The Minister for Agriculture and Food is a position in the

Cabinet of Western Australia The ministries of Western Australia (also known as Cabinets) are the centre of executive power in the Government of Western Australia. They are composed of Ministers who are responsible for one or more portfolios, answer questions on those portfo ...

. The minister is responsible for the Department of Agriculture and Food, and usually holds several other portfolios. The responsibilities now incorporated in the portfolio were originally held by the Colonial Secretary, and it was not until the 1904 Daglish Ministry that a separate Minister for Agriculture was appointed, with the inaugural minister being the nominally independent John Drew. From its first implementation through to the 1920s, and sporadically afterward, the titles of Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Lands were generally held by the same person, although the positions were legally separate, and were quite different in scope. A similar situation has existed since the late 1970s with the

Fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, ...

and Forests portfolios. The minister's title was simply "Minister for Agriculture" until 1993, when

Monty House Montague Grant "Monty" House (born 16 August 1946) is a former Australian politician. He was born in Perth, the son of politician Edward House, and was a farmer at Gnowangerup before entering politics. In 1986 he was elected to the Western Aus ...

was made Minister for Primary Industries in the Court–Cowan Ministry. The current title was implemented in 2005. The current Minister for Agriculture and Food is

Alannah MacTiernan Alannah Joan Geraldine Cecilia MacTiernan (born 10 January 1953) is an Australian politician. Since 1988, she has served in politics at a federal, state, and local level, including as a minister in the Western Australian state governments of Ge ...

of the Labor Party. The previous Minister for Agriculture and Food was Mark Lewis of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. Lewis was only the third Liberal to hold the position – in previous

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

governments, the position has been reserved for members of the National Party (and its predecessors).

List of Ministers for Agriculture and Food

Thirty three people have been appointed as Minister for Agriculture and Food (or equivalent) in Western Australia, with

Crawford Nalder Sir Crawford David Nalder (14 February 1910 – 8 December 1994) was an Australian politician who served as Deputy Premier of Western Australia from 1962 to 1971. He was leader of the Country Party in Western Australia from 1962 to 1973. Nalde ...

's 11 years and 335 days the longest time period in the position. In the table below, members of the Legislative Council are designated "MLC". All others were members of the Legislative Assembly at the time of their service. In Western Australia, serving ministers are entitled to be styled "

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certa ...

", and may retain the style after three years' service in the ministry.Addressing a Member of Parliament
– Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 1 October 2013.

References

{{Western Australian ministerial portfolios

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

Ministers, Agriculture

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

Agriculture in Western Australia