Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development (Australia)

Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development
Incumbent Warren Truss since 18 September 2013
Department of Infrastructure and Transport
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Australia
Inaugural holder	Thomas Paterson
Formation	1928

The Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development is the Hon. Warren Truss MP , since 18 September 2013.

He is supported by the Minister for Cities and the Built Environment, currently vacant, following the resignation from the ministry of the Hon. Jamie Briggs MP on 29 December 2015.

The minister is also supported by the Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects, the Hon. Paul Fletcher MP , since 21 September 2015.

Scope

In the Government of Australia, the minister has overall responsibility for all of the matters falling within the Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government portfolio, including regulation, safety and funding in relation to aviation, shipping, roads and railways and policy on regional development, local government and the territories, including the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. His ministerial responsibility includes the following agencies.

• Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, including:
  • Office of Transport Security; and
  • Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics (BTRE)

• Australian Transport Safety Bureau

History

Under the Constitution of Australia the federal government was not given any specific responsibilities for transport, except for "railway construction and extension in any State with the consent of that State" (section 51(xxxiv)). In 1916, Billy Hughes appointed Patrick Lynch as Minister for Works and Railways to administer Commonwealth Railways and the construction of the Trans-Australian Railway. In December 1928, Stanley Bruce appointed Thomas Paterson as Minister for Markets and Transport, which included responsibility for funding road construction via grants to the states. In January 1932, this portfolio was renamed Minister for Transport, but in April 1932 it was absorbed into the new portfolio of Minister for the Interior along with the position of Minister for Works and Railways.

In December 1938, with the growth of significance of civil aviation and the commonwealth's assumption of responsibility for regulating it under international treaties, Joseph Lyons appointed Harold Thorby as the first Minister for Civil Aviation. In 1941 Robert Menzies re-established the transport portfolio with the appointment of Hubert Lawrence Anthony. The Curtin government was determined to establish a government shipping company, ultimately the Australian National Lines, and John Curtin appointed Jack Beasley as Minister for Supply and Development in 1941. This position was renamed Minister for Shipping, Fuel and Transport in 1950 under the Menzies government and Minister for Shipping and Transport in 1951. Gough Whitlam combined the transport and civil aviation porfolios in 1973, but it was re-divided with Malcolm Fraser's appointment of Wal Fife as Minister for Aviation in 1982. Bob Hawke abolished the aviation portfolio in 1987 with the creation of the "super" departments. Since 1987, there has been a single senior transport minister in Cabinet.

Agency and bodies

Other agencies and bodies the portfolio include:

• Australian Transport Safety Bureau
• Airservices Australia
• Australian Bicycle Council
• Australian Global Navigation Satellite System Coordination Committee (AGCC)
• Australian Local Government and Planning Ministers' Council
• Australian Maritime College
• Australian Maritime Safety Authority
• Australian Motor Vehicle Certification Board
• Australian Rail Operations Unit
• Australian Rail Track Corporation
• Australian Transport Council
• Christmas Island Administration
• Civil Aviation Safety Authority
• Cocos (Keeling) Islands Administration
• East Kimberley Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Indigenous Trial
• International Air Services Commission
• Jervis Bay Territory Administration
• Local Government and Planning Joint Committee
• National Capital Authority
• National Transport Commission
• Navigation Safety Advisory Committee
• Administrator of the Northern Territory
• Office of the Administrator Norfolk Island
• Regional Development Council
• Regional Women's Advisory Council
• Standing Committee on Regional Development Secretariat
• Stevedoring Industry Finance Committee
• Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme Review Authority

Transport

List of Transport Ministers

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Thomas Paterson		Country	Bruce	Minister for Markets and Transport	10 December 1928	22 October 1929	days
2	Parker Moloney		Labor	Scullin		22 October 1929	21 April 1930
					Minister for Transport	21 April 1930	6 January 1932
3	Archdale Parkhill		United Australia	Lyons		6 January 1932	12 April 1932	days
4	Larry Anthony		Country	Menzies	Minister for Transport	26 June 1941	28 August 1941	days
				Fadden		28 August 1941	7 October 1941
5	George Lawson		Labor	Curtin		7 October 1941	21 September 1943
6	Eddie Ward					21 September 1943	6 July 1945
				Forde		6 July 1945	13 July 1945
				Chifley		13 July 1945	19 December 1949
7	Howard Beale		Liberal	Menzies		19 December 1949	17 March 1950	days
8	George McLeay				Minister for Shipping, Fuel and Transport	17 March 1950	11 May 1951
					Minister for Shipping and Transport	11 May 1951	14 September 1955
9	John Spicer					14 September 1955	27 September 1955	days
10	Shane Paltridge					27 September 1955	5 February 1960
11	Hubert Opperman					5 February 1960	18 December 1963
12	Gordon Freeth					18 December 1963	21 January 1966
				Holt		26 January 1966	19 December 1967
				McEwen		19 December 1967	10 January 1968
				Gorton		110 January 1968	28 February 1968
13	Ian Sinclair		Country			28 February 1968	5 February 1971
14	Peter Nixon					5 February 1971	10 March 1971
				McMahon		10 March 1971	5 December 1972
15	Gough Whitlam		Labor	Whitlam		5 December 1972	19 December 1972	days
16	Charles Jones				Minister for Transport	19 December 1972	11 November 1975
n/a	Peter Nixon		National Country	Fraser		11 November 1975	8 December 1979
17	Ralph Hunt					8 December 1979	7 May 1982
					Minister for Transport and Construction	7 May 1982	16 October 1982
			National			16 October 1982	11 March 1983
18	Peter Morris		Labor	Hawke	Minister for Transport	11 March 1983	24 July 1987
19	Gareth Evans				Minister for Transport and Communications	24 July 1987 (1987-07-24)	2 September 1988 (1988-09-02)
20	Ralph Willis					2 September 1988 (1988-09-02)	4 April 1990 (1990-04-04)
21	Kim Beazley					4 April 1990 (1990-04-04)	9 December 1991 (1991-12-09)
22	John Kerin					9 December 1991 (1991-12-09)	20 December 1991 (1991-12-20)	days
				Keating		20 December 1991 (1991-12-20)	27 December 1991 (1991-12-27)
21	Graham Richardson					27 December 1991 (1991-12-27)	18 May 1992 (1992-05-18)	days
22	Bob Collins					18 May 1992 (1992-05-18)	24 December 1993 (1993-12-24)
23	Laurie Brereton				Minister for Transport	24 December 1993	11 March 1996
24	John Sharp		Nationals	Howard	Minister for Transport and Regional Development	11 March 1996 (1996-03-11)	25 September 1997 (1997-09-25)
25	Mark Vaile					25 September 1997 (1997-09-25)	21 October 1998 (1998-10-21)
26	John Anderson				Minister for Transport and Regional Services	21 October 1998 (1998-10-21)	6 July 2005 (2005-07-06)
27	Warren Truss					6 July 2005 (2005-07-06)	29 September 2006 (2006-09-29)
n/a	Mark Vaile					29 September 2006 (2006-09-29)	3 December 2007 (2007-12-03)
28	Anthony Albanese		Labor	Rudd	Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government	3 December 2007 (2007-12-03)	24 June 2010 (2010-06-24)
				Gillard		24 June 2010 (2010-06-24)	28 June 2010 (2010-06-28)
					Minister for Infrastructure and Transport	14 September 2010	27 June 2013
				Rudd		27 June 2013	18 September 2013
n/a	Warren Truss		National	Abbott	Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	15 September 2015
				Turnbull		15 September 2015 (2015-09-15)	Incumbent

Ministers for Aviation

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Harold Thorby		Country	Lyons	Minister for Civil Aviation	24 November 1938	7 April 1939	days
				Page		7 April 1939	26 April 1939
2	James Fairbairn		United Australia	Menzies		26 April 1939	13 August 1940
3	Arthur Fadden		Country			14 August 1940	28 October 1940	days
4	John McEwen					28 October 1940	28 August 1941	days
				Fadden		28 August 1941	7 October 1941
5	Arthur Drakeford		Labor	Curtin		7 October 1941	6 July 1945
				Forde		6 July 1945	13 July 1945
				Chifley		13 July 1945	19 December 1949
6	Thomas White		Liberal	Menzies		19 December 1949	11 May 1951
7	Larry Anthony		Country			11 May 1951	9 July 1954
8	Athol Townley		Liberal			9 July 1954	24 October 1956
9	Shane Paltridge					24 October 1956	10 June 1964
10	Denham Henty					10 June 1964	26 January 1966
11	Reginald Swartz			Holt		26 January 1966	19 December 1967
				McEwen		19 December 1967	10 January 1968
				Gorton		10 January 1968	12 November 1969
12	Bob Cotton					12 November 1969	10 March 1971
				McMahon		10 March 1971	5 December 1972
13	Gough Whitlam		Labor	Whitlam		5 December 1972	19 December 1972	days
14	Charles Jones					19 December 1972	30 November 1973
15	Wal Fife		Liberal	Fraser	Minister for Aviation	7 May 1982	11 March 1983	days
16	Kim Beazley		Labor	Hawke		11 March 1983	13 December 1984
17	Peter Morris					13 December 1984	24 July 1987
18	Gary Punch		Labor	Hawke	Minister for Telecommunications and Aviation Support	2 September 1988	28 March 1989	days
19	Ros Kelly					6 April 1989	4 April 1990	days
20	Bob Collins		Labor	Hawke	Minister for Shipping and Aviation Support	7 May 1990	20 December 1991
				Keating		20 December 1991	27 December 1991
					Minister for Shipping and Aviation	27 December 1991	27 May 1992
21	Peter Cook				Minister for Shipping and Aviation Support	27 May 1992	24 March 1993	days

Ministers for Shipping

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Patrick Lynch		Labor	Curtin	Ministers for Shipping	17 October 1942	2 February 1945
2	Bill Ashley					2 February 1945	6 July 1945
				Chifley		13 July 1945	6 April 1948
					Minister for Shipping and Fuel	6 April 1948	19 December 1949
3	George McLeay		Liberal	Menzies		19 December 1949	17 March 1950
					Minister for Fuel, Shipping and Transport	17 March 1950	11 May 1951
					Minister for Shipping and Transport	11 May 1951	14 September 1955
4	John Spicer					14 September 1955	27 September 1955	days
5	Shane Paltridge					27 September 1955	5 February 1960
6	Hubert Opperman					5 February 1960	18 December 1963
7	Gordon Freeth					18 December 1963	21 January 1966
				Holt		26 January 1966	19 December 1967
				McEwen		19 December 1967	10 January 1968
				Gorton		110 January 1968	28 February 1968
8	Ian Sinclair		Country			28 February 1968	5 February 1971
9	Peter Nixon					5 February 1971	10 March 1971
				McMahon		10 March 1971	5 December 1972
10	Gough Whitlam		Labor	Whitlam		5 December 1972	19 December 1972	days
11	Bob Brown		Labor	Hawke	Minister for Land Transport and Shipping Support	24 July 1987	4 April 1990
12	Bob Collins				Minister for Shipping	4 April 1990	7 May 1990
					Minister for Shipping and Aviation Support	7 May 1990	20 December 1991
				Keating		20 December 1991	27 December 1991
					Minister for Shipping and Aviation	27 December 1991	27 May 1992
13	Peter Cook				Minister for Shipping and Aviation Support	27 May 1992	24 March 1993	days

Minister for Works and Railways

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Patrick Lynch		National Labor	Hughes	Minister for Works and Railways	14 November 1916	17 February 1917	days
2	William Watt		Nationalist			17 February 1917	27 March 1918
3	Littleton Groom					27 March 1918	21 December 1921
4	Richard Foster					21 December 1921	9 February 1923
5	Percy Stewart		Country	Bruce		9 February 1923	8 August 1924
6	William Hill					8 August 1924	29 November 1928
7	William Gibson		Country	Bruce	Minister for Works and Railways	10 December 1928	22 October 1929	days
8	Joseph Lyons		Labor	Scullin		22 October 1929	4 February 1931
9	Albert Green					4 February 1931	6 January 1932	days
10	Charles Marr		United Australia	Lyons		6 January 1932	12 April 1932	days

Ministers supporting the Transport Minister

Since the creation of the enlarged portfolios in the third Hawke Ministry on 24 July 1987 there has usually been a minister outside cabinet supporting the Transport Minister.

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Peter Duncan		Labor	Hawke	Minister for Land Transport and Infrastructure Support	24 July 1987	19 January 1988	days
2	Peter Duncan				Minister for Transport and Communications Support	19 January 1988	15 February 1988	days
3	Peter Morris					15 February 1988	2 September 1988	days
4	Bob Brown				Minister for Land Transport and Shipping Support	2 September 1988	4 April 1990
					Minister for Land Transport	4 April 1990	20 December 1991
				Keating		20 December 1991	24 March 1993
5	Ian Macdonald		Liberal	Howard	Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government	21 October 1998	26 November 2001
6	Wilson Tuckey		Liberal	Howard	Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government	25 January 2002	7 October 2003
7	Ian Campbell				Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads	7 October 2003	18 July 2004	days
8	Jim Lloyd					18 July 2004	3 December 2007
9	Catherine King		Labor	Rudd	Minister for Road Safety	27 June 2013	18 September 2013	days
10	Jamie Briggs		Liberal	Abbott	Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	15 September 2015
				Turnbull		15 September 2015 (2015-09-15)	21 September 2015
					Minister for Cities and the Built Environment	21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)	29 December 2015 (2015-12-29)

List of territories, local government and major project ministers

The following individuals have been appointed Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects, or any precedent titles:

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Tom Uren		Labor	Whitlam	Minister for Urban and Regional Development	19 December 1972 (1972-12-19)	11 November 1975 (1975-11-11)
2	John Carrick		Liberal	Fraser		11 November 1975 (1975-11-11)	22 December 1975 (1975-12-22)	days
n/a	Tom Uren		Labor	Hawke	Minister for Territories and Local Government, Minister assisting the Prime Minister for Community Development and Regional Affairs	11 March 1983 (1983-03-11)	13 December 1984 (1984-12-13)
					Minister for Local Government and Administrative Services	13 December 1984 (1984-12-13)	24 July 1987 (1987-07-24)
3	Margaret Reynolds		Labor	Hawke	Minister for Local Government	18 September 1987 (1987-09-18)	4 April 1990 (1990-04-04)
4	Wendy Fatin					4 April 1990 (1990-04-04)	20 December 1991 (1991-12-20)
				Keating		20 December 1991 (1991-12-20)	27 December 1991 (1991-12-27)
5	David Simmons					27 December 1991 (1991-12-27)	24 March 1993 (1993-03-24)
6	Brian Howe				Minister for Housing, Local Government and Community Services	24 March 1993 (1993-03-24)	23 December 1993 (1993-12-23)
					Minister for Housing, Local Government and Human Services	23 December 1993 (1993-12-23)	25 March 1994 (1994-03-25)
7	Warwick Smith		Liberal	Howard	Minister for Sport, Territories and Local Government	11 March 1996 (1996-03-11)	9 October 1997 (1997-10-09)
8	Alex Somlyay				Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government	9 October 1997 (1997-10-09)	21 October 1998 (1998-10-21)
9	Sandy Macdonald		Nationals		Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government	21 October 1998 (1998-10-21)	26 November 2001 (2001-11-26)
10	Wilson Tuckey		Liberal	Howard	Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government	25 January 2002 (2002-01-25)	7 October 2003 (2003-10-07)
11	Ian Campbell				Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads	7 October 2003 (2003-10-07)	18 July 2004 (2004-07-18)	days
12	Jim Lloyd					18 July 2004 (2004-07-18)	3 December 2007 (2007-12-03)
13	Anthony Albanese		Labor	Rudd	Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government	3 December 2007 (2007-12-03)	24 June 2010 (2010-06-24)
				Gillard		24 June 2010 (2010-06-24)	28 June 2010 (2010-06-28)
14	Simon Crean				Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government	28 June 2010 (2010-06-28)	25 March 2013 (2013-03-25)
n/a	Anthony Albanese				Minister for Regional Development and Local Government	25 March 2013 (2013-03-25)	1 July 2013 (2013-07-01)	days
15	Catherine King			Rudd	Minister for Regional Australia, Local Government and Territories	1 July 2013 (2013-07-01)	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	days
16	Paul Fletcher		Liberal	Turnbull	Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects	21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)	Incumbent	days

List of infrastructure and regional development ministers

The following individuals have been appointed Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, or any precedent titles:

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Tom Uren		Labor	Whitlam	Minister for Urban and Regional Development	19 December 1972 (1972-12-19)	11 November 1975 (1975-11-11)
2	John Carrick		Liberal	Fraser		11 November 1975 (1975-11-11)	22 December 1975 (1975-12-22)	days
3	Alan Griffiths		Labor	Keating	Minister for Industry, Technology and Regional Development	24 March 1993 (1993-03-24)	23 January 1994 (1994-01-23)	days
4	Peter Cook					30 January 1994 (1994-01-30)	25 March 1994 (1994-03-25)	days
5	Brian Howe				Minister for Housing and Regional Development	25 March 1994 (1994-03-25)	11 March 1996 (1996-03-11)
4	John Sharp		Nationals	Howard	Minister for Transport and Regional Development	11 March 1996 (1996-03-11)	25 September 1997 (1997-09-25)
5	Mark Vaile					25 September 1997 (1997-09-25)	21 October 1998 (1998-10-21)
6	John Anderson				Minister for Transport and Regional Services	21 October 1998 (1998-10-21)	6 July 2005 (2005-07-06)
7	Warren Truss					6 July 2005 (2005-07-06)	29 September 2006 (2006-09-29)
n/a	Mark Vaile					29 September 2006 (2006-09-29)	3 December 2007 (2007-12-03)
8	Anthony Albanese		Labor	Rudd	Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government	3 December 2007 (2007-12-03)	24 June 2010 (2010-06-24)
				Gillard		24 June 2010 (2010-06-24)	28 June 2010 (2010-06-28)
9	Simon Crean				Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government	28 June 2010 (2010-06-28)	25 March 2013 (2013-03-25)
n/a	Anthony Albanese				Minister for Regional Development and Local Government	25 March 2013 (2013-03-25)	1 July 2013 (2013-07-01)	days
10	Sharon Bird			Rudd	Minister for Regional Development	1 July 2013 (2013-07-01)	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	days
n/a	Warren Truss		National	Abbott	Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	15 September 2015
				Turnbull		15 September 2015 (2015-09-15)	Incumbent

External links

• Ministers website