Updated
Prime Minister Julia Gillard's new look frontbench, which she hopes will help the Government move on from last week's "appalling" leadership dispute, has been sworn in.
Ms Gillard announced details of the reshuffle this morning ahead of the ceremony at Government House in Canberra.
Most notably, she promoted key Kevin Rudd supporter Anthony Albanese, who will now take on the role of Minister for Regional Development and Local Government, a change she said would complement his existing job as Minister for Infrastructure and Transport.
The Prime Minister made clear that Mr Albanese had not offered to resign nor did she request he bow out, despite his support of her rival.
"I've always felt a sense of comfort with Minister Albanese and his position," she said.
"He's been very central to the life of this government and I believe he will serve very well and with a very strong sense of loyalty into the future."
| Key moves | |
|---|---|
 | Anthony Albanese promoted despite being a strong supporter of Kevin Rudd. |
 | Gary Gray joins Cabinet as Minister for Resources and Energy, Minister for Tourism and Minister for Small Business. |
 | Greg Combet becomes Minister for Climate Change, Industry and Innovation. |
- Full list : Who is going where in Prime Minister Julia Gillard's frontbench reshuffle.
Other reported Rudd-backers, Mental Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler and Foreign Minister Bob Carr, have retained their positions.
Senator Carr has denied any involvement in the leadership ructions.
Mr Albanese will fill the ministerial gap left by party elder Simon Crean, who was sacked following his role in the botched leadership challenge last Thursday.
The farce also claimed Rudd backers Chris Bowen, Martin Ferguson and Kim Carr, who all resigned from the ministry. The parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, Richard Marles, also resigned.
Announcing the reshuffle today, Ms Gillard declared the leadership contest "done and dusted" and said she was announcing a new team "to get on with the job of governing in the interests for all".
But she gave her assessment of last week's events as "an unseemly display".
"While purpose has driven us on, unity has eluded us and that unity spectacularly eluded us last week," she said.
"Like Australians around the nation I was appalled by events of last week.
"My political party, the Labor Party that I love dearly, was self-indulgent; our eyes were on ourselves rather than... being focused on the nation.
"It was an unseemly display, but out of that has come clarity.
"It is now very clear indeed that I have the confidence of my colleagues to lead the Labor Party and to remain as Prime Minister.
"In the months ahead I am determined that we will show to the Australian people self-belief not self-indulgence, to show them that we have always got our eyes on them."
Other winners
In other changes, Western Australian MP Gary Gray has been promoted to Cabinet as Minister for Resources and Energy, Tourism and Small Business.
Mr Gray is a former executive for major oil and gas company Woodside Petroleum and brings what Ms Gillard describes as "appropriate expertise to the portfolio".
Trade Minister Craig Emerson's job has grown substantially, with the addition of Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research to his portfolio.
Other winners include Mark Dreyfus, Jason Clare, Catherine King, Jan McLucas and Tony Burke, who will add Arts to his Environment portfolio.
There, of course, should be no tolerance for any conduct which diverts eyes from our proper purpose, which is concentrating on the needs of the Australian people.
Julia Gillard
The changes bring in five new entrants to the frontbench: NSW senator Matt Thistlethwaite, Victorian MP Michael Danby, South Australian MP Amanda Rishworth, ACT MP Andrew Leigh and Queenslander Shayne Neumann.
Ms Gillard announced the new-look ministry with a warning that any future leadership stirrings would not be tolerated.
"There, of course, should be no tolerance for any conduct which diverts eyes from our proper purpose, which is concentrating on the needs of the Australian people," she said.
"Being in cabinet comes with a set of rights and it comes with a set of responsibilities, my cabinet colleagues, as selected by me today, will be fulfilling both."
The Prime Minister also announced the closure of the Department of Climate Change; it will merge with the Industry Department.
Greg Combet's title will change in line with the move, becoming the Minister for Climate Change, Industry and Innovation.
'L-plate cabinet'
The reshuffle means 58 of the current Labor caucus of 102, have held a frontbench position since Mr Rudd won government in 2007.
There are 10 former cabinet ministers on the backbench and it was the fifth reshuffle since Ms Gillard won the 2010 election.
Earlier today, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott described the new cabinet as wearing an "L-plate".
"You've obviously got a shadow cabinet inside the Government sitting on the backbench, and this is a real problem when you've got your most respected, your most senior talent sitting on the backbench, not the frontbench," he said.
Greens leader Christine Milne was critical of the decision to change the climate change portfolio.
"The Gillard Government is in retreat on addressing global warming and is one step closer to Tony Abbott's policy of abolishing the department all together," she said.
But the Prime Minister said she made the change because the intense policy work was over.
"We are well into implementation now," she said.
"Carbon pricing is working well, so it is inevitable, natural, logical that the number of people you need for the task has been reduced."
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, alp, gillard-julia, australia
First posted
No comments:
Post a Comment