Minister for Communications (Australia)

Australian cabinet position

Minister for Communications

Commonwealth Coat of Arms

Flag of Australia

Incumbent
Michelle Rowland

since 1 June 2022 (2022-06-01)

Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
Style| The Honourable
Appointer| Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Australia
Inaugural holder| John Forrest (as Postmaster-General)
Formation| 1 January 1901 (1901-01-01)
Website| minister.infrastructure.gov.au/rowland

The Australian Minister for Communications has the overall responsibility for broadcasting, the information and communications technology industry, the information economy, and telecommunications within Australia. The portfolio is currently held by Michelle Rowland in the Albanese ministry since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022.[1]

In the Government of Australia, the ministers administer the portfolio through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.

## Scope

[edit]

Portfolio agencies and bodies include:

* Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* Australian Communications and Media Authority
* Australia Post
* Australian Classification Board
* National Library of Australia
* NBN Co
* Special Broadcasting Service

## List of ministers

[edit]

The minister responsible for telecommunications policy has had various titles. From 1901 until December 1975 it was the Postmaster-General, who administered the portfolio through the Postmaster-General's Department.

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Communications, or any of its precedent titles:[2][3]

Order  | Minister  | Party  | Prime Minister  | Title  | Term start  | Term end  | Term in office

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | John Forrest |  | Protectionist | Barton | Postmaster-General  | 1 January 1901 (1901-01-01) | 17 January 1901 (1901-01-17) | 16 days
2  | James Drake |  | 5 February 1901 (1901-02-05) | 10 August 1903 (1903-08-10) | 2 years, 186 days
3  | Philip Fysh |  | 10 August 1903 (1903-08-10) | 24 September 1903 (1903-09-24) | 261 days
| Deakin | 24 September 1903 (1903-09-24) | 27 April 1904 (1904-04-27)
4  | Hugh Mahon |  | Labor | Watson | 27 April 1904 (1904-04-27) | 17 August 1904 (1904-08-17) | 112 days
5  | Sydney Smith |  | Free Trade | George Reid | 17 August 1904 (1904-08-17) | 5 July 1905 (1905-07-05) | 322 days
6  | Austin Chapman |  | Protectionist  | Deakin  | 5 July 1905 (1905-07-05) | 30 July 1907 (1907-07-30) | 2 years, 25 days
7  | Samuel Mauger |  | 30 July 1907 (1907-07-30) | 13 November 1908 (1908-11-13) | 1 year, 106 days
8  | Josiah Thomas |  | Labor  | Fisher | 13 November 1908 (1908-11-13) | 2 June 1909 (1909-06-02) | 201 days
9  | John Quick |  | Protectionist  | Deakin  | 2 June 1909 (1909-06-02) | 29 April 1910 (1910-04-29) | 331 days
10  | Josiah Thomas |  | Labor  | Fisher  | 29 April 1910 (1910-04-29) | 14 October 1911 (1911-10-14) | 1 year, 168 days
11  | Charlie Frazer |  | 14 October 1911 (1911-10-14) | 24 June 1913 (1913-06-24) | 1 year, 253 days
12  | Agar Wynne |  | Liberal | Cook | 24 June 1913 (1913-06-24) | 17 September 1914 (1914-09-17) | 1 year, 85 days
13  | William Spence |  | Labor  | Fisher  | 17 September 1914 (1914-09-17) | 27 October 1915 (1915-10-27) | 1 year, 40 days
14  | William Webster |  | Hughes | 27 October 1915 (1915-10-27) | 14 November 1916 (1916-11-14) | 4 years, 99 days
| National Labor | 14 November 1916 (1916-11-14) | 17 February 1917 (1917-02-17)
| Nationalist | 17 February 1917 (1917-02-17) | 3 February 1920 (1920-02-03)
15  | George Wise |  | 3 February 1920 (1920-02-03) | 21 December 1921 (1921-12-21) | 1 year, 321 days
16  | Alexander Poynton |  | 21 December 1921 (1921-12-21) | 5 February 1923 (1923-02-05) | 1 year, 46 days
17  | William Gibson |  | Country  | Bruce | 5 February 1923 (1923-02-05) | 22 October 1929 (1929-10-22) | 6 years, 259 days
18  | Joseph Lyons |  | Labor  | Scullin | 22 October 1929 (1929-10-22) | 4 February 1931 (1931-02-04) | 1 year, 105 days
19  | Albert Green |  | 4 February 1931 (1931-02-04) | 6 January 1932 (1932-01-06) | 336 days
20  | James Fenton |  | United Australia | Lyons | 6 January 1932 (1932-01-06) | 13 October 1932 (1932-10-13) | 281 days
21  | Archdale Parkhill |  | 13 October 1932 (1932-10-13) | 12 October 1934 (1934-10-12) | 1 year, 364 days
22  | Alexander McLachlan |  | 12 October 1934 (1934-10-12) | 7 November 1938 (1938-11-07) | 6 years, 25 days
23  | Archie Cameron |  | Country | 7 November 1938 (1938-11-07) | 7 April 1939 (1939-04-07) | 170 days
| Page | 7 April 1939 (1939-04-07) | 26 April 1939 (1939-04-26)
24  | Eric Harrison |  | United Australia  | Menzies | 26 April 1939 (1939-04-26) | 14 March 1940 (1940-03-14) | 323 days
25  | Harold Thorby |  | Country  | 14 March 1940 (1940-03-14) | 28 October 1940 (1940-10-28) | 228 days
26  | George McLeay |  | United Australia  | 28 October 1940 (1940-10-28) | 26 June 1941 (1941-06-26) | 241 days
27  | Thomas Collins |  | Country  | 26 June 1941 (1941-06-26) | 29 August 1941 (1941-08-29) | 103 days
| Fadden | 29 August 1941 (1941-08-29) | 7 October 1941 (1941-10-07)
28  | Bill Ashley |  | Labor  | Curtin | 7 October 1941 (1941-10-07) | 2 February 1945 (1945-02-02) | 3 years, 118 days
29  | Don Cameron |  | 2 February 1945 (1945-02-02) | 6 July 1945 (1945-07-06) | 4 years, 320 days
| Forde | 6 July 1945 (1945-07-06) | 13 July 1945 (1945-07-13)
| Chifley | 13 July 1945 (1945-07-13) | 19 December 1949 (1949-12-19)
30  | Larry Anthony |  | Country  | Menzies  | 19 December 1949 (1949-12-19) | 11 January 1956 (1956-01-11) | 6 years, 23 days
31  | Charles Davidson |  | 11 January 1956 (1956-01-11) | 18 December 1963 (1963-12-18) | 7 years, 341 days
32  | Alan Hulme |  | Liberal | 18 December 1963 (1963-12-18) | 26 January 1966 (1966-01-26) | 8 years, 353 days
| Holt | 26 January 1966 (1966-01-26) | 19 December 1967 (1967-12-19)
| McEwen | 19 December 1967 (1967-12-19) | 10 January 1968 (1968-01-10)
| Gorton | 10 January 1968 (1968-01-10) | 10 March 1971 (1971-03-10)
| McMahon | 10 March 1971 (1971-03-10) | 5 December 1972 (1972-12-05)
33  | Lance Barnard1 |  | Labor  | Whitlam | 5 December 1972 (1972-12-05) | 19 December 1972 (1972-12-19) | 14 days
34  | Lionel Bowen |  | 19 December 1972 (1972-12-19) | 12 June 1974 (1974-06-12) | 1 year, 175 days
35  | Reg Bishop |  | 12 June 1974 (1974-06-12) | 11 November 1975 (1975-11-11) | 1 year, 152 days
36  | Peter Nixon |  | National Country | Fraser | 11 November 1975 (1975-11-11) | 22 December 1975 (1975-12-22) | 41 days
37  | Victor Garland |  | Liberal  | Minister for Post and Telecommunications  | 22 December 1975 (1975-12-22) | 6 December 1976 (1976-12-06) | 350 days
38  | Eric Robinson |  | 6 December 1976 (1976-12-06) | 20 December 1977 (1977-12-20) | 1 year, 14 days
39  | Tony Staley |  | 20 December 1977 (1977-12-20) | 3 November 1980 (1980-11-03) | 2 years, 319 days
40  | Ian Sinclair |  | National Country  | Minister for Communications  | 3 November 1980 (1980-11-03) | 7 May 1982 (1982-05-07) | 1 year, 185 days
41  | Neil Brown |  | Liberal  | 7 May 1982 (1982-05-07) | 11 March 1983 (1983-03-11) | 308 days
42  | Michael Duffy |  | Labor  | Hawke | 11 March 1983 (1983-03-11) | 24 July 1987 (1987-07-24) | 4 years, 135 days
43  | Gareth Evans |  | Minister for Transport and Communications2 | 24 July 1987 (1987-07-24) | 2 September 1988 (1988-09-02) | 1 year, 40 days
44  | Ralph Willis |  | 2 September 1988 (1988-09-02) | 4 April 1990 (1990-04-04) | 1 year, 214 days
45  | Kim Beazley |  | 4 April 1990 (1990-04-04) | 9 December 1991 (1991-12-09) | 1 year, 249 days
46  | John Kerin |  | 9 December 1991 (1991-12-09) | 20 December 1991 (1991-12-20) | 18 days
| Keating | 20 December 1991 (1991-12-20) | 27 December 1991 (1991-12-27)
47  | Graham Richardson |  | 27 December 1991 (1991-12-27) | 18 May 1992 (1992-05-18) | 143 days
48  | Bob Collins |  | 18 May 1992 (1992-05-18) | 23 December 1993 (1993-12-23) | 1 year, 219 days
49  | Michael Lee |  | Minister for Communications  | 23 December 1993 (1993-12-23) | 30 January 1994 (1994-01-30) | 2 years, 79 days
| Minister for Communications and the Arts | 30 January 1994 (1994-01-30) | 11 March 1996 (1996-03-11)
50  | Richard Alston |  | Liberal  | Howard | 11 March 1996 (1996-03-11) | 9 October 1997 (1997-10-09) | 7 years, 210 days
| Minister for Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts | 9 October 1997 (1997-10-09) | 21 October 1998 (1998-10-21)
| Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts | 21 October 1998 (1998-10-21) | 7 October 2003 (2003-10-07)
51  | Daryl Williams |  | 7 October 2003 (2003-10-07) | 18 July 2004 (2004-07-18) | 285 days
52  | Helen Coonan |  | 18 July 2004 (2004-07-18) | 3 December 2007 (2007-12-03) | 3 years, 138 days
53  | Stephen Conroy |  | Labor  | Rudd | Minister for Broadband, Communications
and the Digital Economy  | 3 December 2007 (2007-12-03) | 24 June 2010 (2010-06-24) | 5 years, 210 days
| Gillard | 24 June 2010 (2010-06-24) | 1 July 2013 (2013-07-01)
54  | Anthony Albanese |  | Rudd  | 1 July 2013 (2013-07-01) | 18 September 2013 (2013-09-18) | 79 days
55  | Malcolm Turnbull |  | Liberal  | Abbott | Minister for Communications  | 18 September 2013 (2013-09-18) | 14 September 2015 (2015-09-14) | 2 years, 3 days
Turnbull | 15 September 2015 (2015-09-15) | 21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)
56  | Mitch Fifield | 21 September 2015 (2015-09-21) | 23 August 2018 (2018-08-23) | 3 years, 250 days
Morrison | Minister for Communications and the Arts | 28 August 2018 (2018-08-28) | 29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)
57  | Paul Fletcher | Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts | 29 May 2019 (2019-05-29) | 22 December 2020 (2020-12-22) | 2 years, 359 days
Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts | 22 December 2020 (2020-12-22) | 23 May 2022 (2022-05-23)
58  | Michelle Rowland |  | Labor  | Albanese | Minister for Communications  | 1 June 2022 (2022-06-01) | Incumbent | 2 years, 86 days

Notes

1 Barnard served as part of a two-man ministry together with Gough Whitlam for fourteen days, until the full ministry was commissioned.
2 On 24 July 1987 (1987-07-24), the third Hawke ministry implemented a two-level ministerial structure, with distinctions drawn between senior and junior ministers. This arrangement has been continued by subsequent ministries.[2] Junior ministers are shown in the table below.

## Former ministerial portfolios

[edit]

### List of ministers for regional communications

[edit]

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Regional Communications, or any of its precedent titles:[4]

Order  | Minister  | Party affiliation  | Prime Minister  | Ministerial title  | Term start  | Term end  | Term in office

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Sharon Bird |  | Labor  | Rudd  | Minister for Regional Communications  | 1 July 2013 (2013-07-01) | 18 September 2013 (2013-09-18) | 79 days
2  | Fiona Nash |  | National | Turnbull | Minister for Regional Communications  | 18 February 2016 (2016-02-18) | 26 October 2017  | 1 year, 250 days
3  | Bridget McKenzie |  | National | Turnbull  | Minister for Regional Communications  | 20 December 2017 (2017-12-20) | 28 August 2018 (2018-08-28) | 251 days
4  | Mark Coulton |  | National | Morrison | Minister for Regional Services, Decentralisation and Local Government | 29 May 2019 (2019-05-29) | 6 February 2020 (2020-02-06) | 2 years, 34 days
| Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government | 6 February 2020 (2020-02-06) | 2 July 2021 (2021-07-02)
(3) | Bridget McKenzie  |  | Minister for Regionalisation, Regional Communications and Regional Education  | 2 July 2021 (2021-07-02) | 23 May 2022 (2022-05-23) | 325 days

### List of ministers for digital transformation

[edit]

On 24 July 1987 (1987-07-24), the third Hawke Ministry implemented a two-level ministerial structure, with distinctions drawn between senior and junior ministers. This arrangement has been continued by subsequent ministries; however, junior ministers have been appointed in the telecommunications portfolio on only five occasions. Senior ministers are shown in the table above.

The following individuals have been appointed as the Minister for Digital Transformation, or any of its precedent titles:[2][3]

Order  | Minister  | Party affiliation  | Prime Minister  | Ministerial title  | Term start  | Term end  | Term in office

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Gary Punch |  | Labor  | Hawke  | Minister for Telecommunications and Aviation Support | 24 July 1987 (1987-07-24) | 28 March 1989 (1989-03-28) | 1 year, 247 days
2  | Ros Kelly |  | 6 April 1989 (1989-04-06) | 4 April 1990 (1990-04-04) | 363 days
3  | David Beddall |  | Labor  | Keating  | Minister for Communications  | 24 March 1993 (1993-03-24) | 23 December 1993 (1993-12-23) | 274 days
4  | Michael Keenan |  | Liberal  | Turnbull  | Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Digital Transformation  | 20 December 2017 (2017-12-20) | 28 August 2018 (2018-08-28) | 1 year, 160 days
| Morrison  | Minister for Digital Transformation  | 28 August 2018 (2018-08-28) | 29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)

## Parliamentary Secretaries

[edit]

The following individuals have been appointed as the Assistant Minister or Parliamentary Secretary for Communications, or any of its precedent titles:

Order  | Secretary  | Party affiliation  | Prime Minister  | Ministerial title  | Term start  | Term end  | Term in office

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Ed Husic |  | Labor | Rudd | Parliamentary Secretary for Broadband  | 1 July 2013 (2013-07-01) | 18 September 2013 (2013-09-18) | 79 days
2  | Paul Fletcher |  | Liberal | Abbott | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications  | 18 September 2013 (2013-09-18) | 21 September 2015 (2015-09-21) | 2 years, 3 days
3  | Angus Taylor |  | Liberal  | Turnbull  | Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Digital Transformation | 18 February 2016 (2016-02-18) | 20 December 2017 (2017-12-20) | 1 year, 305 days

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Press Conference - Parliament House, Canberra | Prime Minister of Australia". www.pm.gov.au. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
2. ^ a b c "Ministries and Cabinets". 43rd Parliamentary Handbook: Historical information on the Australian Parliament. Parliament of Australia. 2010. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
3. ^ a b "Second Rudd Ministry" (PDF). Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Commonwealth of Australia. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.[permanent dead link]
4. ^ Karp, Paul (27 October 2017). "High court citizenship case: Barnaby Joyce and four others ruled ineligible". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 November 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Ministerial portfolios of the Commonwealth of Australia

* Prime Minister
* Deputy Prime Minister
* Aged Care
* Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
* Arts
* Assistant Treasurer
* Attorney-General
* Cabinet Secretary
* Cities
* Climate Change and Energy
* Communications
* Cyber Security
* Defence
* Defence Industry and Capability Delivery
* Defence Personnel
* Early Childhood Education
* Education
* Emergency Management
* Employment and Workplace Relations
* Environment and Water
* Finance
* Financial Services
* Foreign Affairs
* Government Services
* Health and Aged Care
* Home Affairs
* Homelessness
* Housing
* Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
* Indigenous Australians
* Industry and Science
* Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
* International Development and the Pacific
* National Disability Insurance Scheme
* Northern Australia
* Regional Development, Local Government and Territories
* Public Service
* Resources
* Skills and Training
* Small Business
* Social Services
* Special Minister of State
* Sport
* Trade and Tourism
* Treasurer
* Veterans' Affairs
* Vice-President of the Executive Council
* Women
* Youth

Current Ministry
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template