The Stevens–Bruxner ministry (1938–1939) or Third Stevens–Bruxner ministry or Third Stevens ministry was the 48th ministry of the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

, and was led by the 25th

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

, Bertram Stevens, in a

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

with the Country Party, that was led by

Michael Bruxner Lieutenant Colonel Sir Michael Frederick Bruxner (25 March 1882 – 28 March 1970) was an Australian politician and soldier, serving for many years as leader of the Country Party (and its predecessors) in New South Wales. Born in the north o ...

. The ministry was the third of three occasions when the Government was led by Stevens, as Premier; and third of four occasions where Bruxner served as Deputy Premier. Stevens was first elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

in 1927 and served continuously until 1940. Having served as a senior minister in the

Bavin ministry The Bavin ministry was the 44th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 24th Premier, Thomas Bavin, in a Nationalist coalition with the Country Party, led by Ernest Buttenshaw. Bavin was first elected to the New South ...

, following the defeat of the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

coalition led by Bavin, who was in poor health, at the 1930 state election, Stevens was elected leader of the newly formed United Australia Party in New South Wales and became

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. Bruxner was first elected to the Assembly in 1920 and served continuously until 1962. Initially a member of the

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Italy ...

, he served as

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...

in opposition between 1922 and 1925; and resumed leadership in 1932, following the resignation of his successor,

Ernest Buttenshaw Ernest Albert Buttenshaw (23 May 187626 June 1950) was an Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1917 until 1932. He was a member of the Nationalist Party of Australia until 1920, when he helped to esta ...

. By this stage, the party was renamed as the Country Party. The Stevens–Bruxner coalition came to power as a result of the

Lang Dismissal Crisis The 1932 dismissal of Premier Jack Lang by New South Wales Governor Philip Game was the first real constitutional crisis in Australia. Lang remains the only Australian premier to be removed from office by his governor, using the reserve po ...

, when the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

Philip Game Sir Philip Woolcott Game, (30 March 1876 – 4 February 1961) was a British Royal Air Force commander, who later served as Governor of New South Wales and Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (London). Born in Surrey in 1876, Game was educa ...

used the

reserve power In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power, also known as discretionary power, is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch or part of the government. Unlike in a ...

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

to remove Jack Lang as Premier, asking Stevens to form government. Going to the polls a month later, Stevens/Bruxner won a landslide victory at the 1932 election and were re-elected at the

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

and 1938 elections, albeit with reduced margins. There had been six

by-elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

during the ministry, with picking up two seats from the government. This ministry covers the period from 13 April 1938 until 5 August 1939. On 21 July 1939

Eric Spooner Eric Sydney Spooner (2 March 1891 – 3 June 1952) was an Australian politician. Early life Spooner was born in the Sydney suburb of Waterloo and educated at Christ Church St Laurence School. At 14 he became a telegraph messenger and studie ...

, the deputy leader of the United Australia Party, resigned from cabinet. Spooner had been a protege of Stevens, however their relationship deteriorated, particularly in relation to the Country Party. On 1 August 1939 Spooner moved a motion that was critical of Stevens, describing him as running the party as a dictatorship, and the proposal to cut government spending in order to restrain a growing deficit. Stevens stated that he regarded it as a motion of censure. The coalition had a large majority in the assembly, however the motion was passed 43 to 41, with nine United Australia members joining Spooner in voting against the government. Having lost the confidence of the assembly, Stevens resigned as Premier and leader of the party. Spooner had ambitions to replace Stevens as leader however Bruxner refused to join a coalition with him and

Alexander Mair Alexander Mair (25 August 18893 August 1969) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 5 August 1939 to 16 May 1941. Born in Melbourne, Mair worked in various businesses there before moving to Albury, New Sout ...

succeeded Stevens as Premier.

Composition of ministry

The composition of the ministry was announced by Premier Stevens on 13 April 1938. Ministers are members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

References

! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #cccccc" , New South Wales government ministries {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens-Bruxner ministry (1938-1939) New South Wales ministries 1938 establishments in Australia 1939 disestablishments in Australia

Composition of ministry

See also

References