| Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management | |
|---|---|
) David Littleproud since 6 February 2020 | |
| Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (agriculture and drought) Department of Home Affairs (emergency management) | |
| Style | The Honourable |
| Appointer | Governor-General on behalf of the Queen of Australia on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Australia |
| Inaugural holder | Victor Wilson (as the Minister for Markets and Migration) |
| Formation | 16 January 1925 |
The post of Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management (previously Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and other titles following changes in portfolio names) in the Government of Australia has been occupied by deputy Nationals leader David Littleproud since 6 February 2020. He was previously also the agriculture minister from December 2017 until May 2019.
Following the formation of the Second Morrison Ministry in May 2019, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Littleproud's previous ministerial positions were separated, with McKenzie as Minister for Agriculture and Littleproud as Minister for Water Resources. McKenzie resigned on 2 February 2020 after a government funding scandal, and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack held the post on an acting basis from 2 February until 6 February when Littleproud was reappointed to the post again after a ministerial reshuffle, without his previous water resources portfolio.
The minister is assisted by the Assistant Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, held by Senator Richard Colbeck since August 2018. Senator Anne Ruston previously served in the position from 2015 to 2018.
In the Government of Australia, the minister administers the agriculture and drought portfolios through the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and its component bodies, and the emergency management portfolio through the Department of Home Affairs.
Previous arrangements
On 26 May 2019 Prime Minister Morrison announced that Bridget McKenzie would replace Littleproud as Minister for Agriculture when Morrison's new Cabinet was sworn in, and the 46th Parliament of Australia began its term; Littleproud remained as Minister for Water Resources.
Portfolio responsibilities
In addition to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, component bodies responsible to the minister include:
- Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics
- Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service
- Biosecurity Australia
- Bureau of Rural Sciences
Other bodies within the portfolio are:
- Australian Egg Corporation
- Australian Fisheries Management Authority
- Australian Landcare Council
- Australian Livestock Export Corporation Limited
- Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (formerly National Registration Authority for Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals)
- Australian Pork Limited
- Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation
- Australian Wool Innovation Limited
- Cotton Research and Development Corporation
- Dairy Adjustment Authority
- Dairy Australia
- Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
- Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation
- Grains Research and Development Corporation
- Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation
- Horticulture Australia Limited
- Land & Water Australia
- Meat and Livestock Australia
- Murray-Darling Basin Authority
- Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council
- National Consultative Committee on Animal Welfare
- National Land and Water Resources Audit
- National Rural Advisory Council
- Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council
- Northern Territory Fisheries Joint Authority
- Plant Breeder's Rights Office
- Quarantine and Exports Advisory Council
- Primary Industries Ministerial Council
- Queensland Fisheries Joint Authority
- Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation
- Statutory Fishing Rights Allocation Review Panel
- Sugar Research and Development Corporation
- Torres Strait Protected Zone Joint Authority
- Western Australian Fisheries Joint Authority
- Wheat Export Authority
List of agriculture ministers
The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Agriculture, or any of its precedent titles:[1][2]
| Order | Minister | Party | Prime Minister | Title | Term start | Term end | Term in office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victor Wilson | Nationalist | Bruce | Minister for Markets and Migration | 16 January 1925 | 18 June 1926 | 1 year, 153 days | |
| 2 | Thomas Paterson | Country | 18 June 1926 | 19 January 1928 | 3 years, 126 days | |||
| Minister for Markets | 19 January 1928 | 10 December 1928 | ||||||
| Minister for Markets and Transport | 10 December 1928 | 22 October 1929 | ||||||
| 3 | Parker Moloney | Labor | Scullin | 22 October 1929 | 21 April 1930 | 2 years, 76 days | ||
| Minister for Markets | 21 April 1930 | 6 January 1932 | ||||||
| 4 | Charles Hawker | United Australia | Lyons | 6 January 1932 | 13 April 1932 | 261 days | ||
| Minister for Commerce | 13 April 1932 | 23 September 1932 | ||||||
| 5 | Joseph Lyons | 3 October 1932 | 13 October 1932 | 10 days | ||||
| 6 | Frederick Stewart | 13 October 1932 | 9 November 1934 | 757 days | ||||
| 7 | Earle Page | Country | 9 November 1934 | 7 April 1939 | 4 years, 149 days | |||
| Page | 7 April 1939 | 26 April 1939 | ||||||
| 8 | George McLeay | United Australia | Menzies | 26 April 1939 | 14 March 1940 | 323 days | ||
| 9 | Archie Cameron | Country | 14 March 1940 | 28 October 1940 | 228 days | |||
| n/a | Earle Page | 28 October 1940 | 29 August 1941 | 344 days | ||||
| Fadden | 29 August 1941 | 7 October 1941 | ||||||
| 10 | William Scully | Labor | Curtin | 7 October 1941 | 22 December 1942 | 5 years, 25 days | ||
| Minister for Commerce and Agriculture | 22 December 1942 | 6 July 1945 | ||||||
| Forde | 6 July 1945 | 13 July 1945 | ||||||
| Chifley | 13 July 1945 | 1 November 1946 | ||||||
| 11 | Reg Pollard | 1 November 1946 | 19 December 1949 | 3 years, 48 days | ||||
| 12 | John McEwen | Country | Menzies | 19 December 1949 | 11 January 1956 | 6 years, 23 days | ||
| 13 | William McMahon | Liberal | Minister for Primary Industry | 11 January 1956 | 10 December 1958 | 2 years, 333 days | ||
| 14 | Charles Adermann | Country | 10 December 1958 | 26 January 1966 | 8 years, 310 days | |||
| Holt | 26 January 1966 | 16 October 1967 | ||||||
| 15 | Doug Anthony | 16 October 1967 | 19 December 1967 | 3 years, 112 days | ||||
| McEwen | 19 December 1967 | 10 January 1968 | ||||||
| Gorton | 10 January 1968 | 5 February 1971 | ||||||
| 16 | Ian Sinclair | 5 February 1971 | 10 March 1971 | 1 year, 304 days | ||||
| McMahon | 10 March 1971 | 5 December 1972 | ||||||
| 17 | Lance Barnard1 | Labor | Whitlam | 5 December 1972 | 19 December 1972 | 14 days | ||
| 18 | Ken Wriedt | 19 December 1972 | 12 June 1974 | 2 years, 306 days | ||||
| Minister for Agriculture | 12 June 1974 | 21 October 1975 | ||||||
| 19 | Rex Patterson | 21 October 1975 | 11 November 1975 | 21 days | ||||
| n/a | Ian Sinclair | National Country | Fraser | 11 November 1975 | 22 December 1975 | 3 years, 320 days | ||
| Minister for Primary Industry | 22 December 1975 | 27 September 1979 | ||||||
| 20 | Peter Nixon | 27 September 1979 | 16 October 1982 | 3 years, 165 days | ||||
| National | 16 October 1982 | 11 March 1983 | ||||||
| 21 | John Kerin | Labor | Hawke | 11 March 1983 | 24 July 1987 | 8 years, 85 days | ||
| Minister for Primary Industries and Energy | 24 July 1987 | 4 June 1991 | ||||||
| 22 | Simon Crean | 4 June 1991 | 20 December 1991 | 2 years, 202 days | ||||
| Keating | 20 December 1991 | 23 December 1993 | ||||||
| 23 | Bob Collins | 23 December 1993 | 11 March 1996 | 2 years, 79 days | ||||
| 24 | John Anderson | National | Howard | 11 March 1996 | 21 October 1998 | 2 years, 224 days | ||
| 25 | Mark Vaile | Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry | 21 October 1998 | 20 July 1999 | 272 days | |||
| 26 | Warren Truss | 20 July 1999 | 6 July 2005 | 5 years, 351 days | ||||
| 27 | Peter McGauran | 6 July 2005 | 3 December 2007 | 2 years, 150 days | ||||
| 28 | Tony Burke | Labor | Rudd | 3 December 2007 | 28 June 2010 | 2 years, 285 days | ||
| Gillard | 28 June 2010 | 14 September 2010 | ||||||
| 29 | Joe Ludwig | 14 September 2010 | 1 July 2013 | 2 years, 290 days | ||||
| 30 | Joel Fitzgibbon | Rudd | 1 July 2013 | 18 September 2013 | 79 days | |||
| 31 | Barnaby Joyce | National | Abbott | Minister for Agriculture | 18 September 2013 | 15 September 2015 | 4 years, 39 days | |
| Turnbull | 15 September 2015 | 21 September 2015 | ||||||
| Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources | 21 September 2015 | 27 October 2017 | ||||||
| 32 | Malcolm Turnbull | Liberal | 27 October 2017 | 20 December 2017 | 54 days | |||
| 33 | David Littleproud | National | 20 December 2017 | 28 August 2018 | 1 year, 160 days | |||
| Morrison | 28 August 2018 | 29 May 2019 | ||||||
| 34 | Bridget McKenzie | National | Minister for Agriculture[3] | 29 May 2019 | 2 February 2020 | 249 days | ||
| Michael McCormack (acting) | 2 February 2020 | 6 February 2020 | 4 days | |||||
| (33) | David Littleproud | Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management | 6 February 2020 | incumbent | 1 year, 7 days | |||
Notes
- 1 Barnard was part of a two-man ministry comprising Barnard and Gough Whitlam for fourteen days until the full ministry was commissioned.
List of junior ministers within the portfolio
The following individuals have been appointed as junior ministers in the agriculture portfolio or any of its precedent titles.[1][2]
| Order | Minister | Party | Prime Minister | Title | Term start | Term end | Term in office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilson Tuckey | Liberal | Howard | Minister for Forestry and Conservation | 21 October 1998 | 26 November 2001 | 3 years, 36 days | |
| 2 | Ian Macdonald | 26 November 2001 | 14 November 2002 | 4 years, 62 days | ||||
| Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation | 14 November 2002 | 27 January 2006 | ||||||
| 3 | Eric Abetz | 27 January 2006 | 3 December 2007 | 1 year, 310 days | ||||
| 4 | Anne Ruston | Liberal | Turnbull | Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources | 21 September 2015 | 28 August 2018 | 2 years, 341 days | |
| 5 | Richard Colbeck | Morrison | 28 August 2018 | 29 May 2019 | 274 days | |||
| 6 | Jonathon Duniam | Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries | 29 May 2019 | 1 year, 260 days | ||||
References
- ^ a b "Ministries and Cabinets". 43rd Parliamentary Handbook: Historical information on the Australian Parliament. Parliament of Australia. 2010. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ a b "Ministers". About us. Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Australian Government. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "Scott Morrison unveils new ministry as Coalition prepares for majority government". www.msn.com. Retrieved 26 May 2019.