Lawrence Ministry
The Lawrence Ministry was the 31st Ministry of the Government of Western Australia, and was led by Labor Premier Dr Carmen Lawrence and her deputy Ian Taylor. It succeeded the Dowding Ministry on 18 February 1990, following the resignation of Peter Dowding six days earlier following an open letter signed by a majority of the 47-member Labor caucus. The ministry was in turn succeeded by the Court–Cowan Ministry on 16 February 1993 after the Labor Party lost government at the state election held on 6 February.
Overview
Of the former Dowding ministry, 15 of the 17 ministers retained office—Peter Dowding and Julian Grill were not reappointed, and backbenchers Pam Buchanan (Ashburton) and Dr Geoff Gallop (Victoria Park) took their place. Two months later, former Deputy Premier David Parker resigned from both the Ministry and from Parliament.
At a caucus meeting held on 29 January 1991, a spill motion was carried which created three vacancies in the Ministry. On 5 February, Jeff Carr, Gavan Troy and Pam Buchanan were removed as Ministers, whilst Eric Ripper, Dr Judyth Watson and Jim McGinty were sworn in. A major crisis was precipitated when Carr resigned from Parliament, with his seat of Geraldton being won by a Liberal at a by-election, whilst Troy ceased to attend caucus meetings and Buchanan resigned from the party, sitting as an Independent. With the resignation of left-wing MLA Dr Ian Alexander a month later, the Government was forced to depend on independents in the Legislative Assembly to maintain supply—the first time Western Australia had had minority government since 1905.
First Ministry
On 16 February 1990, the Lieutenant-Governor and Administrator, Sir Francis Burt, constituted the Ministry. He designated 17 principal executive offices of the Government and appointed the following ministers to their positions, and served until the reconstitution of the Ministry on 5 February 1991. The list below is ordered by decreasing seniority within the Cabinet, as indicated by the Government Gazette and the Hansard index.
The members of the Ministry were:
Office | Minister |
---|---|
Premier and Treasurer |
Dr Carmen Lawrence, BPsych, PhD, MLA |
Deputy Premier |
Ian Taylor, B.Econ (Hons), JP, MLA |
Attorney-General |
Joe Berinson, LL.B., QC, MLC |
Minister for Planning |
Kay Hallahan, BSW, JP, MLC |
Minister for Mines |
Jeff Carr, BA, JP, MLA |
Minister for Resources and Trade |
David Parker, BA, JP, MLA (until 30 April 1990)[1] |
Minister for the Environment |
Bob Pearce, BA, DipEd, JP, MLA |
Minister for Health | Rev Keith Wilson, MLA |
Minister for Productivity and Labour Relations |
Gavan Troy, B Bus, FAIM, JP, MLA |
Minister for Transport |
Pam Beggs, JP, MLA |
Minister for Agriculture |
Ernie Bridge, JP, MLA |
Minister for Local Government |
Gordon Hill, JP, MLA |
Minister for Police |
Graham Edwards, MLC |
Minister for Housing |
Yvonne Henderson, BA, DipEd, JP, MLA |
Minister for Community Services |
David Smith, LL.B., JP, MLA |
Minister for Works and Services |
Pam Buchanan, JP, MLA |
Minister for Education |
Dr Geoff Gallop, BEc, MA, MPhil, D.Phil. (Oxon), MLA |
- 1 On 5 April 1990, former Deputy Premier and Treasurer David Parker announced his imminent resignation from the Ministry and from Parliament. His former responsibilities were shared across three other ministers.
Second Ministry
On 5 February 1991, the Governor, Sir Francis Burt, reconstituted the Ministry. He designated 16 principal executive offices of the Government and appointed the ministers to their positions. The appointed members remained Ministers until the end of the Lawrence Ministry on 16 February 1993.
Office | Minister |
---|---|
(until 7 September 1992:)
(from 7 September 1992:)
|
Dr Carmen Lawrence, BPsych, PhD, MLA |
Deputy Premier |
Ian Taylor, B.Econ (Hons), JP, MLA |
Attorney-General |
Joe Berinson, LL.B., QC, MLC |
Minister for Education |
Kay Hallahan, BSW, JP, MLC |
Minister for the Environment |
Bob Pearce, BA, DipEd, JP, MLA (until 21 October 1992)[2] |
Minister for Health | Rev Keith Wilson, MLA (until 13 November 1992)[3] |
Minister for Transport |
Pam Beggs, JP, MLA |
Minister for Agriculture |
Ernie Bridge, JP, MLA |
Minister for Mines |
Gordon Hill, JP, MLA |
Minister for Police |
Graham Edwards, MLC |
Minister for Productivity and Labour Relations |
Yvonne Henderson, BA, DipEd, JP, MLA |
Minister for Lands |
David Smith, LL.B., JP, MLA |
Minister for Fuel and Energy |
Dr Geoff Gallop, BEc, MA, MPhil, D.Phil. (Oxon), MLA |
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs |
Dr Judyth Watson, Cert.Nurs.Ed., BSc (Hons), PhD, JP, MLA |
Minister for Community Services (until 7 September 1992) (from 7 September 1992:)
Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly (from 26 October 1992)[2] |
Eric Ripper, BA, DipEd, MLA |
Minister for the Environment (from 26 October 1992)[2] |
Jim McGinty, BA, BJuris, JP, MLA |
Minister for Services |
Tom Stephens, BA, MLC (from 26 November 1992)[3] |
Parliamentary Secretaries |
(from 19 March 1991:)
John Halden, MLC |
- 2 On 20 October 1992, the six-volume Part One of the WA Inc Royal Commission was tabled in Parliament. A confidential appendix to the Director of Public Prosecutions concerned matters which may lead to prosecution. The following day, the Premier announced that Environment Minister Bob Pearce would stand down from the Ministry and vacate his seat at the next election. The ministry reduced to 15 members, with Jim McGinty assuming the Environment portfolio.
- 3 On 13 November 1992, Keith Wilson, the Minister for Health, resigned from the Ministry over a range of objections to the Government. Factional disputes over who should replace him resulted in a non-factional MLC, Tom Stephens, being selected ahead of the factions' preferred candidates, Nick Catania and Judy Edwards.
References
- Hansard Indexes for 1990–1992, "Legislature of Western Australia"
- "No.17 (Special)". Western Australia Government Gazette. 19 February 1990. p. 1990:1137-1138.
- "Premier and Cabinet (per PR402)". Western Australia Government Gazette. 8 February 1991. p. 1991:648-650.
- "No.128 (Special)". Western Australia Government Gazette. 7 September 1992. p. 1992:4547-4548.
- "No.166 (Special)". Western Australia Government Gazette. 27 November 1992. p. 1992:5817-5818.
- Australian Political Chronicle: January–June 1990. Australian Journal of Politics and History. 36. 1990. pp. 447–448. ISSN 0004-9522.
- Australian Political Chronicle: January–June 1991. Australian Journal of Politics and History. 37. 1991. p. 498. ISSN 0004-9522.
- Australian Political Chronicle: July–December 1992. Australian Journal of Politics and History. 39. 1993. p. 257. ISSN 0004-9522.
Preceded by Dowding Ministry |
Lawrence Ministry 1990-1993 |
Succeeded by Court–Cowan Ministry |