Minister for Sport (Australia)

In the Australian Government, the Minister for Sport is currently Anika Wells since 1 June 2022.^[1]

Minister for Sport
Incumbent Anika Wells since 1 June 2022 (2022-06-01)
Department of Health and Aged Care
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Australia
Inaugural holder	Frank Stewart (as Minister for Tourism and Recreation)
Formation	19 December 1972 (1972-12-19)
Website	www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-anika-wells-mp

In the Government of Australia, the minister administers the portfolio through the Department of Health and Aged Care.^[2]

Scope

It was not until the Whitlam government established the Department of Tourism and Recreation in 1972 that an Australian Government department had specific responsibility for sport.^[3] Previously the small amount of sport funding was distributed through ministries such as Health and Foreign Affairs.^[3] Frank Stewart, who is regarded as the first minister for sport, commissioned two reports – The role and scope and development of recreation in Australia by John Bloomfield and Report of the Australian Sports Institute Study Group, which highlighted the need for government involvement in sport.^[4] The Fraser government through Bob Ellicott acted upon both reports and established the Australian Institute of Sport in 1981.^[3] It was widely reported that this initiative was a direct result of the poor performance of the Australian team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, however its genesis preceded that. The Hawke government through John Brown further extended Australian Government involvement in sport through the establishment of the Australian Sports Commission in 1985.^[3]

List of ministers for sport

The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Sport, or any of its precedent titles:^[5]

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Frank Stewart		Labor	Whitlam	Minister for Tourism and Recreation	19 December 1972 (1972-12-19)	11 November 1975 (1975-11-11)	2 years, 327 days
2	Reg Withers		Liberal	Fraser		11 November 1975 (1975-11-11)	22 December 1975 (1975-12-22)	41 days
3	Ivor Greenwood				Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development	22 December 1975 (1975-12-22)	8 July 1976 (1976-07-08)	199 days
4	Kevin Newman					8 July 1976 (1976-07-08)	20 December 1977 (1977-12-20)	1 year, 165 days
5	Ray Groom					20 December 1977 (1977-12-20)	5 December 1978 (1978-12-05)	350 days
6	Robert Ellicott				Minister for Home Affairs	5 December 1978 (1978-12-05)	3 November 1980 (1980-11-03)	2 years, 74 days
					Minister for Home Affairs and Environment	3 November 1980 (1980-11-03)	17 February 1981 (1981-02-17)
7	Michael MacKellar					17 February 1981 (1981-02-17)	19 March 1981 (1981-03-19)	30 days
8	Ian Wilson					19 March 1981 (1981-03-19)	7 May 1982 (1982-05-07)	414 days
9	Tom McVeigh		National Country			7 May 1982 (1982-05-07)	11 March 1983 (1983-03-11)	308 days
10	John Brown		Labor	Hawke	Minister for Sport, Recreation and Tourism	11 March 1983 (1983-03-11)	24 July 1987 (1987-07-24)	4 years, 314 days
					Minister for the Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories	24 July 1987 (1987-07-24)	19 January 1988 (1988-01-19)
11	Graham Richardson					19 January 1988 (1988-01-19)	4 April 1990 (1990-04-04)	2 years, 75 days
12	Ros Kelly					4 April 1990 (1990-04-04)	20 December 1991 (1991-12-20)	3 years, 331 days
				Keating		20 December 1991 (1991-12-20)	27 December 1991 (1991-12-27)
					Minister for the Arts, Sport, the Environment and Territories	27 December 1991 (1991-12-27)	24 March 1993 (1993-03-24)
					Minister for the Environment, Sport and Territories	24 March 1993 (1993-03-24)	1 March 1994 (1994-03-01)
(11)	Graham Richardson					1 March 1994 (1994-03-01)	25 March 1994 (1994-03-25)	24 days
13	John Faulkner					25 March 1994 (1994-03-25)	11 March 1996 (1996-03-11)	1 year, 352 days
14	Warwick Smith		Liberal	Howard	Minister for Sport, Territories and Local Government	11 March 1996 (1996-03-11)	9 October 1997 (1997-10-09)	1 year, 212 days
15	Andrew Thomson				Minister for Sport and Tourism	9 October 1997 (1997-10-09)	21 October 1998 (1998-10-21)	1 year, 12 days
16	Jackie Kelly [6]					21 October 1998 (1998-10-21)	26 November 2001 (2001-11-26)	3 years, 36 days
17	Rod Kemp				Minister for the Arts and Sport	26 November 2001 (2001-11-26)	30 January 2007 (2007-01-30)	5 years, 65 days
18	George Brandis					30 January 2007 (2007-01-30)	3 December 2007 (2007-12-03)	307 days
19	Kate Ellis		Labor	Rudd	Minister for Sport	3 December 2007 (2007-12-03)	24 June 2010 (2010-06-24)	2 years, 285 days
				Gillard		24 June 2010 (2010-06-24)	14 September 2010 (2010-09-14)
20	Mark Arbib					14 September 2010 (2010-09-14)	5 March 2012 (2012-03-05)	1 year, 173 days
21	Kate Lundy					5 March 2012 (2012-03-05)	27 June 2013 (2013-06-27)	1 year, 114 days
22	Don Farrell			Rudd		27 June 2013 (2013-06-27)	18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	83 days
23	Peter Dutton		Liberal	Abbott		18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)	23 December 2014 (2014-12-23)	1 year, 96 days
24	Sussan Ley					23 December 2014 (2014-12-23)	15 September 2015 (2015-09-15)	2 years, 21 days
				Turnbull		15 September 2015 (2015-09-15)	13 January 2017 (2017-01-13)
25	Greg Hunt					18 January 2017 (2017-01-18)	19 December 2017 (2017-12-19)	335 days
26	Bridget McKenzie		National			20 December 2017 (2017-12-20)	28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)	1 year, 160 days
				Morrison	Minister for Regional Services, Sport, Local Government and Decentralisation	28 August 2018 (2018-08-28)	29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)
27	Richard Colbeck		Liberal		Minister for Youth and Sport	29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)	22 December 2020 (2020-12-22)	2 years, 359 days
					Minister for Sport	22 December 2020 (2020-12-22)	23 May 2022 (2022-05-23)
28	Anika Wells		Labor	Albanese		1 June 2022 (2022-06-01)	Incumbent	2 years, 155 days

List of ministers assisting the Prime Minister for the Sydney 2000 Games

The following individuals were appointed as Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games:

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Warwick Smith[7]		Liberal	Howard	Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games	11 March 1996	6 October 1997	1 year, 209 days
2	Andrew Thomson[7]					6 October 1997	21 October 1998	1 year, 15 days
3	Jackie Kelly [6]					21 October 1998	30 January 2001	2 years, 101 days

See also

• Minister for Sport (New South Wales)
• Minister for Sport (Victoria)
• Minister for Sport and Recreation (Northern Territory)
• Minister for Sport and Recreation (Western Australia)

References

1. "Press Conference - Parliament House, Canberra | Prime Minister of Australia". www.pm.gov.au. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
2. "Ministries and cabinets". Parlinfo website. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
3. Australian sport : a profile. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. 1985. pp. 38–40. ISBN 0644036672.
4. Daly, John (1991). Quest for Excellence : the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0644136723.
5. "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 22 September 2013.
6. "Hon Jackie Kelly MP". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
7. "43rd Parliamentary Handbook: Part 6 - Historical information on the Australian Parliament - Ministries and Cabinets". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 8 March 2021.

External links

• Official website