The Wran ministry (1978–1980) or Second Wran ministry was the 72nd ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 35th Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, representing the Labor Party. It was the second of eight consecutive occasions when Wran was Premier.
Background Wran had been elected to the Legislative Council of New South Wales by a joint sitting of the New South Wales Parliament on 12 March 1970. He was Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council from 22 February 1972. He resigned from the council on 19 October 1973 to switch to the Legislative Assembly, successfully contesting the election for Bass Hill, which he would hold until his retirement in 1986. Wran successfully challenged Pat Hills to become Leader of Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 3 December 1973 and became Premier following a narrow one seat victory at the 1976 election.
Labor had returned to government in 1976 after 11 years in opposition, following a narrow one seat victory at the 1976 election. 85% of voters approved a referendum in June 1978 to introduce direct elections for the Legislative Council. The election on 7 October 1978 was a landslide victory for Labor, popularly known as the "Wranslide", with a swing to Labor of 9.1%, gaining 13 seats. The first election for the Legislative Council in years saw Labor win nine of the 15 available seats, giving it a majority of four seats in the council.
Composition of ministry The composition of the ministry was announced by Premier Wran and sworn in on 19 October 1978. Former Premier and minister, Jack Renshaw, announced his decision to retire from politics in January 1980, with Wran assuming his portfolio of Treasurer pending a reconfiguration of the ministry on 29 February 1980 and the Third Wran ministry was formed.
First arrangement Portfolio Minister Party Term commence Term end Term of office Premier 19 October 1978 29 February 1980 Deputy PremierMinister for Public WorksMinister for Ports Treasurer 29 January 1980 29 January 1980 29 February 1980 Minister for Transport 19 October 197829 February 1980 Attorney GeneralMinister for Justice Minister for Industrial RelationsMinister for TechnologyMinister for Energy Minister for Planning and EnvironmentVice-President of the Executive CouncilLeader of the Government in Legislative Council , MLC Minister for Agriculture Minister for Education Minister for Local GovernmentMinister for Roads Minister for LandsMinister for Services Minister for Health Minister for Consumer AffairsMinister for HousingMinister for Co-operative Societies Minister for Mineral Resources and Development Minister for Sport and RecreationMinister for Tourism Minister for ConservationMinister for Water Resources Minister for Youth and Community Services Minister Assisting the Premier Minister for DecentralisationMinister Assisting the Premier , MLC
Ministers are members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.
See also
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1978–1981 Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council, 1978–1981
Notes
References