The Burke shadow ministry was a Shadow Cabinet

Shadow Cabinet

The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...

 led by the Opposition Leader

Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia)

The Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia is the leader of the largest minority political party or coalition of parties in the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia. By convention, he or she is generally a member of the Legislative Assembly...

 and leader of the Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

, Brian Burke

Brian Burke

Brian Thomas Burke was Labor premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1983 until his resignation on 25 February 1988...

, in the Parliament of Western Australia

Parliament of Western Australia

The Parliament of Western Australia consists of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly . The Parliament sits at Parliament House in Harvest Terrace, Perth....

. While serving no formal status—only the Leader and Deputy Leader received remuneration for their role over and above that of a Member of Parliament—it was intended to improve the effectiveness of the Opposition by providing an alternative Ministry to voters, consisting of shadow ministers who could ask role-specific questions in parliament, provide comment to the media and offer alternative policies to the government in their areas of responsibility.

The Burke shadow ministry existed from September 1981, after Burke's party-room defeat of former leader Ron Davies

Ron Davies (Western Australian politician)

Ronald "Ron" Davies was an Australian politician, who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the electoral district of Victoria Park from 1961 to 1986....

, until the 1983 state election

Western Australian state election, 1983

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 19 February 1983 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and 18 members to the 34-seat Legislative Council....

 at which Labor entered government and formed the Burke Ministry

Burke Ministry (Western Australia)

The Burke Ministry was the 29th Ministry of the Government of Western Australia, led by Labor Premier Brian Burke and deputy Mal Bryce. It commenced on 25 February 1983, six days after the O'Connor ministry, led by Premier Ray O'Connor of the Liberal Party, was defeated at the 1983 election...

.

The governing Ministries

Western Australian ministries

The ministries of Western Australia are the centre of executive power in the Government of Western Australia. They are composed of Ministers who are responsible for one or more portfolios, answer questions on those portfolios in Parliament, and control the operation and administration of...

 at the time were the Court Ministry

Court Ministry

The Court Ministry was the 27th Ministry of the Government of Western Australia, led by Liberal Premier Sir Charles Court and deputy Des O'Neil . It commenced on 5 June 1975, following the Court-McPharlin Ministry, 15 months after the Coalition's electoral defeat of the Tonkin Labor government...

 and the O'Connor Ministry

O'Connor Ministry

The O'Connor Ministry was the 28th Ministry of the Government of Western Australia, and was led by Liberal Premier Ray O'Connor and his deputy Cyril Rushton. It succeeded the Court Ministry on 25 January 1982, upon the retirement of Sir Charles Court from politics...

.

The Shadow Ministry

The following members of Parliament were members of the shadow ministry:

Office	Shadow Minister
Leader of the Opposition Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia) The Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia is the leader of the largest minority political party or coalition of parties in the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia. By convention, he or she is generally a member of the Legislative Assembly... Shadow Treasurer Treasurer of Western Australia The Treasurer of the State of Western Australia is the title held by the Cabinet Minister who is responsible for the management of Western Australia's public sector finances, and for preparing and delivering the annual State Budget... Shadow Minister for Immigration Shadow Minister for Ethnic Affairs Shadow Minister for Economic Affairs Shadow Minister for Federal Affairs Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs	Brian Burke Brian Burke Brian Thomas Burke was Labor premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1983 until his resignation on 25 February 1988... , MLA
Deputy Leader Shadow Minister for Industrial and Resource Development Shadow Minister for Technology	Mal Bryce Mal Bryce Malcolm John "Mal" Bryce AO was the Labor member for Ascot in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1971 to 1988. He was Deputy Premier to Brian Burke from 1983 to 1988.-References:... , BA, MLA
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations and Employment	Des Dans, MLC
Shadow Attorney-General Attorney-General of Western Australia The Attorney-General of Western Australia is the member of the Government of Western Australia responsible for maintenance and improvement of Western Australia's system of law and justice. Before the advent of representative government in 1870, the title was Advocate-General of Western Australia...	Joe Berinson Joe Berinson Joseph Max "Joe" Berinson is a former Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1969 election until his defeat by Ross McLean at the 1975 election, representing the division of Perth, Western Australia... , LL.B. Bachelor of Laws The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree... , MLC
Shadow Minister for Local Government Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Decentralisation Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs	Arthur Tonkin Arthur Tonkin Arthur Edward Joseph Tonkin was an Australian national representative rugby union player who featured in the 1947-48 Wallaby tour of the British Isles.-Early life:... , BA, DipEd, MLA
Shadow Minister for Police Shadow Minister for Traffic Safety	Jeff Carr, BA, MLA
Shadow Minister for Urban Development and Planning Shadow Minister for Cultural Affairs	Ron Davies Ron Davies (Western Australian politician) Ronald "Ron" Davies was an Australian politician, who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the electoral district of Victoria Park from 1961 to 1986.... , MLA
Shadow Minister for Agriculture Shadow Minister for Lands Shadow Minister for Forests	David Evans, BA, MLA
Shadow Minister for Education Minister for Education (Western Australia) The Minister for Education of Western Australia is the member of the Government of Western Australia responsible for maintenance and improvement of Western Australia's system of education, and is answerable to the Parliament for all actions taken by the Department of Education and Training under... Shadow Minister for Women's Interests	Bob Pearce Bob Pearce Robert John Pearce was an Australian politician, and a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1977 until 1993 representing the seats of Gosnells and Armadale.-Biography:... , BA, DipEd, MLA
Shadow Minister for Health	Barry Hodge, MLA
Shadow Minister for Conservation and the Environment Shadow Minister for Fisheries and Wildlife	Mike Barnett, MLA
Shadow Minister for Transport Shadow Minister for Tourism	Ken McIver, MLA
Shadow Chief Secretary Shadow Minister for Public Works Shadow Minister for Water Resources Shadow Minister for Parliamentary and Electoral Reform	David Parker David Parker (Australian politician) David Charles Parker was an Australian politician from Western Australia, serving as a minister in the Burke Ministry , then as Deputy Premier in the Dowding Ministry... , BA, MLA
Shadow Minister for Mines Shadow Minister for Fuel and Energy	Julian Grill Julian Grill Julian Fletcher Grill is a former member of the Australian Labor Party and Member of the Parliament of Western Australia as the Member for Eyre.... , LL.B., MLA
Shadow Minister for Housing Shadow Minister for Community Welfare Shadow Minister for Recreation	Rev Keith Wilson, MLA