Minister for Housing (Victoria)

Minister for Housing of Victoria
Incumbent
Harriet Shing
since 2 October 2023
Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
StyleThe Honourable
Member ofParliament
Executive council
Reports toPremier
NominatorPremier
AppointerGovernor
on the recommendation of the Premier
Term lengthAt the governor's pleasure
Formation2 October 1945
First holderWilliam Haworth

In the Victorian political system, the State Minister for Housing is a State Government cabinet position responsible for Housing. The Minister for Housing is responsible for the Office of Housing (formerly the Victorian Housing Commission); and is one of six state ministers responsible for the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH).

The Housing Commission of Victoria was established in 1938.[1] Its stated purpose of improving existing housing and to provide adequate housing for people of limited means (public housing).[2] The Commission ceased to exist in 1984, as it became the Office of Housing. Housing Commission remains the common colloquial term for public housing estates and developments in Victoria, particularly the inner city tower estates built in the late 1950s and 1960s by Liberal State Governments.

The Housing Commission towers were planned as a major capital work solution to urban ghettoisation. These 20-storey towers loom over many of the inner suburbs in Melbourne and are usually built in 2–6 tower configurations. Many blocks of occupied terrace and worker cottage style housing were cleared and towers of 10 apartments a floor built, surrounded by gardens and car parks. The future high property value of the former types of housing and the gentrification of inner urban areas was not foreseen. Opponents of these projects claimed that the towers were merely turning the slums upright. One of the more vocal anti-tower campaigners in the 1960s, Barry Pullen, later became a Minister for Housing in the Cain Labor Government. Crime and substance abuse problems on the estates have indeed fluctuated to high levels over the years, as different governments apply policies to renew the residential environments.

The Victorian Minister for Housing was at the centre of the Victorian land scandals of 1973–82.[3]

The Victorian Minister for Housing is also responsible for homelessness and the Residential Tenancies Act (the laws governing domestic renting in Victoria).[4] Today the Office of Housing is Victoria's largest landlord, and is responsible for around 73,000 properties (23,000+ in regional Victorian towns and rural communities, 7,000+ inner city high-rise flats, 40,000+ houses, units and flats across suburban Melbourne, 1,700+ rooming house rooms and 1,800 moveable units).

Victorian State Ministers for Housing

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Order Minister Party affiliation Ministerial title Term start Term end Time in office Notes
1 Sir William Haworth Liberal Minister of Housing 2 October 1945 21 November 1945 50 days [5]
2 Bill Barry Labor 21 November 1945 20 November 1947 1 year, 364 days [6]
3 Sir Arthur Warner Liberal Country Minister in Charge of Housing 20 November 1947 27 June 1950 2 years, 219 days [7]
4 Ivan Swinburne Country 27 June 1950 28 October 1952 2 years, 123 days [8]
5 William Dawnay-Mould   Liberal Country 28 October 1952 31 October 1952 3 days [9]
(4) Ivan Swinburne Country 1 October 1952 17 December 1952 77 days [10]
6 Tom Hayes Labor 17 December 1952 31 March 1955 2 years, 104 days [11]
7 John Sheehan 31 March 1955 7 June 1955 68 days
8 Sir Thomas Maltby Liberal Country Minister of Housing 7 June 1955 8 June 1955 1 day [12]
9 Sir Horace Petty Liberal 8 June 1955 26 July 1961 6 years, 48 days
10 Lindsay Thompson 26 July 1961 9 May 1967 5 years, 287 days
11 Edward Meagher 9 May 1967 23 August 1972 5 years, 106 days
12 Vance Dickie 23 August 1972 31 March 1976 3 years, 282 days [13]
13 Geoff Hayes 31 March 1976 16 May 1979 3 years, 46 days [13]
14 Brian Dixon 16 May 1979 3 February 1981 1 year, 263 days
15 Jeff Kennett 3 February 1981 8 April 1982 1 year, 64 days [13][14]
16 Ian Cathie Labor 8 April 1982 2 May 1985 3 years, 24 days [15]
17 Frank Wilkes Minister for Housing 2 May 1985 14 December 1987 2 years, 226 days
18 Bunna Walsh Minister for Housing and Construction 14 December 1987 13 October 1988 304 days
19 Barry Pullen 13 October 1988 10 August 1990 1 year, 301 days
20 Tony Sheehan 10 August 1990 18 January 1991 161 days [16]
21 Andrew McCutcheon Minister for Planning and Housing 18 January 1991 6 October 1992 1 year, 262 days
22 Rob Knowles Liberal Minister for Housing 6 October 1992 3 April 1996 3 years, 180 days [17]
23 Ann Henderson 3 April 1996 20 October 1999 3 years, 200 days
24 Bronwyn Pike Labor 20 October 1999 5 December 2002 3 years, 46 days [18]
25 Candy Broad 5 December 2002 1 December 2006 3 years, 361 days
26 Richard Wynne 1 December 2006 2 December 2010 4 years, 0 days [18][19]
27 Wendy Lovell Liberal 2 December 2010 4 December 2014 4 years, 2 days [20][21]
28 Martin Foley Labor Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing 4 December 2014 29 November 2018 3 years, 360 days [22]
(26) Richard Wynne Minister for Housing 29 November 2018 27 June 2022 3 years, 210 days
29 Danny Pearson 27 June 2022 5 December 2022 161 days
30 Colin Brooks 5 December 2022 2 October 2023 301 days
31 Harriet Shing 2 October 2023 Incumbent 1 year, 51 days [23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ THE RELUCTANT LANDLORDS? A History Of Public Housing In Australia, David Hayward Archived 2007-09-01 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Australian Science at Work Register, The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre, AustehcWeb, 2000–2007
  3. ^ Wayward governance – illegality and its control in the public sector, P N Grabosky, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra, 1989.
  4. ^ A list of Victorian legislation covered by the Minister of Housing's portfolio
  5. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - Macfarlan Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  6. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - 2nd Cain Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  7. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - 1st Hollway Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  8. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - 1st McDonald Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  9. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - 2nd Hollway Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  10. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - 2nd McDonald Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  11. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - 3rd Cain Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  12. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - Bolte Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  13. ^ a b c Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - Hamer Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  14. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - Thompson Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  15. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - Cain II Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  16. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - Kirner Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  17. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - Kennett Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  18. ^ a b Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - Bracks Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  19. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - Brumby Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  20. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - Baillieu Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  21. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - Napthine Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  22. ^ Carr, Adam. "VICTORIAN MINISTIRES - Andrews Ministry". Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  23. ^ Wallace, Samual (2 October 2023). "Ministers of the Crown (per S 520)" (PDF). Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. p. 3. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
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