Minister for Cities (Australia)

The Minister for Cities is an Australian Government cabinet position which is currently held by Clare O'Neil following her swearing-in on 13 May 2025 as a result of Anthony Albanese's Labor government being re-elected at the 2025 Australian federal election.

Minister for Cities
Commonwealth Coat of Arms
Flag of Australia
Incumbent Clare O'Neil since 13 May 2025 (2025-05-13)
Department of the Treasury
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Governor-General on the advice of the prime minister
Inaugural holder	Tom Uren (as Minister for Urban and Regional Development)
Formation	19 December 1972 (1972-12-19)
Website	ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/clare-oneil-2025

Background

The Minister for Sustainable Population, a precedent title for the Minister for Cities, was a ministerial portfolio administered through the Department of the Treasury responsible for "planning properly for the infrastructure needs, for the housing needs, for the transport needs, for the regional needs" of the Australian population of the future.^[1] Originally entitled the Minister for Population by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, his successor, Julia Gillard, renamed the portfolio to the Minister for Sustainable Population to reflect her policy changes on the matter of population growth and the need for a sustainable future for Australia, saying the change sends a clear message about the new direction the Government is taking.^[2] After the 2010 federal election, the portfolio was subsumed by the Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities portfolio.^[3]

List of ministers for cities

The following individuals have served as the Minister for Cities, or any other precedent titles:^[4][5]

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Tom Uren		Labor	Whitlam	Minister for Urban and Regional Development	19 December 1972 (1972-12-19)	11 November 1975 (1975-11-11)	2 years, 327 days
2	John Carrick		Liberal	Fraser		11 November 1975 (1975-11-11)	22 December 1975 (1975-12-22)	41 days
3	Ivor Greenwood				Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development	22 December 1975 (1975-12-22)	8 July 1976 (1976-07-08)	199 days
4	Kevin Newman					8 July 1976 (1976-07-08)	20 December 1977 (1977-12-20)	1 year, 165 days
5	Ray Groom					20 December 1977 (1977-12-20)	5 December 1978 (1978-12-05)	350 days
6	Tony Burke		Labor	Rudd	Minister for Population	14 April 2010 (2010-04-14)	28 June 2010 (2010-06-28)	3 years, 78 days
				Gillard	Minister for Sustainable Population	28 June 2010 (2010-06-28)	14 September 2010 (2010-09-14)
					Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities	14 September 2010 (2010-09-14)	1 July 2013 (2013-07-01)
7	Jamie Briggs		Liberal	Abbott	Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	15 September 2015	2 years, 102 days
				Turnbull		15 September 2015 (2015-09-15)	21 September 2015
					Minister for Cities and the Built Environment	21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)	29 December 2015
8	Paul Fletcher		Liberal	Turnbull	Minister for Urban Infrastructure	19 July 2016 (2016-07-19)	20 December 2017 (2017-12-20)	2 years, 39 days
					Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities	20 December 2017 (2017-12-20)	28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)
9	Alan Tudge			Morrison	Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population	28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)	29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)	2 years, 116 days
					Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure	29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)	22 December 2020 (2020-12-22)
(8)	Paul Fletcher				Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts	22 December 2020 (2020-12-22)	23 May 2022 (2022-05-23)	1 year, 152 days
10	Jenny McAllister		Labor	Albanese	Minister for Cities	29 July 2024 (2024-07-29)	13 May 2025 (2025-05-13)	288 days
11	Clare O'Neil					13 May 2025 (2025-05-13)	Incumbent	79 days