Treasurer In the Upper House

Last week, Premier Chris Minns was sworn in as the 47^th Premier of NSW at Government House, Sydney. To hit the ground running and provide immediate direction, an Interim Ministry of six additional senior Ministers were sworn in alongside the Premier.

Amongst them, The Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC made history, becoming the first Australian Minister, state or federally, to pledge an oath of allegiance on the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita, a holy scripture for Hinduism, is considered significant in Hindu culture.

Given the salience of Finance, Industry, Small Business, Jobs and Investment throughout the election, the new Treasurer’s portfolio will be extremely important for the NSW Labor Government as they seek to establish confidence and assess early performance.

As such, the team at Nexus APAC has compiled some insights into NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, including how his appointment as Treasurer is ground-breaking in more ways than one.

Who is Daniel Mookhey?

The Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC was born in Blacktown in Western Sydney to Indian migrants from Punjab, a state that borders Pakistan in India’s northwest. His parents were founding members of the first Hindu temple in Australia, SriMandir Temple in Auburn, Sydney.

Before entering Parliament, Mr Mookhey held senior roles in the Australian Council of Trade Unions. Formerly, he was a Lawyer for the Transport Workers Union.

Mr Mookhey has been a member of the NSW Legislative Council since 2015. During his tenure, he has served as Shadow Cabinet Secretary, Shadow Minster for Finance and Small Business and Shadow Minister for the Gig Economy.

On 11 June 2021, following Chris Minns’ election as NSW Labor Leader, Mookhey was appointed as the Shadow Treasurer, while retaining the portfolio as the Shadow Minister for the Gig Economy.

Last week, 8 years after the onset of his parliamentary career, Treasurer Mookhey became the first person of Indian origin to become Treasurer in any Australian Parliament. He is also the new Minister for the Gig Economy.

A Treasurer in the Upper House: How it Works

A break in convention with Mr Mookhey’s appointment as Treasurer is that he is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, or the Upper House.

Typically, Treasurers are members of the Lower House of Parliament which is the Legislative Assembly in NSW. This is because Appropriation Bills [Budget Bills] can only originate in the Lower House.

However, from 1995 to 2011, NSW Parliament had three Treasurers who were members of the Upper House: The Hon Michael Egan AO, the Hon Michael Costa and The Hon Eric Roozendaal. Mr Egan, the first Treasurer in any Westminster Parliament to come from an Upper House, spoke in the Lower House every year to deliver his Budget Speech. This set the precedent that Treasurer Mookhey will follow.

This convention has subsequently also not been observed in other legislatures, with both Victoria and Tasmania in recent times having a Treasurer appointed from the Upper House in John Lenders and Michael Aird respectively.

All 6 of these Treasurers hail from the Australian Labor party.

Daniel Mookhey as NSW Treasurer

Treasurer Mookhey’s borrowing policy will starkly contrast with that of former Premier Dominic Perrottet and former NSW Treasurer Matt Kean. According to Mr Mookhey, the new Labor government will not stray past the $187 billion gross debt figure NSW is predicted to reach by 2026. He is also firmly anti-privatisation.

Instead, Treasurer Mookhey and Premier Minns have indicated plans for more investment in schools, roads, and healthcare. Those are the key services that Treasurer Mookhey says helped him gain an education in Merrylands in Sydney’s West, attend university, and ultimately put him within reach of the NSW Treasurer’s office.

Moreover, Treasurer Mookhey will look to follow through on election promises.

“The budget is $1.4 billion better under Labor and debt will be $4 billion lower under Labor than compared to under Mr Perrottet and Mr Kean,” Treasurer Mookhey said during a campaign press conference on March 20th.

“We have unveiled $3 billion worth of savings on the operating side of the budget, paired to Mr Kean’s $1 billion.”

In Case you Missed it:

Alongside Treasurer Mookhey, the Hon Courtney Houssos MLC will hold the Finance portfolio as Minister for Finance. The full NSW Ministry list can be found here on our Nexus website.

Song of the Week:

Noting Phillip Low’s and the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to hold interest rates after 10 consecutive rises, the Nexus Team has chosen ‘Hold Me‘ by Fleetwood Mac as the song of the week.

“I don’t want no damage
But how am I gonna manage with you
You hold the percentage
But I’m the fool payin’ the dues”