The Minister for Education and Training is the member of the Government of Western Australia responsible for maintenance and improvement of Western Australia's system of education, and is answerable to the Parliament for all actions taken by the Department of Education under their authority. The holder of the office is usually an elected member of parliament from the ruling party or coalition, presently Tony Buti of the Labor Party.
Until the Daglish Ministry in 1904, when the role was separately established, the responsibility for Education generally lay with the Colonial Secretary.
Ministers for Education
Minister Party Assumed office Left office Term Title Notes George Shenton (Forrest) 29 December 1890 11 October 1892 Colonial Secretary note 1 Stephen Henry Parker (Forrest) 11 October 1892 4 December 1894 Sir John Forrest (Forrest) 4 December 1894 19 December 1894 Edward Wittenoom (Forrest) 19 December 1894 12 May 1897 Henry Lefroy (Forrest) 12 May 1897 28 April 1898 George Randell (Forrest) 28 April 1898 27 May 1901 Frederick Illingworth Opposition 27 May 1901 21 November 1901 note 1 Matthew Moss Ministerialist 21 November 1901 23 December 1901 Frederick Illingworth Opposition 23 December 1901 1 July 1902 Walter Kingsmill Opposition 1 July 1902 10 August 1904 Henry Daglish Labor 10 August 1904 7 June 1905 Thomas Bath Labor 7 June 1905 25 August 1905 Walter Kingsmill Ministerialist 25 August 1905 7 May 1906 Frank Wilson Ministerialist 7 May 1906 30 June 1909 John Nanson Ministerialist 30 June 1909 7 October 1911 Thomas Walker Labor 7 October 1911 27 July 1916 Hal Colebatch Liberal (WA) / Nationalist 27 July 1916 17 June 1923 John Ewing Nationalist 18 June 1923 15 April 1924 John Drew Labor 16 April 1924 24 April 1930 Norbert Keenan Nationalist 24 April 1930 19 September 1931 Thomas Davy Nationalist 19 September 1931 18 February 1933 Hubert Parker Nationalist 24 February 1933 24 April 1933 John Willcock Labor 24 April 1933 26 March 1935 Harry Millington Labor 26 March 1935 13 May 1936 Frank Wise Labor 13 May 1936 18 April 1939 William Kitson Labor 18 April 1939 9 December 1943 John Tonkin Labor 9 December 1943 1 April 1947 Arthur Watts Country 1 April 1947 23 February 1953 John Tonkin Labor 23 February 1953 13 May 1954 Bill Hegney Labor 13 May 1954 2 April 1959 Arthur Watts Country 2 April 1959 1 February 1962 Edgar Lewis Country 1 February 1962 3 March 1971 John Tonkin Labor 3 March 1971 12 October 1971 Tom Evans Labor 12 October 1971 30 May 1973 Jerry Dolan Labor 30 May 1973 8 April 1974 Graham MacKinnon Liberal 8 April 1974 10 March 1977 Peter Jones National (NCP) 10 March 1977 5 March 1980 Bill Grayden Liberal 5 March 1980 25 January 1982 Andrew Mensaros Liberal 25 January 1982 25 February 1983 Bob Pearce Labor 25 February 1983 25 February 1988 Carmen Lawrence Labor 25 February 1988 12 February 1990 Geoff Gallop Labor 12 February 1990 5 February 1991 Kay Hallahan Labor 5 February 1991 16 February 1993 Norman Moore Liberal 16 February 1993 21 December 1995 Colin Barnett Liberal 21 December 1995 16 February 2001 Alan Carpenter Labor 16 February 2001 10 March 2005 Minister for Education and Training note 2 Ljiljanna Ravlich Labor 10 March 2005 13 December 2006 Mark McGowan Labor 13 December 2006 23 September 2008 Liz Constable Independent 23 September 2008 29 June 2012 Peter Collier Liberal 29 June 2012 17 March 2017 Sue Ellery Labor 17 March 2017 14 December 2022 Minister for Education and Training Tony Buti Labor 14 December 2022 19 March 2025 Minister for Education Sabine WintonLabor19 March 2025presentMinister for Education; Early Childhood; Preventative Health; Wheatbelt.
Notes Politicians were not officially associated with organised parties until 1904. The position was known as Minister for Education and Training from 14 January 2003 to 23 September 2008, when it reverted to its previous name. See
References
Sources
(no ISBN) Hansard indexes and Western Australian Government Gazettes, 1890–2010