Jack Hallam (politician)

The Honourable Jack Hallam
Minister for Agriculture
In office 29 February 1980 – 25 March 1988
Premier	Neville Wran Barrie Unsworth
Preceded by	Don Day
Succeeded by	Ian Armstrong
Minister for Lands
In office 4 July 1986 – 25 March 1988
Premier	Barrie Unsworth
Preceded by	John Aquilina (as Minister for Natural Resources)
Succeeded by	Garry West
Minister for Forests
In office 5 November 1986 – 25 March 1988
Premier	Barrie Unsworth
Preceded by	John Aquilina (as Minister for Natural Resources)
Succeeded by	Garry West
Vice President of Executive Council Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council
In office 5 November 1986 – 25 March 1988
Preceded by	Barrie Unsworth
Succeeded by	Ted Pickering
Minister for Fisheries
In office 2 October 1981 – 4 July 1986
Premier	Neville Wran
Preceded by	New portfolio
Succeeded by	Janice Crosio (as Minister for Water Resources)
Minister for Decentralisation
In office 19 October 1978 – 29 February 1980
Premier	Neville Wran
Preceded by	New portfolio
Succeeded by	Don Day
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
In office 23 April 1973 – 12 September 1991
Succeeded by	Eddie Obeid
Personal details
Born	Jack Rowland Hallam (1942-09-10) 10 September 1942 Griffith, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Labor
Children	2 daughters
Occupation	Farmer

Jack Rowland Hallam (born 10 September 1942), a former Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1973 to 1991 representing Labor. Hallam held several ministerial posts in the state governments led by Neville Wran and Barrie Unsworth, notably Minister for Agriculture.

Early years

Born in Griffith, New South Wales, Hallam worked as an apprentice plumber in 1956, a roustabout and wool classer from 1956 to 1959, a contract harvester and share farmer from 1959 to 1964, and a sheep farmer from 1967 to 1976. At various times he held membership of the Australian Workers' Union and the Federated Clerks' Union.

Political career

In 1973 Hallam was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council to represent the New South Wales Labor Party. Five years later, Neville Wran having by this stage become Premier, Hallam was appointed Minister for Decentralisation, moving to Agriculture in 1980. He remained Agriculture Minister until 1988; he was also minister for Fisheries (1981–86), Lands (1986–88), Forests (1986–88) and Vice-President of the Executive Council (1986–88). He was also Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council (1978–86), and Leader (1986–88).

In 1984, as the NSW Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, Hallam instigated a commemorative award, called the McKell Medal, in honour of the contribution that Sir William McKell had made to the development of a soil and water conservation ethic within Australia.

Hallam continued to lead the Opposition in the Legislative Council until he retired from politics in 1991.

Published writings

• Hallam, Jack (1983). The untold story: Labor in rural NSW. Allen & Unwin. p. 144. ISBN 0-86861-167-0.