Attorney General of New South Wales
Chief law officer for the state of New South Wales, Australia
The Attorney General of New South Wales , in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for New South Wales [ 1] and usually known simply as the Attorney General , is a minister in the Government of New South Wales who has responsibility for the administration of justice in New South Wales , Australia . In addition, the attorney general is one of the Law Officers of the Crown . Along with the subordinate Solicitor General , Crown Advocate , and Crown Solicitor , the attorney general serves as the chief legal and constitutional adviser of the Crown and Government of New South Wales.
The current attorney general, since 28 March 2023, is Michael Daley , SC .
The attorney general and the Ministers administer the portfolio through the Stronger Communities cluster , in particular the Department of Communities and Justice and a range of other government agencies.
Ultimately, the attorney general and the Ministers are responsible to the Parliament of New South Wales .
History and function
Sir William Montagu Manning , Solicitor-General: 1844–1848; Chancellor of Sydney University : 1878–1895.Sir William Charles Windeyer , Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales : 1881–1896; Chancellor of Sydney University: 1895–1898.Sir Edmund Barton , Prime Minister of Australia : 1901–1903; Judge of the High Court of Australia : 1903–1920.Sir Charles Wade , Premier of New South Wales: 1907–1910; Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales: 1920–1922.Sir Edward McTiernan , Justice of the High Court of Australia: 1930–1976.Sir Henry Manning , First leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council: 1941–1958.The position of Attorney General has existed since 1824, well before the full establishment of the New South Wales Parliament (in 1856) but coinciding with the establishment of the New South Wales Legislative Council . From the beginning, the attorney general has been the Crown's advisor and representative in legal matters. It was modelled after the office of the Attorney General for England and Wales . As such the attorney general advises and represents the Crown and government departments in court. The person appointed to this role provides legal advice to the Government, acts as the representative of the public interest and resolves issues between government departments.
The attorney general also has supervisory powers over the prosecution of criminal offences, but is not personally involved with prosecutions. Today, prosecutions are carried out by the Public Prosecution Office and most legal advice to government departments is provided by the Government Legal Service, both under the supervision of the attorney general. The attorney general may appeal cases to the higher courts where, although the particular case is settled, there may be a point of law of public importance at issue. The attorney general is responsible to Parliament for activities of the Department of Justice and has responsibility for the all state's courts and tribunals and the appointment of judges, magistrates and statutory officers in New South Wales.
List of ministers
Attorneys general
The following individuals have served as Attorney General of New South Wales:
Ordinal
Attorney General[ 2] [ 3]
Party
Term begin
Term end
Time in office
1
Saxe Bannister
Not a member ofLegislative Council
14 April 1824
13 October 1826
2 years, 182 days
2
William Henry Moore (acting)
13 October 1826
31 July 1827
291 days
3
Alexander Baxter [ 5]
1 August 1827
24 January 1831
3 years, 176 days
–
William Henry Moore (acting)
24 January 1831
24 June 1831
151 days
4
John Kinchela
Prior to responsible government
25 June 1831
18 April 1836
4 years, 298 days
5
John Plunkett
17 September 1836
5 June 1856
19 years, 262 days
6
William Manning
No party
6 June 1856
25 August 1856
80 days
7
James Martin
26 August 1856
2 October 1856
37 days
–
William Manning
3 October 1856
25 May 1857
1 year, 80 days
8
John Darvall
26 May 1857
7 September 1857
104 days
–
James Martin QC
7 September 1857
8 November 1858
1 year, 62 days
9
Alfred Lutwyche QC
15 November 1858
21 February 1859
98 days
10
Lyttleton Bayley
21 February 1859
26 October 1859
247 days
11
Edward Wise
27 October 1859
13 February 1860
109 days
–
Sir William Manning QC
21 February 1860
8 March 1860
16 days
12
John Hargrave
2 April 1860
31 July 1863
3 years, 120 days
–
John Darvall QC
1 August 1863
15 October 1863
75 days
–
James Martin QC [ a]
16 October 1863
2 February 1865
1 year, 109 days
–
John Darvall QC
3 February 1865
20 June 1865
137 days
–
John Plunkett QC
25 August 1865
21 January 1866
149 days
–
James Martin QC [ a]
22 January 1866
26 October 1868
2 years, 278 days
–
Sir William Manning QC
21 October 1868
15 December 1870
2 years, 55 days
–
Sir James Martin QC [ a]
16 December 1870
13 May 1872
1 year, 149 days
13
Edward Butler
15 May 1872
10 November 1873
1 year, 179 days
14
Joseph Innes
20 November 1873
8 February 1875
1 year, 80 days
15
William Dalley
9 February 1875
21 March 1877
2 years, 40 days
16
William Windeyer
22 March 1877
16 August 1877
147 days
–
William Dalley QC
17 August 1877
17 December 1877
122 days
17
William Foster
18 December 1877
20 December 1878
1 year, 2 days
–
William Windeyer
21 December 1878
10 August 1879
232 days
18
Robert Wisdom
13 August 1879
4 January 1883
3 years, 144 days
–
William Dalley QC
5 January 1883
6 October 1885
2 years, 274 days
19
Jack Want
7 October 1885
21 December 1885
75 days
20
George Simpson
22 December 1885
25 February 1886
65 days
–
Jack Want
26 February 1886
19 January 1887
327 days
–
William Foster QC
Free Trade
20 January 1887
18 May 1887
118 days
21
Bernhard Wise
27 May 1887
7 February 1888
256 days
–
George Simpson QC
10 February 1888
16 January 1889
341 days
22
Edmund Barton
Protectionist
17 January 1889
7 March 1889
49 days
–
George Simpson QC
Free Trade
8 March 1889
22 October 1891
2 years, 228 days
–
Edmund Barton QC
Protectionist
23 October 1891
14 December 1893
2 years, 52 days
23
Charles Heydon
15 December 1893
2 August 1894
230 days
–
George Simpson QC
Free Trade
3 August 1894
1 December 1894
120 days
–
Jack Want QC
18 December 1894
18 April 1899
4 years, 121 days
24
George Reid QC
19 April 1899
13 September 1899
147 days
–
Bernhard Wise QC
Protectionist / Progressive
14 September 1899
14 June 1904
4 years, 274 days
25
James Gannon
Progressive
15 June 1904
29 August 1904
75 days
26
Charles Wade QC [ b]
Liberal Reform
29 August 1904
20 October 1910
6 years, 52 days
27
William Holman [ a]
Labor
21 October 1910
29 January 1914
3 years, 100 days
28
David Hall
29 January 1914
15 November 1916
2 years, 291 days
Nationalist
15 November 1916
23 July 1919
2 years, 250 days
29
John Garland
23 July 1919
12 April 1920
264 days
30
Edward McTiernan
Labor
12 April 1920
20 December 1921
1 year, 252 days
31
Thomas Bavin
Nationalist
20 December 1921
20 December 1921
7 hours
–
Edward McTiernan
Labor
20 December 1921
13 April 1922
114 days
–
Thomas Bavin
Nationalist
13 April 1922
17 June 1925
3 years, 65 days
–
Edward McTiernan
Labor
17 June 1925
26 May 1927
1 year, 343 days
32
Andrew Lysaght
27 May 1927
18 October 1927
144 days
33
Francis Boyce
Nationalist
18 October 1927
3 November 1930
3 years, 16 days
–
Andrew Lysaght
Labor
4 November 1930
16 June 1931
224 days
34
Joseph Lamaro
16 June 1931
15 October 1931
121 days
Labor (NSW)
15 October 1931
13 May 1932
211 days
35
Daniel Levy
United Australia
16 May 1932
17 June 1932
32 days
36
Henry Manning
18 June 1932
16 May 1941
8 years, 332 days
37
Clarrie Martin
Labor
16 May 1941
23 February 1953
11 years, 283 days
38
Bill Sheahan
23 February 1953
15 March 1956
3 years, 21 days
39
Reg Downing
15 March 1956
13 May 1965
9 years, 59 days
40
Ken McCaw
Liberal
13 May 1965
3 January 1975
9 years, 235 days
41
John Maddison
3 January 1975
14 May 1976
1 year, 132 days
42
Frank Walker
Labor
14 May 1976
1 February 1983
6 years, 263 days
43
Paul Landa
1 February 1983
24 November 1984
1 year, 297 days
44
Neville Wran (acting)[ a]
27 November 1984
12 December 1984
15 days
45
Terry Sheahan
12 December 1984
26 November 1987
2 years, 349 days
46
Ron Mulock
26 November 1987
21 March 1988
116 days
47
John Dowd
Liberal
25 March 1988
6 June 1991
3 years, 73 days
48
Peter Collins
6 June 1991
3 July 1992
1 year, 27 days
49
John Hannaford
3 July 1992
4 April 1995
2 years, 275 days
50
Jeff Shaw
Labor
4 April 1995
28 June 2000
5 years, 85 days
51
Bob Debus
28 June 2000
2 April 2007
6 years, 278 days
52
John Hatzistergos
2 April 2007 (2007-04-02 )
28 March 2011 (2011-03-28 )
3 years, 360 days
53
Greg Smith
Liberal
3 April 2011 (2011-04-03 )
23 April 2014 (2014-04-23 )
3 years, 20 days
54
Brad Hazzard
23 April 2014 (2014-04-23 )
2 April 2015 (2015-04-02 )
344 days
55
Gabrielle Upton
2 April 2015 (2015-04-02 )
30 January 2017 (2017-01-30 )
1 year, 303 days
56
Mark Speakman SC
30 January 2017 (2017-01-30 )
28 March 2023 (2023-03-28 )
6 years, 57 days
57
Michael Daley
Labor
28 March 2023
incumbent
1 year, 266 days
See also
References
External links