See ministry

The See ministry was the 30th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 14th Premier, Sir John See.^[a] The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but was not a formal position in the government until 1920. Instead the Premier was appointed to another portfolio, usually Colonial Secretary.

See ministry
30th Cabinet of the State of New South Wales
Premier Sir John See
Date formed	28 March 1901 (1901-03-28)
Date dissolved	14 June 1904 (1904-06-14)
People and organisations
Monarch	Edward VII
Governor	The Earl Beauchamp / Sir Harry Rawson
Premier	Sir John See
No. of ministers	12
Member party	Progressive
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	Liberal Reform
Opposition leader	Charles Lee (1901–1902) Joseph Carruthers (1902–1904)
History
Election	1901 New South Wales election
Outgoing election	1904 New South Wales election
Predecessor	Lyne ministry
Successor	Waddell ministry

See was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1880 as member for Grafton, serving in the Dibbs and Lyne ministries, prior to assuming leadership of the Progressive Party.

Under the constitution, ministers in the Legislative Assembly were required to recontest their seats in an election when appointed.^[2] Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and on this occasion there were only three new ministers, Robert Fitzgerald, John Kidd and Thomas Waddell and all were re-elected unopposed.^[3] Fitzgerald was defeated at the 1901 election for Robertson and was not replaced as Minister of Justice with Bernhard Wise KC, the Attorney General, taking on the additional responsibilities. Hugh Pollock, the secretary of the Attorney General's Department, was appointed as a non-political Solicitor General to assist the Attorney General by taking responsibility for committal proceedings.^[4] Pollock's appointment was controversial because he was a public servant and had never practiced as a barrister.^[5] Francis Suttor was appointed President of the Legislative Council in 1903 and was replaced in the ministry by Kenneth Mackay.^[6]

This was the first occasion in which ministers were appointed to the Executive Council (or cabinet) without responsibility for a department or portfolio.^[7] It was initially 2 ministers James Hayes,^[8] and Walter Bennett,^[9] with John Fegan added in 1903.^[10] They were not paid in addition to their allowance as a member of parliament,^[b] did not have an "office of profit" and were not required to recontest their seats at a by-election.^[7]

The ministry covers the period from 28 March 1901 until 14 June 1904,^[6] when failing health and the death of his wife in March 1904 compelled him to retire.^[13][1] See was succeeded by his Progressive Party colleague, Thomas Waddell.^[6]

Composition of ministry

The composition of the ministry was announced by Premier See on 28 March 1901 and covers the period up to 14 June 1904.

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term start	Term end	Term length
Premier Colonial Secretary Registrar of Records	Sir John See [a]		Progressive	28 March 1901	14 June 1904	3 years, 78 days
Colonial Treasurer Collector of Internal Revenue	Thomas Waddell			10 April 1901		3 years, 65 days
Attorney-General	Bernhard Wise KC, MLC			28 March 1901		3 years, 78 days
Minister of Justice				22 July 1901		2 years, 328 days
	Robert Fitzgerald			11 April 1901	16 July 1901	96 days
Secretary for Lands	Paddy Crick			11 April 1901	14 June 1904	3 years, 64 days
Secretary for Public Works	Edward O'Sullivan			28 March 1901		3 years, 78 days
Minister of Public Instruction Minister for Labour and Industry	John Perry			28 March 1901		3 years, 78 days
Secretary for Mines and Agriculture	John Kidd			10 April 1901		3 years, 65 days
Vice-President of the Executive Council Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	Francis Suttor MLC			28 March 1901	23 May 1903	2 years, 56 days
	Kenneth Mackay, MLC			6 June 1903	14 June 1904	1 year, 8 days
Ministers without portfolio	James Hayes			11 April 1901		3 years, 64 days
	Walter Bennett			16 April 1901		3 years, 59 days
	John Fegan			24 March 1903		1 year, 82 days

Ministers were members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

See also

• New South Wales portal
• Politics portal

• Federation of Australia
• • Members of Legislative Assembly
  • (1901-1904)
• • Members of Legislative Council
  • (1901–1904)

Notes

1. In 1902, See was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George whilst in office.^[1]
2. Members of the Legislative Assembly had been paid an allowance since 1889.^[11][12]