Emblem of the New South Wales Government and its agencies

Coat of Arms of the State of New South Wales, used for formal and ceremonial purposes

The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then. Since 1901, New South Wales has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Australian Constitution regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth.

Under the Australian Constitution, New South Wales ceded legislative and judicial supremacy to the Commonwealth, but retained powers in all matters not in conflict with the Commonwealth. Section 109 of the Australian Constitution provides that, where a State law is inconsistent with a federal law, the federal law prevails (to the extent of the inconsistency). The New South Wales Constitution says: "The Legislature shall, subject to the provisions of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, have power to make laws for the peace, welfare, and good government of New South Wales in all cases whatsoever." Initially the Australian states retained significant independence. Over time, however, that independence has been greatly eroded by both the proliferation of Commonwealth Law, and the increasing financial domination of the Commonwealth.

New South Wales is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom. Legislative power rests with the Parliament of New South Wales, which consists of the Queen, represented by the Governor of New South Wales, and the two Houses, the New South Wales Legislative Council and the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.

Executive power rests formally with the Executive Council, which consists of the Governor and senior ministers. The Governor, as representative of the Queen, is the formal repository of power, which is exercised by him or her on the advice of the Premier of New South Wales and the Cabinet.

The Premier and Ministers are appointed by the Governor, and hold office by virtue of their ability to command the support of a majority of members of the Legislative Assembly.

Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of New South Wales and a system of subordinate courts, but the High Court of Australia and other federal courts have overriding jurisdiction on matters which fall under the ambit of the Australian Constitution.

New South Wales celebrated the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in 2006.

Ministries [edit]

Minister	Office	Portrait	Party		Opposition counterpart	Office	Portrait	Party
Barry O'Farrell	Premier of New South Wales			Liberal	John Robertson	Leader of the Opposition			Labor
	Minister for Western Sydney								Labor
Andrew Stoner	Deputy Premier of New South Wales			National	Linda Burney	Deputy Leader of the Opposition			Labor
	Minister for Trade and Investment				Mick Veitch	Shadow Minister for Trade and Investment			Labor
	Minister for Regional Infrastructure and Services					Shadow Minister for Regional Infrastructure and Services
Jillian Skinner	Minister for Health			Liberal	Andrew McDonald	Shadow Minister for Health			Labor
	Minister for Medical Research					Shadow Minister for Medical Research
Adrian Piccoli	Minister for Education			National	Carmel Tebbutt	Shadow Minister for Education and Training			Labor
Mike Gallacher	Minister for Police and Emergency Services			Liberal	Nathan Rees	Shadow Minister for Police and Emergency Services			Labor
	Minister for the Hunter				Linda Burney	Shadow Minister for the Hunter			Labor
Duncan Gay	Minister for Roads and Ports			National	Tony Kelly	Shadow Minister for Roads and Ports			Labor
Brad Hazzard	Minister for Planning and Infrastructure			Liberal	Linda Burney	Shadow Minister for Planning Infrastructure and Heritage			Labor
	Minister Assisting the Premier on Infrastructure NSW								Labor
Chris Hartcher	Minister for Resources and Energy			Liberal	Tony Kelly Luke Foley	Shadow Minister for Resources and Primary Industries Shadow Minister for Energy			Labor
	Special Minister of State				Luke Foley	Shadow Special Minister of State			Labor
	Minister for the Central Coast				Linda Burney	Shadow Minister for the Central Coast			Labor
Gladys Berejiklian	Minister for Transport			Liberal	Penny Sharpe	Shadow Minister for Transport			Labor
George Souris	Minister for Tourism Major Events Hospitality and Racing			National	Tony Kelly	Shadow Minister for Tourism Major Events Hospitality and Racing			Labor
	Minister for the Arts				Nathan Rees	Shadow Minister for the Arts			Labor
Mike Baird	Treasurer			Liberal	Michael Daley	Shadow Treasurer			Labor
Greg Pearce	Minister for Finance and Services			Liberal		Shadow Minister for Finance and Services
	Minister for the Illawarra								Labor
Katrina Hodgkinson	Minister for Primary Industries			National	Tony Kelly	Shadow Minister for Resources and Primary Industries			Labor
	Minister for Small Business				Robert Furolo	Shadow Minister for Small Business			Labor
Andrew Constance	Minister for Ageing			Liberal	Barbara Perry	Shadow Minister for Ageing			Labor
	Minister for Disability Services					Shadow Minister for Disability Services
Greg Smith	Attorney General			Liberal	Paul Lynch	Shadow Attorney General			Labor
	Minister for Justice					Shadow Minister for Justice
Don Page	Minister for Local Government			National	Sophie Cotsis	Shadow Minister for Local Government			Labor
	Minister for the North Coast								Labor
Pru Goward	Minister for Family and Community Services			Liberal	Barbara Perry	Shadow Minister for Family and Community Services			Labor
	Minister for Women				Sophie Cotsis	Shadow Minister for the Status of Women			Labor
Anthony Roberts	Minister for Fair Trading			Liberal	Cherie Burton	Shadow Minister for Fair Trading			Labor
Kevin Humphries	Minister for Mental Health			National	Robert Furolo	Shadow Minister for Mental Health			Labor
	Minister for Healthy Lifestyles				Cherie Burton	Shadow Minister for Healthy Lifestyles			Labor
	Minister for Western New South Wales								Labor
Robyn Parker	Minister for the Environment			Liberal	Luke Foley	Shadow Minister for the Environment and Climate Change			Labor
	Minister for Heritage				Linda Burney	Shadow Minister for Planning Infrastructure and Heritage			Labor
Victor Dominello	Minister for Citizenship and Communities			Liberal	Sophie Cotsis	Shadow Minister for Citizenship and Communities			Labor
	Minister for Aboriginal Affairs				Barbara Perry	Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs			Labor
Graham Annesley	Minister for Sports and Recreation			Liberal	Linda Burney	Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation			Labor

See also [edit]

• List of New South Wales Government Agencies
• Local government areas of New South Wales
• Public Service Association of NSW
• New South Wales Ministry
• New South Wales Shadow Ministry

References [edit]

• "Ministers (by Seniority)". Parliament of New South Wales official website. Retrieved 18 May 2011. 
• "Shadow Ministers (by Seniority)". Parliament of New South Wales official website. Retrieved 18 May 2011. 

External links [edit]

• Government of New South Wales website
• New South Wales Government Annual Reports and Other Publications
• The Constitution of New South Wales

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