Minister without portfolio or Honorary Minister was the title given to a member of the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

who did not have responsibility for a department or portfolio. They were not paid in addition to their allowance as a member of parliament. The title was first used in the

Lyne ministry __NOTOC__ The Lyne ministry was the 29th ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by the 13th Premier, Sir William Lyne, KCMG. Lyne was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1880 as member for Hume, serving in t ...

in 1901 when

Paddy Crick William Patrick Crick (10 February 1862 – 23 August 1908) was an Australian politician, solicitor and newspaper proprietor. He was described by author Cyril Pearl as an irresistible demagogue, who "looked like a prize fighter, dressed like a ...

ceased to be

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a Ministry (government department), ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having ...

as a result of the

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and remained in the Cabinet until he was appointed Secretary for Lands in the

See ministry __NOTOC__ The See ministry was the 30th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 14th Premier, Sir John See. The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but was not a formal position in the ...

. The first people appointed without a portfolio were James Hayes, and Walter Bennett in the See ministry. The ministers without a portfolio were often given specific responsibilities using section 36 of the

Constitution of New South Wales The Constitution Act 1902 is the founding document of the State of New South Wales, and sets out many of the basic principles of the Government of New South Wales. This act created the foundation of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branc ...

under which the Governor could authorise any member of the cabinet to perform the duties of another minister, except for the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

.''Constitution Act'' 1902 (NSW
s 36
as made. The title was last used in the third Cahill ministry. From 1959 the title "minister assisting ..." or "assistant minister ..." has been used.

List of ministers

References

{{Government of New South Wales

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...