The Stevens–Bruxner ministry (1935–1938) or Second Stevens–Bruxner ministry or Second Stevens ministry was the 47th ministry of the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

, 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 govern ...

, 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 Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

coalition A coalition is 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, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

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 ...

. The ministry was the second one of three occasions when the Government was led by Stevens, as Premier; and second 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 House ...

in 1927 and served continuously until 1940. Having served as a senior minister in the Bavin ministry, following the defeat of the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

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 (UAP) 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 Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

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

in opposition between 1922 and 1925; and resumed leadership in 1932, following the resignation of his successor, Ernest Buttenshaw. 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 of New South Wales, Premier Jack Lang (Australian politician), Jack Lang by New South Wales Governor of New South Wales, Governor Philip Game was the first real constitutional crisis in Australia. Lang remains th ...

, when the

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

Philip Game Sir Philip Woolcott Game (30 March 1876 – 4 February 1961) was a 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 educated at Cha ...

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 (or their representative) without the approval of another branch or part of th ...

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

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 state election and were re-elected at the 1935 state election, albeit with a reduced margin. The principal change from the first Stevens–Bruxner ministry was that

Reginald Weaver Reginald Walter Darcy Weaver (18 July 187612 November 1945) was an Australian conservative parliamentarian who served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for 28 years. Serving from 1917 in the backbenches, he entered the cabinet of Th ...

, the Deputy leader of the United Australia Party, was dropped from the ministry, with Stevens describing him as "too extreme in personal independence" and possessing a "needlessly sharp tongue", replaced by the promotion of Herbert FitzSimons. There were five

by-elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

during the ministry, with the government losing three of them. This ministry covers the period from 11 February 1935 until 13 April 1938 when the 1938 state election saw the Stevens–Bruxner coalition re-elected for a subsequent and third term.

Composition of ministry

The composition of the ministry was announced by Premier Stevens on 11 February 1935. 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 (1935-1938) New South Wales ministries 1935 establishments in Australia 1938 disestablishments in Australia

Composition of ministry

See also

References