What is the Ministry?
The "Ministry" is the group of Ministers, including the Premier – and also known as the "Cabinet" – which make up the executive government of New South Wales. The terms "Ministry", "Cabinet" and "Executive" are more or less interchangeable.
The Executive actually governs. Each Minister has one or more government departments or agencies which he or she is in charge of and responsible to the Parliament for. They also have a number of laws which they and their departments administer. The decisions made by ministers, either individually or together (in Cabinet) provide policy and direction for government. Under their direction the various agencies and departments carry out the administration of government in the State.
Any number of Ministers including the Premier can be appointed to the Ministry in New South Wales, although in recent years the number of Ministers has ranged between 18 and 21. Ministers in New South Wales are Members of Parliament and can be from either House of Parliament, although by convention the Premier (the leading Minister) and most other Ministers are from the Lower House. This is because of the convention that a government needs the confidence of the Lower House in order to govern and if it cannot win in that House on significant issues it will be expected to resign.
The Ministers are senior parliamentary members of the party or coalition of parties that can command a majority in the Lower House.
In addition to the Ministers, in recent years the position of
Parliamentary Secretary has developed, several non-Ministers being appointed to these positions from the Government benches. A Parliamentary Secretary is not a Minister or a member of Cabinet, but assist Ministers in a number of areas, sometimes deputising on their behalf.
Current Ministers and Government Departments
Details of current New South Wales Ministers are listed in the
Members section of this site.
Related Links:
Appointing the Ministry
The Executive Council
The Ministry and Parliament
Roles and Responsibilities of the Premier and Ministers
The Shadow Ministry
