McKell ministry (1944–47)

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, the Honourable William McKell, MLA, of the Australian Labor Party. The ministry was the second of two occasions when the Government was led by McKell, as Premier.

McKell was first elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1917 and served continuously until 1947, when he resigned to become the 12th Governor-General of Australia. Having served as a junior minister in the first and third ministries of Jack Lang, during the 1930s McKell came to oppose Lang's dictatorial rule and critical of electoral failures. In 1939 McKell displaced Lang as Labor leader and NSW Leader of the Opposition.^[1] McKell led Labor to victory at the 1941 state election, defeating the United Australia Party/Country Party coalition of Alexander Mair and Michael Bruxner. McKell and his government were re-elected for a subsequent term at the 1944 state election.

This ministry covers the period from 8 June 1944 until 6 February 1947^[2][3] when McKell resigned to become Governor-General of Australia. McKell was succeeded by Jim McGirr.

Composition of ministry

First arrangement

The composition of the ministry was announced by Premier McKell on 8 June 1944 and covers until 9 May 1946 when there was a minor rearrangement. Ministers are listed in order of seniority and in some cases, serve the full term of parliament.

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Premier Colonial Treasurer	Hon. William McKell, MLA		Labor	8 June 1944	6 February 1947	2 years, 243 days
Deputy Premier Colonial Secretary Minister for Mines Minister for National Emergency Services	Hon. Jack Baddeley, MLA
Minister of Education	Hon. Bob Heffron, MLA
Attorney–General	Hon. Captain Clarrie Martin, MEc, LLB, AAlS
Minister for Conservation	Hon. Captain Bill Dunn, MLA				9 May 1946	1 year, 335 days
Minister for Labour and Industry and Social Services	Hon. Hamilton Knight, MLA				6 February 1947	2 years, 243 days
Minister for Justice Vice-President of the Executive Council Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	Hon. Reg Downing, MLC
Secretary for Public Works Minister for Local Government	Hon. Joseph Cahill, MLA
Minister for Health	Hon. Gus Kelly, MLA
Minister for Housing	Hon. Jim McGirr, MLA
Minister for Lands	Hon. Jack Tully, MLA				9 May 1946	1 year, 335 days
Minister for Transport	Hon. Maurice O'Sullivan, MLA				6 February 1947	2 years, 243 days
Minister for Agriculture	Hon. Eddie Graham, MLA
Assistant Minister	Hon. Clive Evatt, KC, LLB, MLA				9 May 1946	1 year, 335 days
	Hon. William Dickson, MLC				6 February 1947	2 years, 243 days
	Hon. George Weir, LLB, MLA			25 February 1946	9 May 1946	73 days

Second arrangement

The composition of the ministry was announced by Premier McKell on 9 May 1946 and covers the period up to 6 February 1947. Ministers are listed in order of seniority. Only changes in portfolios are shown.

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Secretary for Lands	Hon. Captain Bill Dunn, MLA		Labor	9 May 1946	6 February 1947	273 days
Minister for Conservation	Hon. George Weir, LLB, MLA
Minister in Charge of Tourist Activities and Immigration	Hon. Clive Evatt, KC, LLB, MLA

See also

• William McKell - 27th Premier of New South Wales
• First McKell ministry
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1944-1947

References

1. Clune, David (2011). "The life and times of William McKell". The McKell Institute. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
2. "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)". Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original (Excel spreadsheet) on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
3. Wah, Malvyne Jong; Page, Jeffrey E. (November 2007). "New South Wales Parliamentary Record 1824 – 2007" (PDF). VIII. Parliament of New South Wales: 276–277. Retrieved 12 March 2012.