Lewis–Punch ministry

The Lewis–Punch ministry or Second Lewis ministry was the 69th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 33rd Premier, the Honourable Tom Lewis MLA, of the Liberal Party in coalition with the Country Party, led by the Honourable Leon Punch MLA. It was the first of two occasions when Lewis was Premier; and the first of two occasions when Punch served as Deputy Premier.

Background

Lewis was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1957 and served continuously until 1978, representing the seat of Wollondilly. When the Askin government came to power in 1965, Lewis was given relatively junior portfolios of Lands and Mines. In 1972, Tourism was added to his ministerial responsibilities when Eric Willis moved to Education. Late in 1974, Askin announced his resignation and Lewis was chosen as leader over Willis and Justice Minister John Maddison.

Punch was elected to the NSW Legislative Assembly in 1959 and served continuously until 1985, representing variously the seats of Upper Hunter (1959-1962) and then Gloucester (1962-1985. Elected Deputy Leader of the Country Party in 1973, Punch was elected as leader of his party following the retirement and resignation of the Hon. Sir Charles Cutler KBE ED MLA in December 1975.

Lewis inherited a relatively stable government that had been in power for ten years. However, the Liberal government was engaged in almost daily warfare with the Whitlam Labor federal government, most notably over the Medibank health care scheme, to which New South Wales was the last state to sign.

Tenure of ministry

This ministry covers the period from 17 December 1975, when the former Deputy Premier, Sir Charles Cutler resigned as Deputy Premier, Leader of the Country Party and as Member for Orange, until 23 January 1976,[1][2] when Lewis was deposed as Liberal leader by the Hon. Sir Eric Willis KBE CMG MLA following a spill motion on 20 January 1976, necessitating a reconfiguration of the ministry as the Willis–Punch ministry.

Composition of ministry

The composition of the ministry was announced by Premier Lewis and sworn in on 17 December 1975, and covers the period until 23 January 1976, when the Hon. Eric Willis was sworn in as Premier, replacing Lewis. Ministers are listed in order of seniority and in all cases, serve the full term of this 37‑day ministry.

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Premier Treasurer	Hon. Tom Lewis, MLA		Liberal	17 December 1975	23 January 1976	37 days
Deputy Premier Minister for Public Works Minister for Ports	Hon. Leon Punch, MLA		Country
Attorney General Minister of Justice	Hon. John Maddison, MLA		Liberal
Minister for Planning and Environment Vice-President of the Executive Council Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	Hon. John Fuller, MLC		Country
Minister for Decentralisation and Development Minister for Tourism	Hon. Tim Bruxner, MLA
Minister for Education	Hon. Sir Eric Willis, KBE CMG MLA		Liberal
Minister for Labor and Industry Minister for Consumer Affairs Minister for Federal Affairs	Hon. Frederick Hewitt, MLC
Minister for Police Minister for Services	Hon. John Lloyd Waddy OBE DFC MLA
Minister for Mines Minister for Energy	Hon. George Freudenstein, MLA		Country
Minister for Housing Minister for Co-operative Societies	Hon. Laurence McGinty, MLA		Liberal
Minister for Health	Hon. Dick Healey, MLA
Minister for Transport Minister for Highways	Hon. Max Ruddock, MLA
Minister for Youth, Ethnic and Community Affairs	Hon. Stephen Mauger, MLA
Minister for Culture, Sport and Recreation	Hon. John Barraclough, MLA
Minister for Agriculture Minister for Water Resources	Hon. Bruce Cowan, MLA		Country
Minister for Lands Minister for Forests	Hon. John Mason, MLA		Liberal
Minister for Local Government	Hon. Col Fisher, MLA		Country
Minister for Revenue Assistant Treasurer	Hon. Peter Coleman, MLA		Liberal

See also

• Hon. Tom Lewis, MLA - 33rd Premier of New South Wales
• Hon. Leon Punch, MLA - NSW Country Party leader
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1973–1976
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council, 1973–1976

References

1. "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)". Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original (MS Excel spreadsheet) on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
2. "Part 6: Ministries" (PDF). New South Wales Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 April 2020.