Editing New South Wales (section)

=== Post-war period ===
The Labor government introduced two weeks of annual paid leave for most NSW workers in 1944, and the 40-hour working week was implemented by 1947. The post-war economic boom brought near-full employment and rising living standards, and the government engaged in large spending programs on housing, dams, electricity generation and other infrastructure. In 1954 the government announced a plan for the construction of an opera house on [[Bennelong Point]]. The design competition was won by [[Jørn Utzon]]. Controversy over the cost of the [[Sydney Opera House]] and construction delays became a political issue and was a factor in the eventual defeat of Labor in 1965 by the conservative [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]] and [[National Party of Australia|Country Party]] coalition led by [[Robert Askin]].<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 156, 162, 168–75, 184–86</ref>

The Askin government promoted private development, law and order issues and greater state support for non-government schools. However, Askin, a former bookmaker, became increasingly associated with illegal bookmaking, gambling and police corruption.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 188, 193, 196–98</ref>

In the late 1960s, a [[New England New State Movement|secessionist movement]] in the [[New England (Australia)|New England]] region of the state led to a 1967 referendum on the issue which was narrowly defeated. The new state would have consisted of much of northern NSW including [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rhodes|first=Campbell|date=27 October 2017|title=Breaking up is hard to do: secession in Australia|url=https://www.moadoph.gov.au/blog/breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-secession-in-australia/|access-date=8 June 2021|website=Museum of Australian Democracy|archive-date=8 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608035427/https://www.moadoph.gov.au/blog/breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-secession-in-australia/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Sydney_Opera_House_-_Dec_2008.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Sydney Opera House]] was completed in 1973 and has become a World Heritage Site.]]
Askin's resignation in 1975 was followed by a number of short-lived premierships by Liberal Party leaders. When a general election came in 1976, the ALP under [[Neville Wran]] came to power.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Parliament of New South Wales, Legislative Assembly election: Election of 1 May 1976|url=https://elections.uwa.edu.au/elecdetail.lasso?keyvalue=758|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804190053/https://elections.uwa.edu.au/elecdetail.lasso?keyvalue=758|archive-date=4 August 2020|access-date=15 May 2020|website=Australian Politics and Elections Archive 1856–2018|publisher=University of Western Australia}}</ref> Wran was able to transform this narrow one seat victory into landslide wins (known as Wranslides) in 1978 and 1981.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Wran era|date=2006|publisher=Federation Press|last=Bramston|first=Troy|isbn=1-86287-600-2|location=Leichhardt, N.S.W.|pages=31|oclc=225332582}}</ref>

After winning a comfortable though reduced majority in 1984, Wran resigned as premier and left parliament. His replacement [[Barrie Unsworth]] struggled to emerge from Wran's shadow and lost a 1988 election against a resurgent Liberal Party led by [[Nick Greiner]]. The Greiner government embarked on an efficiency program involving public sector cost-cutting, the corporatisation of government agencies and the privatisation of some government services. An [[Independent Commission Against Corruption (New South Wales)|Independent Commission Against Corruption]] (ICAC) was created.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 231–34</ref> Greiner called a snap election in 1991 which the Liberals were expected to win. However, the ALP polled extremely well and the Liberals lost their majority and needed the support of independents to retain power.

In 1992, Greiner was investigated by ICAC for possible corruption over the offer of a public service position to a former Liberal MP. Greiner resigned but was later cleared of corruption. His replacement as Liberal leader and Premier was [[John Fahey (politician)|John Fahey]], whose government narrowly lost the 1995 election to the ALP under [[Bob Carr]], who was to become the longest serving premier of the state.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 234–238</ref>

The Carr government (1995–2005) largely continued its predecessors' focus on the efficient delivery of government services such as health, education, transport and electricity. There was an increasing emphasis on public-private partnerships to deliver infrastructure such as freeways, tunnels and rail links. The Carr government gained popularity for its successful organisation of international events, especially the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but Carr himself was critical of the federal government over its high immigration intake, arguing that a disproportionate number of new migrants were settling in Sydney, putting undue pressure on state infrastructure.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 238, 241–46</ref>

Carr unexpectedly resigned from office in 2005 and was replaced by [[Morris Iemma]], who remained premier after being re-elected in the [[2007 New South Wales state election|March 2007 state election]], until he was replaced by [[Nathan Rees]] in September 2008.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Benson|first1=Simon|last2=Hildebrand|first2=Joe|date=5 September 2008|title=Nathan Rees new NSW premier after Morris Iemma quits|work=[[The Courier-Mail|Courier Mail]]|url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24298162-952,00.html|url-status=live|access-date=13 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914081625/http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24298162-952,00.html|archive-date=14 September 2008}}</ref> Rees was subsequently replaced by [[Kristina Keneally]] in December 2009, who became the first female premier of New South Wales.<ref name="Herald Sun">{{cite news|date=4 December 2009|title=Keneally sworn in as state's first female premier|work=Herald Sun|location=Australia|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/keneally-sworn-in-as-states-first-female-premier/story-e6frf7jx-1225806991122|url-status=live|access-date=4 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725114509/https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/keneally-sworn-in-as-states-first-female-premier/story-e6frf7jx-1225806991122?nk=f1a92a0100e75e86eb81a6a8fa0ca23b-1595677509|archive-date=25 July 2020}}</ref> Keneally's government was defeated at the [[2011 New South Wales state election|2011 state election]] and [[Barry O'Farrell]] became Premier on 28 March. On 17 April 2014 O'Farrell stood down as Premier after misleading an ICAC investigation concerning a gift of a bottle of wine.<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 April 2014|title=NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell to resign over 'massive memory fail' at ICAC|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-16/nsw-premier-barry-ofarrell-to-resign-over-icac-grange-wine/5393478|website=ABC news|access-date=8 June 2021|archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814093848/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-16/nsw-premier-barry-ofarrell-to-resign-over-icac-grange-wine/5393478|url-status=live}}</ref> The Liberal Party then elected Treasurer [[Mike Baird]] as party leader and Premier. Baird resigned as Premier on 23 January 2017, and was replaced by [[Gladys Berejiklian]].<ref>Croucher, John S. (2020).p. 130</ref>

On 23 March 2019, Berejiklian led the Coalition to a third term in office. She maintained high personal approval ratings for her management of a bushfire crisis and the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales|COVID-19 pandemic]]. However, Berejiklian resigned as premier on 5 October 2021, following the opening of an ICAC investigation into her actions between 2012 and 2018. She was replaced by [[Dominic Perrottet]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Gerathy|first1=Sarah|last2=Kennedy|first2=Jean|date=2 October 2021|title=Gladys Berejiklian seemed invincible as Premier — now Superwoman is on ICAC's political scrap heap|work=ABC News|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-01/nsw-premier-gladys-berejiklian-political-career-ends-/100507130|access-date=6 October 2021|archive-date=6 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006022559/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-01/nsw-premier-gladys-berejiklian-political-career-ends-/100507130|url-status=live}}</ref>