Willis–Punch ministry

The Willis–Punch ministry or Willis ministry was the 70th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 34th Premier of New South Wales, the Honourable Sir Eric Willis, KBE CMG MLA in a Liberal Party coalition with the Country Party of Australia, that was led by the Honourable Leon Punch, MLA.

Background

Willis joined the newly formed Liberal Party of Australia in 1945, after hearing a speech by Sir Robert Menzies.[1] After unsuccessfully seeking election to the Australian House of Representatives, Willis was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1950 and served continuously up until 1978, representing the seat of Earlwood, in the inner southwestern suburbs of Sydney. Upon Sir Robert Askin's retirement in January 1975, Willis was seen as the favourite to take the premiership. However, despite Askin's initial support, Willis refused his help, preferring to gain the leadership on his own merits. Askin then put his support behind the Minister for Lands, Tom Lewis.[2] Willis, sure he had support, refused to campaign, and the party put its support behind Lewis, leading to his election to Premier. Willis was then replaced as Deputy by John Maddison. For Willis' service as Deputy Leader he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) on 14 June 1975.[3] Lewis was Premier for only one year and looked increasingly likely to lead the state Liberals to defeat. At the party room meeting on 20 January 1976, parliamentary backbencher Neil Pickard called a spill motion. This was carried 22 votes to 11 and Willis was made Leader unopposed.[4]

Punch was elected to the NSW Legislative Assembly in 1959 and served continuously up 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 in December 1975.

Tenure of ministry

The ministry covers the period from 23 January 1976, a few days after Willis deposed the Honourable Tom Lewis, MLA in a spill motion for the leadership of the parliamentary branch of the Liberal Party in New South Wales and hence, premiership, until 14 May 1976, when the coalition was defeated at the 1976 election by the Labor Party and the First Wran ministry was formed.

Composition of ministry

The ministry was sworn in by the Lieutenant Governor Sir Laurence Street on 23 January 1976,[5] following Willis being elected as Leader; and it ended on 14 May 1976 when the First Wran ministry was sworn in following the 1976 election. Ministers are listed in order of seniority and in all cases, serve the full term of this 112-day ministry.[6][7]

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Premier Treasurer	Hon. Sir Eric Willis, KBE CMG MLA		Liberal	23 January 1976	14 May 1976	112 days
Deputy Premier Minister for Public Works Minister for Ports	Hon Leon Punch, MLA		Country
Attorney General Minister for Justice	Hon. John Maddison, MLA		Liberal
Minister for Planning and Environment Vice-President of the Executive Council Leader of the Government in Legislative Council	Hon. Sir John Fuller, MLC		Country
Minister for Transport Minister for Highways	Hon. Tim Bruxner, MLA
Minister for Labour and Industry Minister for Federal Affairs Minister for Consumer Affairs	Hon. Frederick Hewitt, MLC		Liberal
Minister for Health	Hon Dick Healey, MLA
Minister for Local Government	Hon. Tom Lewis, MLA
Minister for Decentralisation and Development	Hon. Milton Morris, MLA
Minister for Mines Minister for Energy	Hon. George Freudenstein, MLA		Country
Chief Secretary	Hon. Peter Coleman, MLA		Liberal
Minister for Education	Hon. Neil Pickard, MLA
Minister for Agriculture Minister for Water Resources	Hon. Bruce Cowan, MLA		Country
Assistant Treasurer Minister for Revenue	Hon. Max Ruddock, MLA		Liberal
Minister for Housing Minister for Co-operative Societies	Hon. Ian Griffith, MLA
Minister for Lands Minister for Forests	Hon. Col Fisher, MLA		Country
Minister for Youth, Ethnic and Community Affairs	Hon. Jim Clough, MLA		Liberal
Minister for Culture, Sport and Recreation Minister for Tourism	Hon. David Arblaster, MLA

See also

• Hon. Sir Eric Willis, KBE CMG MLA - 34th 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. Clune, David; Turner, Ken (2006). The Premiers of New South Wales 1856–2005: Volume 2, 1901–2005. Sydney: Federation Press. pp. 387–399.
2. "Willis Premier if he let me help". Sydney Morning Herald. Google News Archive. 28 August 1975. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
3. Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, KBE, 14 June 1975, itsanhonour.gov.au
   Citation: Deputy Premier of New South Wales (sic)
4. Hancock, Ian (2007). The Liberals: The NSW Division 1945-2000. Sydney: Federation Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-86287-659-0.
5. "Swearing in of new Ministry under Sir Eric Willis". State Library of NSW. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
6. "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)" (MS Excel spreadsheet). Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
7. "Part 6: Ministries" (PDF). New South Wales Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 April 2020.