Attorney-General of Western Australia

The Attorney-General of Western Australia is the member of the Government of Western Australia responsible for maintenance and improvement of Western Australia's system of law and justice. Before the advent of representative government in 1870, the title was Advocate-General of Western Australia. The Attorney-General must be a qualified legal practitioner. When there are none in the cabinet, a lay person is sometimes appointed to the office of Minister for Justice.^[1]

The current Attorney-General of Western Australia, since 29 June 2012, is Michael Mischin.

List of Advocates-General of Western Australia

This is a list of Advocates-General of Western Australia from 1831 to 1870.^[2]

Advocate-General	Time in Office
William Mackie	1831–34
Hon. George Fletcher Moore	1834–46
Hon. Richard West Nash	1841–46 (acting); 1846–52
Hon. B. W. Vigors	1852–54 (acting)
Hon. George Frederick Stone	1854–57
Hon. Richard Burnie	1857–59
Hon. George Frederick Stone	1860–70

List of Attorneys-General of Western Australia

This is a list of Attorneys-General of Western Australia. The office was not always filled: the Australian Parliamentary Library notes that where there was no lawyer among the ministers elected, there would be a Minister for Justice instead of an Attorney-General.^[3][4]

Attorney-General	Time in Office
Robert John Walcott[5][6]	4 November 1870–December 1872
Sir Henry Hocking[7]	December 1872–30 June 1874
George Walpole Leake	30 June 1874–16 January 1875
Sir Henry Hicks Hocking	16 January 1875–25 February 1879
George Walpole Leake	1 March 1879–24 November 1879
Edward Albert Stone	24 November 1879–21 March 1880
George Walpole Leake	21 March 1880–21 March 1881
Alexander Onslow	21 March 1881–9 April 1883
George Walpole Leake	9 April 1883–10 July 1883
Alfred Hensman	10 July 1883–18 June 1886
Septimus Burt	19 June 1886–3 December 1886
Charles Warton	9 December 1886– December 1890
Septimus Burt	29 December 1890–27 October 1897
Richard Pennefather	27 October 1897–20 March 1901
George Leake	27 May 1901–21 November 1901
Frederick Moorhead	21 November 1901–23 December 1901
George Leake	23 December 1901–24 June 1902
Walter James	1 July 1902–10 August 1904
Norbert Keenan	14 May 1906–14 May 1909
John Nanson	16 September 1910–7 October 1911
Thomas Walker	7 October 1911–27 July 1916
Robert Robinson	27 July 1916–17 May 1919
Thomas Draper	17 May 1919–12 March 1921
Thomas Davy	24 April 1930–18 February 1933
Hubert Parker	22 February 1933–8 April 1933
Robert Ross McDonald	1 April 1947–5 January 1948
Arthur Abbott	5 January 1948–23 February 1953
Arthur Watts	2 April 1959–31 January 1962
Tom Evans	21 October 1971–8 April 1974
Ian Medcalf	22 December 1975–25 February 1983
Joe Berinson	25 February 1983–16 February 1993
Cheryl Edwardes	16 February 1993–21 December 1995
Peter Foss	21 December 1995–16 February 2001
Jim McGinty	16 February 2001–23 September 2008
Christian Porter	23 September 2008–12 June 2012
Michael Mischin	29 June 2012–present

References

1. "Justice Ministers of Western Australia" (pdf). Parliamentary Library. Perth, WA: Parliament of Western Australia. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
2. "Membership of the Legislative Council, 1832-70" (PDF). Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
3. "List of Australian Attorneys-General". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
4. E. M. Russell, ‘Early Lawyers of Western Australia’, Journal and Proceedings (Western Australian Historical Society), vol 4, part 3, 1951, pp 32-53
5. "Events of the Month". The Herald (Fremantle, WA). 8 December 1870. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
6. "Summary for the Mails". The Herald (Fremantle, WA). 12 October 1872. p. 3. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
7. "Arrival of the English and Colonial Mails". The Herald (Fremantle, WA). 15 February 1873. p. 3. Retrieved 16 September 2014.