Minister for Forests (New South Wales)

The Minister for Forests was a ministry in New South Wales responsible for the management of forests for the purpose of the timber industry and was established in 1916 and abolished in 2019. While it was a separate portfolio for much of this period, it was generally held in conjunction with another portfolio, typically Lands or Agriculture.^[1]

Minister for Forests of New South Wales
First minister William Ashford
Appointer	Governor of New South Wales
Formation	15 November 1916
First holder	William Ashford
Final holder	Paul Toole as Minister for Lands and Forestry
Abolished	23 March 2019

History

Forests had been the responsibility of the Lands Department since 1897. In 1907 a Royal Commission was appointed to investigate the management and sustainability of forests for the purposes of the timber industry, comprising Alexander Kethel MLC, William Fehon/J A Curtis,^[a] and William Freeman.^[2] The Royal Commission found that at the rate of consumption, commercial hardwood would be exhausted in 36 years and softwood within 20 years. Their recommendations included that the administration and control of forests should be given to 3 independent commissioners instead of the Department of Lands.^[3] This recommendation was only partially implemented, with the Forestry Act 1909,^[4] creating a Forestry Department that reported to the Minister for Agriculture.^[5] The department was abolished in 1916 and replaced with the Forestry Commission which reported directly to the newly created Minister for Forests,^[6] who concurrently held the portfolio of Minister for Lands.^[1]

In 2011 the portfolio was absorbed into Lands and Water. Since 2013 forests in NSW are managed by the Forestry Corporation of NSW, a state owned corporation.^[7]

List of ministers for forests

Title	Minister [1]	Party		Term start	Term end	Time in office	Notes
Secretary for Lands Minister for Forests	William Ashford		Nationalist	15 November 1916	12 April 1920	3 years, 149 days
	Peter Loughlin		Labor	12 April 1920	20 December 1921	1 year, 252 days
	Walter Wearne		Nationalist	20 December 1921	20 December 1921	7 hours
	Peter Loughlin		Labor	20 December 1921	13 April 1922	114 days
	Walter Wearne		Nationalist	13 April 1922	17 June 1925	3 years, 65 days
	Peter Loughlin		Labor	17 June 1925	19 November 1926	1 year, 155 days
	Jack Lang			25 November 1926	26 May 1927	182 days
	Ted Horsington			26 May 1927	18 October 1927	145 days
Minister for Forests	Frank Chaffey		Nationalist	18 October 1927	15 April 1929	1 year, 179 days
	Reginald Weaver			15 April 1929	3 November 1930	1 year, 202 days
Minister for Agriculture and Forests	Bill Dunn		Labor	4 November 1930	15 October 1931	1 year, 191 days
			Labor (NSW)	15 October 1931	13 May 1932
Minister for Agriculture Minister for Forests	Hugh Main		Country	16 May 1932	17 June 1932	32 days
Minister for Forests	Roy Vincent			18 June 1932	16 May 1941	8 years, 332 days
Minister for Agriculture and Forests	Bill Dunn		Labor	16 May 1941	8 June 1944	3 years, 23 days
Minister for Lands Minister for Forests	Milton Morris		Liberal	3 January 1975	30 June 1975	178 days
	John Mason			30 June 1975	23 January 1976	207 days
	Col Fisher		Country	23 January 1976	14 May 1976	112 days
Minister for Lands Minister for Forests Minister for Water Resources	Lin Gordon		Labor	29 February 1980	2 October 1981	1 year, 216 days
Minister for Water Resources Minister for Forests	Paul Whelan		Labor	1 February 1983	5 April 1984	1 year, 64 days
Minister for Forests	Jack Hallam		Labor	5 November 1986	21 March 1988	1 year, 137 days
Minister for Lands and Forests	Garry West		National	24 July 1990	6 June 1991	317 days
Minister for Forestry	Kim Yeadon		Labor	1 December 1997	2 April 2003	5 years, 122 days
Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources (Forests)	Michael Costa			2 April 2003	1 July 2004	1 year, 90 days
Minister for Mineral and Forest Resources	Ian Macdonald		Labor	4 December 2009	4 June 2010	182 days
	Paul McLeay			4 June 2010	1 September 2010	89 days
	Steve Whan			6 September 2010	28 March 2011	203 days
Minister for Lands and Forestry	Paul Toole		National	30 January 2017	23 March 2019	2 years, 52 days

Notes

1. William Fehon resigned in January 1908, and was replaced by J A Curtis.