Excel). Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
^ "Part 6: Ministries" (PDF). New South Wales Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 April 2020.

Preceded by Wran ministry (1986)	Unsworth ministry 1986–1988	Succeeded by Greiner–Murray ministry (1988–1991)

[1] "After Wran, the Unsworth push". The Sydney Morning Herald. Google. 9 June 1986. Retrieved 26 July 2014.

[nswec-2] Green, Antony. "Rockdale by-election 1986". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 June 2020.

[By-election_bloodbaths-3] "By-election bloodbaths". Crikey. 27 November 2005. Retrieved 13 June 2010.

[4] "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)" (Excel). Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 July 2014.

[5] "Part 6: Ministries" (PDF). New South Wales Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 April 2020.

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v t New South Wales ministries
Colonial government (1856–1900)	Donaldson Cowper (1) Parker Cowper (2) Forster Robertson (1) Cowper (3) Martin (1) Cowper (4) Martin (2) Robertson (2) Cowper (5) Martin (3) Parkes (1) Robertson (3) Parkes (2) Robertson (4) Farnell Parkes (3) Stuart Dibbs (1) Robertson (5) Jennings Parkes (4) Dibbs (2) Parkes (5) Dibbs (3) Reid Lyne
State government (1901–present)	See Waddell Carruthers Wade McGowen Holman (1) (2) Storey Dooley (1) Fuller (1) Dooley (2) Fuller (2) Lang (1) (2) Bavin Lang (3) Stevens (1) (2) (3) Mair McKell (1) (2) McGirr (1) (2) (3) Cahill (1) (2) (3) (4) Heffron (1) (2) Renshaw Askin (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Lewis (1) (2) Willis Wran (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) Unsworth Greiner (1) (2) Fahey (1) (2) (3) Carr (1) (2) (3) (4) Iemma (1) (2) Rees Keneally O'Farrell Baird (1) (2) Berejiklian (1) (2) Perrottet