The Willis–Punch ministry or Willis ministry was the 70th 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 Governme ...

, and was led by the 34th

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislatu ...

, Sir

Eric Willis Sir Eric Archibald Willis (15 January 1922 – 10 May 1999) was an Australian politician, Cabinet Minister and the 34th Premier of New South Wales, serving from 23 January 1976 to 14 May 1976. Born in Murwillumbah in 1922, Willis was educated ...

in a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

coalition with the Country Party of Australia, that was led by

Leon Punch Leon Ashton Punch (21 April 192828 December 1991) was a New South Wales politician, Deputy Premier, and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Sir Robert Askin, Tom Lewis and Sir Eric Willis. From 1975 to 1976 he was the Deputy Premier of ...

Background

Willis joined the newly formed Liberal Party of Australia in 1945, after hearing a speech by

Sir Robert Menzies ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

. After unsuccessfully seeking election to the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members o ...

, Willis was 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 1950 and served continuously up until 1978, representing the seat of

Earlwood Earlwood is a suburb in Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Earlwood is located 10 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, and is part of the St George area. It is in the local government areas of ...

, in the inner southwestern suburbs of Sydney. Upon Sir

Robert Askin Sir Robert William Askin, GCMG (4 April 1907 – 9 September 1981), was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but ...

's retirement in January 1975, Willis was seen as the favourite to take the premiership. However, despite Askin's initial support, Willis refused his help, preferring to gain the leadership on his own merits. Askin then put his support behind the Minister for Lands, Tom Lewis. Willis, sure he had support, refused to campaign, and the party put its support behind Lewis, leading to his election to Premier. Willis was then replaced as Deputy by

John Maddison John Clarkson Maddison (4 September 192129 August 1982) was a New South Wales politician, Attorney General, Minister for Justice and Deputy Leader for the Liberal Party of New South Wales in the cabinets of Robert Askin, Tom Lewis and Sir E ...

. For Willis' service as Deputy Leader he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 14 June 1975. Lewis was Premier for only one year and looked increasingly likely to lead the state Liberals to defeat. At the party room meeting on 20 January 1976, parliamentary backbencher

Neil Pickard Neil Edward William Pickard (13 February 192913 April 2007) was a New South Wales politician and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Sir Eric Willis and Nick Greiner. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for 26 years ...

called a spill motion. This was carried 22 votes to 11 and Willis was made Leader unopposed. Punch was elected to the NSW Legislative Assembly in 1959 and served continuously up until 1985, representing variously the seats of

Upper Hunter The Upper Hunter Shire is a local government area in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in May 2004 from the Scone Shire and parts of Murrurundi and Merriwa shires. The Mayor of the Upper Hunter Shir ...

(1959-1962) and then

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

(1962-1985). Elected Deputy Leader of the Country Party in 1973, Punch was elected as leader of his party following the retirement and resignation of the Sir Charles Cutler in December 1975.

Composition of ministry

The ministry was sworn in by the Lieutenant Governor Sir Laurence Street on 23 January 1976, a few days after Willis deposed Tom Lewis in a spill motion for the leadership of the parliamentary branch of the Liberal Party in New South Wales. It ended on 14 May 1976 when the coalition was defeated at the 1976 election by the Labor Party and the First Wran ministry was sworn in. Ministers are members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis-Punch ministry New South Wales ministries 1976 establishments in Australia 1976 disestablishments in Australia

Background

Composition of ministry

See also

Notes

References