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Minister for Lands and Property of New South Wales
Incumbent Steve Kamper since 5 April 2023
Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
Appointer	Governor of New South Wales
Precursor	Secretary for Lands and Works
Formation	1 October 1859
First holder	Bob Nichols

The Minister for Lands and Property, also called the Secretary for Lands was responsible for one of the key issues for the colonial administration of New South Wales, being the contest between squatters and selectors to dispossess the Aboriginal people of their land. 

Role and responsibilities

The land issue dominated the politics of the late 1850s, and in October 1859, towards the end of the second Cowper ministry, the Secretary for Public Works was split off from the Secretary for Lands and Works. This enabled John Robertson to concentrate on what became known as the Robertson Land Acts. The Cowper ministry fell at the end of October 1859, replaced by the short lived Forster ministry. Robertson formed his first ministry in March 1860. While the four previous Premiers held the office of Colonial Secretary, Robertson chose to be Secretary for Lands.

The main work of the department at this time was processing the selection claims, including the various commissioners for Crown Lands and the necessary survey work under the Surveyor General. The minister had numerous other responsibilities, including immigration until 1869, mining until 1874 and forestry until 1908.

In the Holman Nationalist ministry from November 1916 William Ashford held the portfolios of Secretary for Lands and Minister for Forests and it became increasingly common for the minister to hold the portfolio along with other portfolios. In 1981 the Department of lands was temporarily amalgamated with the Department of Local Government, with the minister Lin Gordon holding both portfolios, until the departments were separated again in February 1984. The portfolio of Minister for Lands was abolished in April 1984 and replaced by the Minister for Natural Resources whose responsibilities included waterways, reserves and parks, forestry. The portfolio was briefly re-established in 1986, 1990 and 2004.

List of ministers

Lands

Property

Notes

1. Concurrently Premier of New South Wales until 9 January 1861.

References

1. ^ "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
2. Nairn, Bede. "Robertson, Sir John (1816–1891)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
3. ^ "Sir John Robertson (1816–1891)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
4. ^ "AGY-1114 Department of Lands". NSW State Records & Archives. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
5. ^ "The Hon. Alan Robert Lindsay Gordon". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
6. "AGY-3307 Department of Lands". NSW State Records & Archives. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
7. "PFO-41 Natural Resources". NSW State Records & Archives. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
8. "Mr George Robert Nichols (1809–1857)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
9. ^ "Sir Terence Aubrey Murray (1810-1873)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
10. "Sir John Hay (1816-1892)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
11. "Mr John Black (1817-1879)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
12. ^ "Mr John Bowie Wilson (1820-1883)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
13. "Mr William Munnings Arnold (1819-1875)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
14. "Mr William Forster (1818–1882)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
15. ^ "Mr James Squire Farnell (1825–1888)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
16. ^ "Mr Thomas Garrett (1830-1891)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
17. ^ "Mr Ezekiel Alexander Baker (1823-1912)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
18. "Mr Richard Driver (junior) (1829-1880)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
19. "Mr James Hoskins (1823-1900)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
20. "Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott (1842-1901)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
21. "Mr Gerald Spring (1830-1888)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
22. ^ "The Hon. Henry Copeland (1839-1904)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
23. "Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
24. ^ "Mr James Nixon Brunker (1832-1910)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
25. "Sir William John Lyne (1844–1913)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
26. "The Hon. Jack Rowland Hallam (1942– )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
27. "Mr Garry Bruce West (1949- )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
28. "Mr (Tony) Anthony Bernard Kelly". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
29. ^ "Parliament, Ministerial, Courts and Police (662)" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 21 December 2021.
30. Robertson, James (28 January 2017). "Anthony Roberts, Brad Hazzard take key roles in Gladys Berejiklian reshuffle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
31. "Refreshed NSW cabinet sworn in". Sky News. Australia. AAP. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
32. "Government Notices (30)" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 2 April 2019. p. 1088-1090. Retrieved 3 April 2019.

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• Ministers of the New South Wales state government
• Land management in Australia