20 December | NSW Cabinet Reshuffle

Premier Perrottet and Deputy Premier Toole have put their stamp on the NSW Government with a refreshed Cabinet team. 

In a sign of generational change after 10 years of Liberal/National Governments, the reshuffle has seen plenty of new blood being injected into the Cabinet with 9 MPs being promoted to the Ministry for the first time.

Premier Perrottet has said the new cabinet will "lead NSW out of the pandemic and then take it to the next level".

In an expanded Cabinet of 26, Perrottet has not only sought to fill the vacancies created by the resignations of Gladys Berejiklian, John Barilaro, and Andrew Constance, but there have also been sweeping changes to the rest of the Ministry. 

Dominic Perrottet
Premier of NSW 

Paul Toole
Deputy Premier, Minister for Regional NSW, Minister for Police 

Stuart Ayres
Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade, Minister for Tourism and Sport, Minister for Western Sydney

Bronnie Taylor
Minister for Women, Minister for Regional Health, Minister for Mental Health

Matt Kean
Treasurer, Minister for Energy

Damien Tudehope
Minister for Finance, Minister for Employee Relations, Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council

Alister Henskens
Minister for Skills and Training, Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly

Brad Hazzard
Minister for Health 

Sarah Mitchell
Minister for Education and Early Learning

Mark Speakman
Attorney General

Rob Stokes
Minister Infrastructure, Minister for for Cities, Minister for Active Transport

Victor Dominello
Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government

Anthony Roberts
Minister for Planning, Minister for Homes

David Elliott
Minister for Transport, Minister for Veterans

Natalie Ward
Minister for Metropolitan Roads, Minister for Women's Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence

Kevin Anderson
Minister for Lands and Water, Minister for Hospitality and Racing

Geoff Lee
Minister for Corrections

Natasha Maclaren-Jones
Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Disability Services 

Sam Farraway
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads

Steph Cooke
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience

Eleni Petinos
Minister for Small Business, Minister for Fair Trading

James Griffin
Minister for Environment and Heritage

Mark Coure
Minister for Seniors, Minister for Multiculturalism

Dugald Saunders
Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Western New South Wales

Ben Franklin
Minister for the Arts, Aboriginal Affairs and Regional Youth

Wendy Tuckerman
Minister for Local Government

The Deputy Premier has taken back the role of Police Minister for the Nationals, while keeping the former Deputy Premier's role of Minister for Regional NSW.

Minister Ayres is rewarded with a new super-portfolio after his ascension to the Deputy Leadership of the Liberal Party. He retains Trade and Investment, Tourism, and Western Sydney, whilst gaining the new title of "Minister for Enterprise" and retaking the Minister for Sport title he has held previously.

The newly created position of "Minister for Regional Health" sees the health portfolio follow a similar delineation to the Roads and Transport portfolios in being split between metro and country. 

The Treasurer will retain his title as Minister for Energy but has relinquished the Environment section of his previous portfolio. James Griffin joins the cabinet as Minister for Environment and Heritage. 

Minister Tudehope is elevated to the position of Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council. He has been widely praised for his ability to work with the opposition and cross bench in the Upper House. He also takes on the role of Minister for Finance & Employee Relations. 

Minister Henskens is promoted and receives the new "Science, Innovation, and Technology" portfolio, as well as the responsibility for Skills and Training. He also assumes the position of "Leader of the House" which will become increasingly important due to the Government's reliance on the cross bench to pass legislation in the Legislative Assembly.

Ministers' Hazzard (Health), Mitchell (Education), Speakman (Attorney General), and Dominello (Customer Service & Digital Government) retain their positions from the previous Ministry. 

Minister Stokes has been appointed to the newly-created "Minister for Cities" portfolio. It will be interesting to see how this position interacts with the Planning and Transport Ministries that he has held previously. 

Minister Roberts returns to the Planning portfolio that he held from 2017-2019. He also receives the new title of "Minister for Homes".

Minister Elliott takes on the Transport Portfolio which has been modified to remove roads. Natalie Ward takes on Metropolitan Roads, Women's Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence, and Sam Farraway joins the cabinet to take on Regional Transport and Regional Roads.  

It won't be until the "Allocation of Acts" is released in due course that the impact of the changes to the machinery of government will be fully understood. This document details the legislative responsibilities of each minister, and will give insight into how the different clusters within government will operate. 

The Hon. Natasha Maclaren-Jones MLC
Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Disability Services

Natasha Maclaren-Jones has been a Member of the Legislative Council since March 2011. Since entering Parliament, Maclaren-Jones has served as Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Government Whip in the Legislative Council, and Cabinet Secretary. 

The Hon. Sam Farraway MLC
Minister for Regional Roads and Regional Transport

Sam Farraway is a National Party Member and entered Parliament as a Member of the Legislative Council in 2019. Since then, he has held Parliamentary Secretary roles to the Deputy Premier and for Water Infrastructure. Farraway has also held the role of Deputy Government Whip in the Legislative Council.

The Hon. Steph Cooke MP
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience

Steph Cooke entered Parliament in October 2017 after winning the Cootamundra by-election, caused by the resignation of Katrina Hodgkinson. Cooke has previously held the positions of National Party Whip, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier and for Regional Health. 

The Hon. Eleni Petinos MP
Minister for Small Business, Minister for Fair Trading

Eleni Petinos was first elected to Parliament in 2015, retaking the seat of Miranda for the Liberal Party. Petinos has served as Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Roads for the past 2 years, and will also bring her previous experience as a taxation lawyer to the portfolio.

The Hon. James Griffin MP
Minister for Environment and Heritage

James Griffin entered Parliament in April 2017 after winning the Manly by-election caused by the resignation of former Premier Mike Baird. Griffin will enter the Ministry with extensive knowledge of his portfolio, having previously served as Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment for over 2 years. 

The Hon. Mark Coure MP
Minister for Seniors, Minister for Multiculturalism

Mark Coure was elected to the NSW Parliament in March 2011 after winning the traditional Labor seat of Oatley. Coure has previously held positions such as Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure and Deputy Government Whip. He is regarded as one of the most effective local Members in the Parliament and it was widely speculated that he would enter cabinet during this reshuffle. 

The Hon. Dugald Saunders MP
Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Western New South Wales

Dugald Saunders is a Member of the National Party and was elected to the NSW Parliament as the Member for Dubbo at the 2019 state election. Prior to entering politics he enjoyed a long career as a broadcaster, including as the morning presenter for ABC Dubbo for 10 years. 

The Hon. Ben Franklin MLC
Minister for the Arts, Aboriginal Affairs and Regional Youth

Ben Franklin was elected to the Legislative Council in 2015 and has previously held a number of Parliamentary Secretary positions, including for the Arts. Franklin is a former State Director of the National Party and has decades of experience working in and around the political system. 

The Hon. Wendy Tuckerman MP
Minister for Local Government

Wendy Tuckerman was elected as the Member for Goulburn at the 2019 State Election. As a former Mayor of Boorowa and administrator of Hilltops Council, she will bring a wealth of experience to the Local Government portfolio. 

Don Harwin
In a media statement on Saturday, Harwin stated that he did not want to be considered for a place in the new Ministry. Harwin has said that he has no plans to leave the Legislative Council before the end of his term in March 2023.

Shelley Hancock
In a media statement on Saturday, Hancock stated that  she did not wish to be reappointed to Cabinet. Hancock went on to say that she will continue to represent her community on the South Coast until the March 2023 election. 

Melinda Pavey
In a media statement on Saturday, Pavey detailed that the Deputy Premier indicated to her via phone call that she will not continue as a Minister in the new Cabinet. Pavey will however stay on as the local member for Oxley. 

Adam Marshall
In a media release sent out to his Northern Tablelands electorate this morning, Marshall announced that he wasn't going to be included in the new Cabinet. He has indicated that he will remain as the local member for Northern Tablelands.