Minister for Corrective Services (Western Australia)

The Minister for Corrective Services is a position in the Cabinet of Western Australia, first created in 1983 during the Burke Ministry. The minister was known as the Minister for Prisons until 1987, but since then has been known under its current title.

The current Minister for Corrective Services is Joe Francis of the Liberal Party, who holds the position as a member of the Barnett Ministry. The minister, who has often held other portfolios in addition to protective services, is responsible for the state government's Department of Corrective Services (DCS), which runs the state's corrections system.

List of Ministers for Corrective Services

Six people have been appointed as Minister for Corrective Services or Minister for Prisons, with the inaugural minister, Joe Berinson, having served for 9 years and 303 days, the longest in the position. Between 1993 and 2006, during the Court–Cowan and Gallop ministries (and during the first months of the Carpenter Ministry), responsibility for the portfolio was transferred to the Minister for Justice, with no separate corrective services minister. Prior to the portfolio's creation in 1983, responsibility for prisons had rested with either the Minister for Justice or the Attorney-General.^[1]

In the table below, members of the Legislative Council are designated "MLC". All others were members of the Legislative Assembly at the time of their service. In Western Australia, serving ministers are entitled to be styled "The Honourable", and may retain the style after three years' service in the ministry.^[2]

Order	Minister	Party		Premier	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Joe Berinson		Labor	Burke	Minister for Prisons	19 April 1983	16 March 1987	9 years, 303 days
					Minister for Corrective Services	16 March 1987	25 February 1988
				Dowding		25 February 1988	19 February 1990
				Lawrence		19 February 1990	16 February 1993
1993–2006: no minister – responsibility for portfolio held by Minister for Justice.
2	Margaret Quirk		Labor	Carpenter	Minister for Corrective Services	26 May 2006	23 August 2008	2 years, 89 days
3	Christian Porter		Liberal	Barnett		23 August 2008	14 December 2010	2 years, 113 days
4	Terry Redman		National			14 December 2010	29 June 2012	1 year, 198 days
5	Murray Cowper		Liberal			29 June 2012	21 March 2013	265 days
6	Joe Francis		Liberal			21 March 2013	7 December 2016	3 years, 261 days

References

1. Child, Family & Community Services Ministry of Western Australia – Parliamentary Library of Western Australia. Last updated 3 April 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
2. Addressing a Member of Parliament – Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 10 March 2015.