Attorney General of New South Wales

Attorney General of New South Wales
Incumbent Gabrielle Upton since 2 April 2015
Department of Justice
Style	The Honourable
Nominator	Premier of New South Wales
Appointer	Governor of New South Wales
Inaugural holder	Saxe Bannister
Formation	14 April 1824
Deputy	Solicitor General
Website	NSW Department of Justice

The Attorney General of New South Wales, in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for New South Wales^[1] and usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General, Crown Advocate, and Crown Solicitor, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal and constitutional adviser of the Crown and its government in the Australian state of New South Wales.

The current Attorney General, since 2 April 2015, is Gabrielle Upton, MP, a representative of the Liberal Party of Australia (NSW Division).^[2] The Attorney General administers their portfolio through the Department of Justice, which is headed by the Minister for Justice and Police, Troy Grant.^[2]

History and function

Sir William Montagu Manning, Solicitor-General: 1844–1848; Chancellor of Sydney University: 1878–1895.

Sir William Charles Windeyer, Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales: 1881–1896; Chancellor of Sydney University: 1895–1898.

Sir Edmund Barton, Prime Minister of Australia: 1901–1903; Judge of the High Court of Australia: 1903–1920.

Sir Charles Wade, Premier of New South Wales: 1907–1910; Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales: 1920–1922.

Sir Edward McTiernan, Justice of the High Court of Australia: 1930–1976.

Sir Henry Manning, First leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council: 1941–1958.

Brad Hazzard MP, Minister for Planning and Infrastructure: 2011–2014.

The position of Attorney General has existed since 1824, well before the full establishment of the New South Wales Parliament (in 1856) but coinciding with the establishment of the New South Wales Legislative Council. From the beginning, the Attorney General has been the Crown's advisor and representative in legal matters. It was modelled after the office of the Attorney General for England and Wales. As such the Attorney General advises and represents the Crown and government departments in court. The person appointed to this role provides legal advice to the Government, acts as the representative of the public interest and resolves issues between government departments.

The Attorney General also has supervisory powers over the prosecution of criminal offences, but is not personally involved with prosecutions. Today prosecutions are carried out by the Public Prosecution Office and most legal advice to government departments is provided by the Government Legal Service, both under the supervision of the Attorney General. The Attorney General may appeal cases to the higher courts where, although the particular case is settled, there may be a point of law of public importance at issue. The Attorney General is responsible to Parliament for activities of the Department of Justice and has responsibility for the all state's courts and tribunals and the appointment of judges, magistrates and statutory officers in New South Wales.

List of Attorneys General

Ordinal	Attorney General[3]	Party affiliation	Period
1	Saxe Bannister	No party	14 April 1824 – 13 October 1826
2	William Moore (acting)		13 October 1826 – 31 July 1827
3	Alexander Baxter		1 August 1827 – 24 January 1831
–	William Moore (acting)		24 January 1831 – 24 June 1831
4	John Kinchela		25 June 1831 – 18 April 1836
5	John Plunkett		17 September 1836 – 5 June 1856
6	William Manning		6 June 1856 – 25 August 1856
7	James Martin		26 August 1856 – 2 October 1856
–	William Manning		3 October 1856 – 25 May 1857
8	John Darvall		26 May 1857 – 7 September 1857
–	James Martin		7 September 1857 – 8 November 1858
9	Alfred Lutwyche		15 November 1858 – 21 February 1859
10	Lyttleton Bayley		21 February 1859 – 26 October 1859
11	Edward Wise		27 October 1859 – 13 February 1860
–	William Manning		21 February 1860 – 8 March 1860
12	John Hargrave		2 April 1860 – 31 July 1863
–	John Darvall		1 August 1863 – 15 October 1863
–	James Martin		16 October 1863 – 2 February 1865
–	John Darvall		3 February 1865 – 20 June 1865
–	John Plunkett		25 August 1865 – 21 January 1866
–	James Martin		22 January 1866 – 26 October 1868
–	William Manning		21 October 1868 – 15 December 1870
–	James Martin		16 December 1870 – 13 May 1872
13	Edward Butler		15 May 1872 – 10 November 1873
14	Joseph Innes		20 November 1873 – 8 February 1875
15	William Bede Dalley		9 February 1875 – 21 March 1877
16	William Charles Windeyer		22 March 1877 – 16 August 1877
–	William Bede Dalley		17 August 1877 – 17 December 1877
17	William Foster		18 December 1877 – 20 December 1878
–	William Charles Windeyer		21 December 1878 – 10 August 1879
18	Robert Wisdom		13 August 1879 – 4 January 1883
–	William Bede Dalley		5 January 1883 – 6 October 1885
19	John Henry Want		7 October 1885 – 21 December 1885
20	George Bowen Simpson		22 December 1885 – 25 February 1886
–	John Henry Want		26 February 1886 – 19 January 1887
–	William Foster	Free Trade	20 January 1887 – 18 May 1887
20	Bernhard Wise		27 May 1887 – 7 February 1888
–	George Bowen Simpson		10 February 1888 – 16 January 1889
21	Edmund Barton	Protectionist	17 January 1889 – 7 March 1889
–	George Bowen Simpson	Free Trade	8 March 1889 – 22 October 1891
–	Edmund Barton	Protectionist	23 October 1891 – 14 December 1893
22	Charles Heydon		15 December 1893 – 2 August 1894
–	George Bowen Simpson	Free Trade	3 August 1894 – 1 December 1894
–	John Henry Want		18 December 1894 – 18 April 1899
23	George Reid		19 April 1899 – 13 September 1899
–	Bernhard Wise	Protectionist	14 September 1899 – 14 June 1904
24	James Gannon	Progressive	15 June 1904 – 29 August 1904
25	Charles Wade	Liberal Reform	29 August 1904 – 20 October 1910
26	William Holman	Labor	21 October 1910 – 29 January 1914
27	David Hall		29 January 1914 – 15 November 1916
		Nationalist	15 November 1916 – 23 July 1919
28	John Garland		23 July 1919 – 12 April 1920
29	Edward McTiernan	Labor	12 April 1920 – 20 December 1921
30	Thomas Bavin	Nationalist	20 December 1921
–	Edward McTiernan	Labor	20 December 1921 – 13 April 1922
–	Thomas Bavin	Nationalist	13 April 1922 – 17 June 1925
–	Edward McTiernan	Labor	17 June 1925 – 26 May 1927
31	Andrew Lysaght		27 May 1927 – 18 October 1927
32	Francis Boyce	Nationalist	18 October 1927 – 3 November 1930
–	Andrew Lysaght	Labor	4 November 1930 – 16 June 1931
33	Joseph Lamaro		16 June 1931 – 15 October 1931
		Labor (NSW)	15 October 1931 – 13 May 1932
34	Daniel Levy	United Australia	16 May 1932 – 17 June 1932
35	Henry Manning		18 June 1932 – 16 May 1941
36	Clarrie Martin	Labor	16 May 1941 – 23 February 1953
37	Bill Sheahan		23 February 1953 – 15 March 1956
38	Reg Downing		15 March 1956 – 13 May 1965
39	Ken McCaw	Liberal	13 May 1965 – 3 January 1975
40	John Maddison		3 January 1975 – 14 May 1976
41	Frank Walker	Labor	14 May 1976 – 1 February 1983
42	Paul Landa		1 February 1983 – 24 November 1984
43	Neville Wran		27 November 1984 – 12 December 1984
44	Terry Sheahan		12 December 1984 – 26 November 1987
45	Ron Mulock		26 November 1987 – 21 March 1988
46	John Dowd	Liberal	25 March 1988 – 6 June 1991
47	Peter Collins		6 June 1991 – 3 July 1992
48	John Hannaford		3 July 1992 – 4 April 1995
49	Jeff Shaw	Labor	4 April 1995 – 28 June 2000
50	Bob Debus		28 June 2000 – 2 April 2007
51	John Hatzistergos		2 April 2007 – 28 March 2011
52	Greg Smith	Liberal	3 April 2011 – 23 April 2014
53	Brad Hazzard		23 April 2014 – 2 April 2015
54	Gabrielle Upton		2 April 2015 – present

References

1. See, e.g. Leahy v Attorney-General for New South Wales and Makin v Attorney General for New South Wales
2. Hasham, Nicole (3 April 2015). "Premier Mike Baird's new NSW cabinet sworn in: Gladys Berejiklian and Gabrielle Upton first female Treasurer and Attorney-General". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
3. O'Neill, Patrick. "New South Wales Attorneys-General 1823+". List of Australian Attorneys-General. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 15 September 2015.

External links

• NSW Department of Justice