Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (New South Wales)
| Minister for Aboriginal Affairs | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Aboriginal Affairs NSW | |
| Style | The Honourable |
| Appointer | Governor of New South Wales |
| Inaugural holder | Frank Walker |
| Formation | 2 October 1981 |
The New South Wales Minister for Aboriginal Affairs is the elected officer of the government in the Australian state of New South Wales responsible for administering legislation and policy in relation to that state's indigenous Australians through Aboriginal Affairs NSW, an agency of the Department of Education.
The current Minister since 2 April 2015 is Leslie Williams, an elected representative of the National Party. The Minister reports to the Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli (Nationals).[1]
Office history
The first Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Frank Walker, was appointed by the Labor Government of Neville Wran on 2 October 1981 and a "Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs" was established on 1 January 1982.[2] This role replaced the Aboriginal Affairs responsibilities of the Minister for Youth and Community Services (the last being Kevin Stewart). Prior to 1969 Aboriginal Affairs was within the purview of the Chief Secretary. The new ministry had responsibilities for advising the Government on "how and where land rights for Aboriginal people might be granted" and for the provision of services to Aboriginal communities.[2]
On 15 April 1988, the Ministry was abolished and its responsibilities were transferred to the new "Bureau of Aboriginal Affairs" within the Premier’s Department. The Bureau was renamed to the "Office of Aboriginal Affairs" by June 1988 and was charged with the administration of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, 1983 (NSW) and the administration of Aboriginal Land Councils.[3] On 1 July 1993, the Office of Aboriginal Affairs was established as an administrative office independent of the Premier's Department responsible to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.[4]
On 6 April 1995 the Office was abolished and was transferred to the "Department of Aboriginal Affairs". On 1 July 2009 the Department was abolished as an independent body and was subordinated to the new Department of Human Services. On 4 April 2011, the Department was renamed "Aboriginal Affairs NSW" and was transferred to the Department of Education and Communities within the Office of Communities. In July 2015 the Office of Communities was abolished but Aboriginal Affairs remained within the parent Department of Education.[5]
Ministers for Aboriginal Affairs
The following individuals have been appointed Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.[6]
| Minister | Party affiliation | Period | Ministerial title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Walker | Labor | 2 October 1981 – 10 February 1984 | Minister for Aboriginal Affairs |
| Paul Whelan | 10 February 1984 – 5 April 1984 | ||
| George Paciullo | 5 April 1984 – 6 February 1986 | ||
| Peter Anderson | 6 February 1986 – 4 July 1986 | ||
| Ken Gabb | 4 July 1986 – 21 March 1988 | ||
| Office not in use | |||
| Jim Longley | Liberal | 26 May 1993 – 4 April 1995 | Minister for Aboriginal Affairs |
| Andrew Refshauge | Labor | 4 April 1995 – 3 August 2005 | |
| Carmel Tebbutt | 3 August 2005 – 10 August 2005 | ||
| Milton Orkopoulos | 10 August 2005 – 8 November 2006 | ||
| Reba Meagher | 8 November 2006 – 2 April 2007 | ||
| Paul Lynch | 2 April 2007 – 28 March 2011 | ||
| Victor Dominello | Liberal | 3 April 2011 – 2 April 2015 | |
| Leslie Williams | Nationals | 2 April 2015 – present | |
References
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