 He was appointed Government Whip in 1991 and served in that role until 1992.On 3 July 1992, Hartcher was appointed to the NSW Cabinet as Minister for the Environment and left the Cabinet with the defeat of the Fahey Government in March 1995.After the 1995 election, Hartcher was appointed to a number of shadow ministerial portfolios, spending a combined seven years as Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations and four years as Shadow Attorney General in the Shadow Ministry of Barry O'Farrell.