McKell ministry (1941–44)

The McKell ministry (1941–1944) or First McKell ministry was the 50th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 27th Premier, the Honourable William McKell, MLA, of the Australian Labor Party. The ministry was the first of two occasions when the Government was led by McKell, as Premier.

McKell was first elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1917 and served continuously until 1947, when he resigned to become the 12th Governor-General of Australia. Having served as a junior minister in the first and third ministries of Jack Lang, during the 1930s McKell came to oppose Lang's dictatorial rule and critical of electoral failures. In 1939 McKell displaced Lang as Labor leader and NSW Leader of the Opposition.^[1]

McKell led Labor to victory at the 1941 state election, defeating the United Australia Party/Country Party coalition of Alexander Mair and Michael Bruxner.

This ministry covers the period from 16 May 1941 until 8 June 1944^[2][3] when the 1944 state election saw McKell re-elected for a subsequent term.

Composition of ministry

The composition of the ministry was announced by Premier McKell on 16 May 1941 and covers the full term of government, until 8 June 1944. Ministers are listed in order of seniority.

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Premier Colonial Treasurer	Hon. William McKell, MLA		Labor	16 May 1941	8 June 1944	3 years, 23 days
Deputy Premier Colonial Secretary Secretary for Mines	Hon. Jack Baddeley, MLA
Minister for National Emergency Services	Hon. Bob Heffron, MLA
Attorney–General	Hon. Captain Clarrie Martin, MEc, LLB, AAlS
Minister for Agriculture and Forests	Hon. Captain Bill Dunn, MLA
Minister of Education	Hon. Clive Evatt, KC, LLB, MLA
Minister for Labour and Industry and Social Services	Hon. Hamilton Knight, MLA
Minister for Justice Vice-President of the Executive Council Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	Hon. Reg Downing, MLC
Secretary for Public Works	Hon. Joseph Cahill, MLA
Minister for Health	Hon. Gus Kelly, MLA
Minister for Local Government and Housing	Hon. Jim McGirr, MLA
Minister for Lands	Hon. Jack Tully, MLA
Minister for Transport	Hon. Maurice O'Sullivan, MLA
Assistant Minister	Hon. Carlo Lazzarini, MLA
	Hon. William Dickson, MLC

See also

• William McKell - 27th Premier of New South Wales
• Second McKell ministry
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1941-1944

References

1. Clune, David (2011). "The life and times of William McKell". The McKell Institute. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
2. "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)" (Excel spreadsheet). Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
3. Wah, Malvyne Jong; Page, Jeffrey E. (November 2007). "New South Wales Parliamentary Record 1824 – 2007" (PDF) VIII. Parliament of New South Wales: 276. Retrieved 12 March 2012.