The Wran ministry (1983–1984) or Fifth Wran ministry was the 75th 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 35th

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 legislature. ...

Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman of ...

, representing the Labor Party. It was the fifth of eight consecutive occasions when Wran was Premier.

Background

Wran had been elected to the

Legislative Council of New South Wales The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

by a joint sitting of the

New South Wales Parliament The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...

on 12 March 1970. He was Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council from 22 February 1972. He resigned from the council on 19 October 1973 to switch to the Legislative Assembly, successfully contesting the election for Bass Hill, which he would hold until his retirement in 1986. Wran successfully challenged

Pat Hills Patrick Darcy Hills (31 December 1917 – 22 April 1992) was a New South Wales politician. He served in various high offices across the state most notably the Deputy Premier of New South Wales, Leader of the Opposition and as the Lord Mayor ...

to become Leader of Labor Party and

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 ...

from 3 December 1973 and became Premier following a narrow one seat victory at the 1976 election. Labor retained government at the 1981 election, gaining an additional 6 seats despite a 2% swing against Labor, giving a majority of 19 seats in the Legislative Assembly and two seats in the Legislative Council. During the course of this ministry, Wran stood aside for two months from May 1983 while Sir Laurence Street conducted a Royal Commission into claims made by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

current affairs show ''

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

'' that Chief Magistrate

Murray Farquhar Murray Farquhar OBE (7 July 19183 December 1993) was an Australian jurist. He was the Chief Stipendiary Magistrate of New South Wales between 1971 and 1977. Farquhar was born in Broken Hill, New South Wales. He attended Broken Hill High Sch ...

had said that Wran wanted charges against Kevin Humphreys to be dismissed. After two months of hearings the Royal Commission found that Farquhar had attempted to pervert the course of justice, but Wran was exonerated and resumed the office of Premier. During this time allegations were made that Rex Jackson, the Minister for Corrective Services, was accepting bribes connected with an early-release scheme, with Wran demanding Jackson's resignation in October 1983.

Composition of ministry

The ministry covers the period from 1 February 1983 when Wran reconfigured his ministry. There were two minor rearrangements of the ministry, with Jackson resigning in October 1983, and

George Paciullo George Paciullo, OAM (; 20 February 19349 October 2012) was an Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Liverpool in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1971 to 1989, and served as a minister from 1984 to 1988. Paciullo was ...

was promoted to the ministry in November 1983. The ministry ended on 10 February 1984 when

Jack Ferguson Laurie John Ferguson (4 September 1924 – 17 September 2002) was an Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch). He served in Neville Wran's state gove ...

, who had been Wran's deputy since 1973, resigned as Deputy Premier announcing that he would not be contesting the next election, and the Sixth Wran ministry was formed. Ministers are members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wran ministry (1983-1984) New South Wales ministries 1983 establishments in Australia 1984 disestablishments in Australia Australian Labor Party ministries in New South Wales

Background

Composition of ministry

See also

Notes

References