Wade ministry | |
|---|---|
 33rd Cabinet of the State of New South Wales | |
 | |
| Date formed | 2 October 1907 |
| Date dissolved | 20 October 1910 |
| People and organisations | |
| Monarch | Edward VII / George V |
| Governor | Sir Harry Rawson / Lord Chelmsford |
| Premier | Charles Wade |
| No. of ministers | 10 |
| Member party | Liberal Reform |
| Status in legislature | Hung parliament |
| Opposition party | Labor |
| Opposition leader | James McGowen |
| History | |
| Election | 1907 New South Wales election |
| Outgoing election | 1910 New South Wales election |
| Predecessor | Carruthers ministry |
| Successor | McGowen ministry |
The Wade ministry was the 33rd ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 17th Premier, Charles Wade. 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 and Wade chose to keep the portfolio of Attorney General he held in the Carruthers ministry.[1]
Wade was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1903, serving until 1917. Liberal Reform had won 45 seats at the 1904 election, 1 short of a majority. In 1907 it had negotiated a coalition agreement with the Progressive Party, however this was rejected by a vote of Progressive parliamentary members.[2] The party leader Thomas Waddell resigned and joined the Liberal Reform Party,[3] along with John Perry and 3 others, giving Liberal Reform a majority in the Legislative Assembly.
Campaigning for the 1907 state election involved personal allegations against Carruthers concerning his law firm representing William Willis in dubious transactions that were examined in the Royal Commission by Justice William Owen into the administration of the Lands Department.[4] Carruthers fought back strongly with attacks on the Federal government tariff on wire netting and a program of reform appealing to the parties temperance supporters. The election was held in September and saw Liberal Reform lose its recently gained majority, returning to 45 seats, with Labour and independents gaining seats from the collapse of the Progressive Party.
Carruthers was exhausted by the campaign and resigned as Premier at the end of September and was succeeded by Wade.
There was a re-shuffle in 1908 with Agriculture being separated from mines. At the end of 1909 John Garland was appointed Solicitor General and Minister of Justice to assist Wade in his portfolio of Attorney General.
The ministry covers the period from 2 October 1907 until 20 October 1910,[5] when Wade was defeated by McGowen and the Labour Party.[1]
- ^ a b Ward, John M. "Wade, Sir Charles Gregory (1863–1922)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "No coalition: Progressives reject the terms". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 May 1907. p. 9. Retrieved 3 December 2019 – via Trove.
- ^ "The Progressive Party: Mr Waddell tenders his resignation". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 May 1907. p. 8. Retrieved 1 December 2019 – via Trove.
- ^ "AGY-4959 Royal Commission on Administration of Lands Department". NSW State Archives & Records. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 March 2020.