The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government in the Government of Australia is a position currently held by following the swearing in of the full Albanese ministry on 1 June 2022. The Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories is a position currently held by Kristy McBain.

Scope

In the Government of Australia, the minister for infrastructure has overall responsibility for all of the matters falling within the Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications portfolio, including regulation, safety and funding in relation to aviation, shipping, roads and railways and policy on regional development, local government and the territories, including the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

History

Under the Constitution of Australia the federal government was not given any specific responsibilities for transport, except for "railway construction and extension in any State with the consent of that State" (section 51(xxxiv)). In 1916,

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country Military history of Austra ...

appointed Patrick Lynch as Minister for Works and Railways to administer Commonwealth Railways and the construction of the

Trans-Australian Railway The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the easter ...

. In December 1928,

Stanley Bruce Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, (15 April 1883 – 25 August 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929, as leader of the Nationalist Party. Bor ...

appointed

Thomas Paterson Thomas Paterson (20 November 1882 – 24 January 1952) was an Australian politician who served as deputy leader of the Country Party from 1929 to 1937. He held ministerial office in the governments of Stanley Bruce and Joseph Lyons, represent ...

as Minister for Markets and Transport, which included responsibility for funding road construction via grants to the states. In January 1932, this portfolio was renamed Minister for Transport, but in April 1932 it was absorbed into the new portfolio of Minister for the Interior along with the position of Minister for Works and Railways. In

December 1938 The following events occurred in December 1938: December 1, 1938 (Thursday) *Britain introduced a "national register" for war service. *Two more "victims" of the Halifax Slasher confessed to faking the attacks on themselves. The panic soon wou ...

, with the growth of significance of civil aviation and the commonwealth's assumption of responsibility for regulating it under international treaties,

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He began his career in the Australian Labor Party (ALP), ...

appointed

Harold Thorby Harold Victor Campbell Thorby (2 October 1888 – 1 January 1973) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Country Party and served as the party's deputy leader from 1937 to 1940. He represented the Division of Calare (1931–1940) ...

as the first Minister for Civil Aviation. In 1941

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

re-established the transport portfolio with the appointment of

Hubert Lawrence Anthony Hubert Lawrence "Larry" Anthony (12 March 189712 July 1957) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Country Party and held ministerial office in the governments of Arthur Fadden and Robert Menzies, serving as Minister for Transpo ...

. The Curtin government was determined to establish a government shipping company, ultimately the

Australian National Line Australian National Line (ANL) was a coastal shipping line established in by the Government of Australia in 1956. It was sold in 1998 by the Howard government to CMA CGM. History Australian National Line was formed on 1 October 1956 as th ...

s, and

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...

appointed

Jack Beasley John Albert Beasley (9 November 1895 – 2 September 1949) was an Australian politician who was a member of the House of Representatives from 1928 to 1946. He served in the Australian War Cabinet from 1941 to 1946, and was a government minist ...

as Minister for Supply and Development in

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January– August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar E ...

. This position was renamed Minister for Shipping, Fuel and Transport in 1950 under the Menzies government and Minister for Shipping and Transport in 1951.

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

combined the transport and civil aviation portfolios in 1973, but it was re-divided with

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...

's appointment of Wal Fife as Minister for Aviation in 1982. Bob Hawke abolished the aviation portfolio in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

with the creation of the "super" departments. Since 1987, there has been a single senior transport minister in

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Agency and bodies

Other agencies and bodies the portfolio include: *

Australian Transport Safety Bureau The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is Australia's national transport safety investigator. The ATSB is the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents and incidents within Australia. It covers ai ...

Airservices Australia Airservices Australia is an Australian Government owned corporation, responsible for providing safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible services to the aviation industry within the Australian Flight Information Region (FIR). S ...

* Australian Bicycle Council * Australian Global Navigation Satellite System Coordination Committee (AGCC) * Australian Local Government and Planning Ministers' Council *

Australian Maritime College The Australian Maritime College (AMC) is a tertiary education institution based in Launceston, Tasmania, established by the ''Maritime College Act 1978'' (Cth). Tertiary education is provided and organised by the University of Tasmania (UTAS) as ...

Australian Maritime Safety Authority Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations. The authority ...

* Australian Motor Vehicle Certification Board * Australian Rail Operations Unit *

Australian Rail Track Corporation The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is an Australian Government-owned statutory corporation. It operates one of the largest rail networks in the nation spanning 8,500km across five states, 39 worksites and more than 50 First Nations. ...

Australian Transport Advisory Council Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

* Christmas Island Administration *

Civil Aviation Safety Authority The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is the Australian national authority for the regulation of civil aviation. Although distinct from the government, it reports to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. CASA is responsib ...

* Cocos (Keeling) Islands Administration * East Kimberley Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Indigenous Trial * International Air Services Commission * Jervis Bay Territory Administration * Local Government and Planning Joint Committee *

National Capital Authority The National Capital Authority (NCA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government that was established to manage the Commonwealth's interest in the planning and development of Canberra as the capital city of Australia. Timeline of ...

* National Transport Commission * Navigation Safety Advisory Committee *

Administrator of the Northern Territory The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to represent the government of the Commonwealth in the Northern Territory, Australia. They perform functions similar to those of a state go ...

* Office of the Administrator Norfolk Island * Regional Development Council * Regional Women's Advisory Council * Standing Committee on Regional Development Secretariat * Stevedoring Industry Finance Committee * Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme Review Authority

List of ministers for infrastructure, transport and regional development

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, or any precedent titles:

List of ministers for local government and regional services

The following individuals have been appointed Minister for Local Government, or any precedent titles:

List of ministers for territories

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Territories, or any precedent titles: Notes : Whitlam was one of a two-man ministry consisting of himself and

Lance Barnard Lance Herbert Barnard AO (1 May 19196 August 1997) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1974 and held senior ministerial office in the Whitlam Government, most n ...

for two weeks until the full ministry was announced.

Former ministerial titles and portfolios

List of ministers for aviation

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Aviation, or any precedent titles:

List of ministers for shipping

The following individuals were appointed as Ministers for Shipping, or any precedent titles:

List of ministers for works and railways

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Works and Railways, or any precedent titles:

List of ministers for major projects, territories, and local government

The following individuals have been appointed as the Minister for Major Projects, Territories, and Local Government, or any other precedent titles: Notes : Whitlam was one of a two-man ministry consisting of himself and Lance Barnard for two weeks until the full ministry was announced.

List of ministers for regional development

The following individuals have been appointed Minister for Regional Development, or any precedent titles:

List of ministers for population, cities and urban infrastructure

The following individuals have served as the Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure, or any other precedent titles:

List of outer ministry ministers

Since the creation of the enlarged portfolios in the third Hawke ministry on 24 July 1987 there has usually been a minister or assistant outside cabinet supporting the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, or any precedent title.

References

External links

* {{Australian federal ministerial portfolios Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Urban development in Australia Transport in Australia