Second Barr ministry explained

Cabinet Name:	Second Barr Ministry
Cabinet Type:	Ministry
Cabinet Number:	14th
Jurisdiction:	Australian Capital Territory
Flag:	Flag of the Australian Capital Territory.svg
Date Formed:	1 November 2016
Date Dissolved:	3 November 2020
Government Head:	Andrew Barr
Deputy Government Head:	Yvette Berry
Current Number:	9
Political Parties:	Labor-Greens coalition
Legislature Status:	Coalition majority government
Opposition Party:	Liberal
Opposition Leader:	Alistair Coe
Legislature Term:	9th
Previous:	First Barr Ministry
Successor:	Third Barr Ministry
Government Head Title:	Chief Minister
Deputy Government Head Title:	Deputy Chief Minister

The Second Barr Ministry was the 14th ministry of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory, led by Labor Chief Minister Andrew Barr and his deputy Yvette Berry. It was appointed on 1 November 2016, following the 2016 general election held two weeks earlier.^{[1] [2]} The Greens signed a new formal Parliamentary Agreement with Labor which continued to maintain Green's leader Shane Rattenbury's position in the Ministry, whilst mandating that the Greens not move or support any motion of no confidence in the Labor Government, except in instances of gross misconduct or corruption.^{[3] [4] [5]}

The previous First Barr Ministry initially contained five ministers, but was later increased to seven ministers. The number was not increased in the second ministry after the 2016 general election, even when eight more members were elected to form an expanded 25 member Legislative Assembly. The ministry was subsequently increased to eight ministers in August 2018.

The ministry was replaced by the Third Barr Ministry on 3 November 2020 after the Labor government's re-election at the 2020 election.

First Arrangement

Following Labor's re-election at the 2016 general election, a new ministry was appointed on 1 November 2016.^[2] Gordon Ramsay and Rachel Stephen-Smith were new ministers appointed to the ministry, replacing Simon Corbell who retired and Chris Bourke who was defeated at the 2016 election.^[1]

Portfolio	Minister	Party affiliation
Chief Minister Treasurer Minister for Economic Development Minister for Tourism and Major Events	Andrew Barr MLA			Labor
Deputy Chief Minister Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development Minister for Housing and Suburban Development Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Minister for Women Minister for Sport and Recreation	Yvette Berry MLA			Labor
Minister for Health Minister for Transport and City Services Minister for Higher Education, Training and Research	Meegan Fitzharris MLA			Labor
Minister for Police and Emergency Services Minister for the Environment and Heritage Minister for Planning and Land Management Minister for Urban Renewal	Mick Gentleman MLA			Labor
Attorney-General Minister for Regulatory Services Minister for the Arts and Community Events Minister for Veterans and Seniors	Gordon Ramsay MLA			Labor
Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability Minister for Justice and Consumer Affairs Minister for Corrections Minister for Mental Health	Shane Rattenbury MLA			Greens
Minister for Community Services and Social Inclusion Minister for Disability, Children and Youth Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Minister for Multicultural Affairs Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations	Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA			Labor

Subsequent changes to ministerial titles

There are two changes to ministerial titles between November 2016 and August 2018:

• 19 December 2016: Minister for Justice and Consumer Affairs was renamed Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety (held by Shane Rattenbury)^[6]
• 1 July 2017: Minister for Health was renamed Minister for Health and Wellbeing (held by Meegan Fitzharris)^[7]

Second Arrangement

On 27 August 2018, Chris Steel was appointed to the Ministry, increasing the Ministry size to 8.^{[8] [9]}

Portfolio	Minister	Party affiliation
Chief Minister Treasurer Minister for Social Inclusion and Equality Minister for Tourism and Special Events Minister for Trade, Industry and Investment	Andrew Barr MLA			Labor
Deputy Chief Minister Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development Minister for Housing and Suburban Development Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Minister for Sport and Recreation Minister for Women	Yvette Berry MLA			Labor
Minister for Health and Wellbeing Minister for Higher Education Minister for Medical and Health Research Minister for Transport Minister for Vocational Education and Skills	Meegan Fitzharris MLA			Labor
Minister for the Environment and Heritage Minister for Planning and Land Management Minister for Police and Emergency Services Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Advanced Technology and Space Industries	Mick Gentleman MLA			Labor
Attorney-General Minister for the Arts and Cultural Events Minister for Building Quality Improvement Minister for Business and Regulatory Services Minister for Seniors and Veterans	Gordon Ramsay MLA			Labor
Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability Minister for Corrections and Justice Health Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety Minister for Mental Health	Shane Rattenbury MLA			Greens
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Minister for Disability Minister for Children, Youth and Families Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety Minister for Government Services and Procurement Minister for Urban Renewal	Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA			Labor
Minister for City Services Minister for Community Services and Facilities Minister for Multicultural Affairs Minister for Roads	Chris Steel MLA			Labor

Fitzharris resignation

On 24 June 2019, Meegan Fitzharris announced she would resign from her cabinet roles (Transport, Health and Tertiary Education) on 1 July and politics for family reasons.^[10] In the interim until an additional new minister is appointed to the Ministry, Chris Steel took on the transport portfolio as the Transport Minister, Rachel Stephen-Smith took on the health portfolio as the Health Minister and Chief Minister Andrew Barr took on the tertiary education portfolio, all with effect from 27 June 2019.^{[11] [12]} Gordon Ramsay took over as Minister for Government Services and Procurement from Stephen-Smith. There is no replacement for the Minister for Vocational Education and Skills.

The following only includes ministers whose portfolios have changed on 27 June 2019. The interim arrangement lasted till 25 August 2019.

Portfolio	Minister	Party affiliation
Chief Minister Treasurer Minister for Social Inclusion and Equality Minister for Tertiary Education Minister for Tourism and Special Events Minister for Trade, Industry and Investment	Andrew Barr MLA			Labor
Attorney-General Minister for the Arts and Cultural Events Minister for Building Quality Improvement Minister for Business and Regulatory Services Minister for Government Services and Procurement Minister for Seniors and Veterans	Gordon Ramsay MLA			Labor
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Minister for Disability Minister for Children, Youth and Families Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety Minister for Health Minister for Urban Renewal	Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA			Labor
Minister for Community Services and Facilities Minister for Multicultural Affairs Minister for Transport and City Services	Chris Steel MLA			Labor

Third Arrangement

Following the interim arrangement as a result of the resignation of Meegan Fitzharris from the Ministry, a new arrangement was formed on 26 August 2019 with Suzanne Orr appointed to the Ministry.^{[13] [14]}

Portfolio	Minister	Party affiliation
Chief Minister Treasurer Minister for Social Inclusion and Equality Minister for Tertiary Education Minister for Tourism and Special Events Minister for Trade, Industry and Investment	Andrew Barr MLA			Labor
Deputy Chief Minister Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development Minister for Housing and Suburban Development Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Minister for Sport and Recreation Minister for Women	Yvette Berry MLA			Labor
Minister for Advanced Technology and Space Industries Minister for the Environment and Heritage Minister for Planning and Land Management Minister for Police and Emergency Services	Mick Gentleman MLA			Labor
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Minister for Children, Youth and Families Minister for Health Minister for Urban Renewal	Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA			Labor
Attorney-General Minister for the Arts, Creative Industries and Cultural Events Minister for Building Quality Improvement Minister for Business and Regulatory Services Minister for Seniors and Veterans	Gordon Ramsay MLA			Labor
Minister for City Services Minister for Multicultural Affairs Minister for Recycling and Waste Reduction Minister for Roads and Active Travel Minister for Transport	Chris Steel MLA			Labor
Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability Minister for Corrections and Justice Health Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety Minister for Mental Health	Shane Rattenbury MLA			Greens
Minister for Community Services and Facilities Minister for Disability Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety Minister for Government Services and Procurement	Suzanne Orr MLA			Labor

March 2020 reshuffle

A minor reshuffle was made to the ministerial portfolios on 23 March 2020. The Tertiary Education portfolio was passed from Barr to Chris Steel and the Urban Renewal portfolio was passed from Rachel Stephen-Smith to Mick Gentleman.^[15] The arrangement lasted until the October 2020 election.

The following only includes ministers whose portfolios have changed on 23 March 2020.

Portfolio	Minister	Party affiliation
Chief Minister Treasurer Minister for Social Inclusion and Equality Minister for Tourism and Special Events Minister for Trade, Industry and Investment	Andrew Barr MLA			Labor
Minister for Advanced Technology and Space Industries Minister for the Environment and Heritage Minister for Planning and Land Management Minister for Police and Emergency Services Minister for Urban Renewal	Mick Gentleman MLA			Labor
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Minister for Children, Youth and Families Minister for Health	Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA			Labor
Minister for City Services Minister for Multicultural Affairs Minister for Recycling and Waste Reduction Minister for Roads and Active Travel Minister for Tertiary Education Minister for Transport	Chris Steel MLA			Labor

Notes and References

1. http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/open_government/inform/act_government_media_releases/barr/2016/new-ministerial-team-to-focus-on-progressive-economic-and-social-agenda New Ministerial team to focus on progressive economic and social agenda
2. Web site: Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Ministerial Appointment 2016 (No 3).
3. Web site: Parliamentary Agreement for the 9th Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory. Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate. 6 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20180323035750/http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1013792/Parliamentary-Agreement-for-the-9th-Legislative-Assembly.pdf. 23 March 2018. live.
4. Web site: Labor and Greens hammer out deal to see Shane Rattenbury in Cabinet, Joy Burch as Speaker. Canberra Times. 30 October 2016.
5. Web site: Full Text of the Parliamentary Agreement for the 9th Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory. ABC News. 30 October 2016.
6. Web site: Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Ministerial Appointment 2016 (No 4).
7. Web site: Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Ministerial Appointment 2017 (No 1).
8. Web site: Labor backbencher Chris Steel named new ACT minister. Canberra Times. 1 September 2018.
9. Web site: Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Ministerial Appointment 2018 (No 1).
10. Web site: ACT Minister Meegan Fitzharris to quit politics. Canberra Times. 12 July 2019. 26 June 2019.
11. Web site: New ACT health and transport ministers announced. Canberra Times. 5 November 2019. 26 June 2019.
12. Web site: Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Ministerial Appointment 2019 (No 1).
13. Web site: Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Ministerial Appointment 2019 (No 2).
14. Web site: ACT government ministerial reshuffle: Suzanne Orr takes on employment, disabilities. Canberra Times. 5 November 2019. 26 August 2019.
15. Web site: Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Ministerial Appointment 2020 (No 1).