The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy is currently Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy. He replaced Senator the Hon Helen Coonan (Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) on 3 December 2007.

Contents 1 Portfolio 2 Agency and bodies 3 Australian Postmasters-General and Ministers for Communications 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Portfolio

The previous Minister had overall responsibility for all of the matters falling within the Communications, Information Technology and the Arts portfolio:

• Broadcasting
• Information and Communications Technology Industry
• Information economy
• Telecommunications
• Arts and Sport

[edit] Agency and bodies

Portfolio agencies and bodies include:

• Australia Business Arts Foundation Limited
• Australia Council for the Arts
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• Australian Communications and Media Authority
• Australian Film Commission
• Australian Film, Television and Radio School
• Australian Government Information Management Office
• Australian National Maritime Museum
• Australian Postal Corporation
• Australian Sports Commission
• Australian Sports Drug Agency
• Bundanon Trust
• Film Australia Limited
• Film Finance Corporation Australia Limited
• National Archives of Australia
• National Gallery of Australia
• National Library of Australia
• National Museum of Australia
• National Portrait Gallery
• NetAlert Limited
• Old Parliament House
• Special Broadcasting Service
• Telstra Corporation Limited

[edit] Australian Postmasters-General and Ministers for Communications

The minister responsible for telecommunications policy has had had various titles but from 1901 until December 1975 it was always Postmaster-General, in charge of the Postmaster-General's Department.

Minister	Party affiliation	Period	Ministerial Title
John Forrest	Protectionist Party	1901	Postmaster-General
James Drake	Protectionist Party	1901–1903
Philip Fysh	Protectionist Party	1903–1904
Hugh Mahon	Australian Labor Party	1904
Sydney Smith	Free Trade Party	1904–1905
Austin Chapman	Protectionist Party	1905–1907
Samuel Mauger	Protectionist Party	1907–1908
Josiah Thomas	Australian Labor Party	1908–1909
John Quick	Commonwealth Liberal Party	1909–1910
Josiah Thomas	Australian Labor Party	1910–1911
Charles Frazer	Australian Labor Party	1911–1913
Agar Wynne	Commonwealth Liberal Party	1913–1914
William Spence	Australian Labor Party	1914–1915
William Webster	Australian Labor Party/ Nationalist Party of Australia	1915–1920
George Wise	Nationalist Party of Australia	1920–1921
Alexander Poynton	Nationalist Party of Australia	1921–1923
William Gibson	Nationalist Party of Australia	1923–1929
Joseph Lyons	Australian Labor Party	1929–1931
Albert Green	Australian Labor Party	1931–1932
James Fenton	United Australia Party	1932
Archdale Parkhill	United Australia Party	1932–1934
Alexander McLachlan	United Australia Party	1934–1938
Archie Cameron	Country Party	1938–1939
Eric Harrison	United Australia Party	1939–1940
Harold Thorby	United Australia Party	1939–1940
George McLeay	United Australia Party	1940–1941
Thomas Collins	United Australia Party	1941
William Ashley	Australian Labor Party	1941–1945
Donald Cameron	Australian Labor Party	1945–1949
Hubert Lawrence Anthony	Country Party	1949–1956
Charles Davidson	Country Party	1956–1963
Alan Hulme	Liberal Party	1963–1972
Lionel Bowen	Australian Labor Party	1972–1974
Reg Bishop	Australian Labor Party	1974–1975
Peter Nixon	National Country Party	1975–1975
Victor Garland	Liberal Party	1975–1976	Minister for Post and Telecommunications
Eric Robinson	Liberal Party	1976–1977
Tony Staley	Liberal Party	1977–1980
Ian Sinclair	National Country Party	1980–1982	Minister for Communications
Neil Brown	Liberal Party	1982–1983
Michael Duffy	Australian Labor Party	1983–1987
Gareth Evans	Australian Labor Party	1987–1988	Minister for Transport and Communications
Ralph Willis	Australian Labor Party	1988–1990
Kim Beazley	Australian Labor Party	1990–1991
John Kerin	Australian Labor Party	1991
Graham Richardson	Australian Labor Party	1991–1992
Bob Collins*	Australian Labor Party	1992–1993
David Beddall*	Australian Labor Party	1993	Minister for Communications
Michael Lee	Australian Labor Party	1993–1994
Michael Lee	Australian Labor Party	1994–1996	Minister for Communications and the Arts
Richard Alston	Liberal Party	1996–1998
Richard Alston	Liberal Party	1998–2003	Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
Daryl Williams	Liberal Party	2003–2004
Helen Coonan	Liberal Party	2004–2007
Stephen Conroy	Australian Labor Party	2007–	Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

• David Beddall was a junior minister who had served concurrently as Minister For Communications with his Cabinet colleague, Transport and Communications Minister Bob Collins from 24 March to 24 December 1993.

[edit] See also

• Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (Australia)

[edit] External links

• Ministers website