Reid ministry facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Reid ministry
4th Ministry of Australia
Group photo of the Reid ministry with Governor-General Lord Northcote.
Date formed	17 August 1904
Date dissolved	5 July 1905
People and organisations
Monarch	Edward VII
Governor-General	Lord Northcote
Prime Minister	George Reid
No. of ministers	8
Member party	Free Trade
Status in legislature	Minority government (Protectionist support)
Opposition party	Labour
Opposition leader	Chris Watson
History
Legislature term(s)	2nd
Predecessor	Watson ministry
Successor	Second Deakin ministry

The Reid ministry was like a special team of leaders for the Australian Government. It was led by George Reid, who was Australia's 4th Prime Minister. This team belonged to the Free Trade Party.

The Reid ministry started on 17 August 1904. It took over after the previous team, the Watson ministry, had to step down. This happened because another group, the Protectionist Party, stopped supporting them.

Because George Reid's party didn't have enough members to govern alone, they needed help. They got support from the Protectionist Party. This meant that half of the government's top jobs went to members of the Protectionist Party. Because of this, the government was sometimes called the Reid-McLean Ministry.

The Reid ministry lasted for almost a year. It ended on 5 July 1905. The Protectionist Party again decided to stop their support. After this, a new government, the Second Deakin ministry, took over. This new government was supported by the Labour Party.

One of the last surviving members of this ministry was James Drake, who passed away in 1941. He was also a minister in earlier governments. Sir Josiah Symon was the last surviving minister from the Free Trade Party in this group.

Meet the Ministry Members

This section introduces the key people who were part of George Reid's government team. Each person had an important job, called a 'portfolio', which meant they were in charge of a specific area for the country.

Party		Minister	Portrait	Main Job (Portfolio)
	Free Trade	George Reid		Prime Minister (the leader of the country) Leader of the Free Trade Party (leader of his political party) Minister for External Affairs (in charge of Australia's relationships with other countries)
	Protectionist	Allan McLean		Minister for Trade and Customs (in charge of buying and selling goods with other countries, and taxes on those goods)
	Free Trade	Sir Josiah Symon		Attorney-General (the government's chief legal advisor) Leader of the Government in the Senate (the main government representative in the Senate, one of Australia's two law-making houses)
	Protectionist	Sir George Turner		Treasurer (in charge of the country's money and budget)
	Free Trade	Dugald Thomson		Deputy Leader of the Free Trade Party (second-in-command of his political party) Minister for Home Affairs (in charge of things like elections, public works, and immigration)
	Protectionist	James McCay		Minister for Defence (in charge of the country's military and protection)
	Free Trade	Sydney Smith		Postmaster-General (in charge of postal services and communications)
	Protectionist	James Drake		Vice-President of the Executive Council (a senior role helping the government make decisions)