1 July | Albanese Announces Cabinet & Ministry
OVERVIEW
Labor has secured majority government, with two of the final three seats in question now placed by political pundits in the red column, while Anthony Albanese has unveiled his new Cabinet and Ministry following the party’s first Caucus meeting since winning the May 21 federal election.
Anthony Albanese was sworn in as Prime Minister on May 23 after it became clear that only the ALP could form government but having a majority in the lower house adds significant legitimacy to Labor’s first term in office since 2013.
Albanese and four other ministers were sworn in shortly after the election with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Penny Wong attending the successful Quad meeting in Tokyo with US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanise Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Wong then headed to Fiji and successfully lobbied Pacific Island nations to walk away from a security and trade deal with China amid simmering tensions in the region.
CABINET & OUTER MINISTRY
Albanese lost two Shadow Cabinet members in the election – Kristina Keneally from Home Affairs and Terri Butler from the Environment portfolio, while Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles chose to move to Defence.
Rather than simply plug the gaps, the Prime Minister made some significant changes, moving Tanya Plibersek from Education to Environment, Jason Clare from Housing and Homelessness to Education, and bringing into Cabinet Queensland Senator Murray Watt who will become Minister for Agriculture and Victorian MP Clare O'Neil as Minister for Home Affairs. The new lineup means there are now a record number of women in the Ministry with 19 women now on the front bench, 10 of those in the Cabinet.
The Cabinet
Anthony Albanese – Prime Minister
Richard Marles — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence
Penny Wong — Senate Leader and Foreign Minister
Don Farrell — Deputy Senate Leader, Minister for Tourism and Travel and Special Minister of State
Jim Chalmers — Treasurer
Katy Gallagher — Minister for Finance, Minister for Public Service and Minister for Women
Tony Burke — Leader of the House, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Arts
Mark Butler — Deputy Leader of the House and Minister of Health and Aged Care
Chris Bowen — Minister for Climate Change and Minister for Energy
Tanya Plibersek — Minister for Environment and Water
Catherine King — Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
Linda Burney — Minister for Indigenous Australians
Amanda Rishworth — Minister for Social Services
Bill Shorten — Minister for the NDIS and Minister for Government Services
Mark Dreyfus — Attorney General and Cabinet Secretary
Brendan O'Connor — Minister for Skills and Training
Jason Clare — Minister for Education
Julie Collins — Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Small Business
Michelle Rowland — Minister for Communications
Madeleine King — Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia
Murray Watt — Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Fisheries and Forestry and Minister for Emergency Management
Ed Husic — Minister for Industry and Science
Clare O'Neil — Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Cyber Security
Outer Ministry
Matt Keogh — Minister for Veterans Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel
Pat Conroy — Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for International Development and the Pacific
Stephen Jones — Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Finacial Services
Andrew Giles — Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs
Anne Aly — Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth
Anika Wells — Minister for Aged Care and Minister for Sport
Kristy McBain — Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories
THE BUREAUCRACY
The first major appointment was former University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, replacing for staffer to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Phil Gaetjens.
Davis has recently been the chief executive of the Paul Ramsay Foundation and also brings with him considerable experience in government, having been the Queensland Department of Premier and Cabinet director-general from 1998-2002.
Gaetjens was never going to stay on as part of the new administration and had been perceived by many to have politicised the role
THE AGENDA
Uluru Statement From The Heart
Adopting the Uluru Statement From The Heart in full was the first item Albanese mentioned in his acceptance speech on election night. Linda Burney will have the task of trying to bring together not just the parliament but the Australian people towards what would be an enormous step forward on the path of reconciliation with First Nations Peoples.
Federal Anti-Corruption Body
Labor and the crossbench have been agitating for a federal integrity commission for several years and despite promising to introduce a federal ICAC last term, the Prime Minister failed to do so. Albanese appears to have a good relationship with the crossbench, for whom this will be at or near the top of their wish list.
Climate Change and Energy Policy
The Greens and Teals will want more but the ALP will be reluctant to buckle, given the trouble the issue caused Prime Minister Julia Gillard who was forced into minority after the 2010 federal election. Labor has also pledged to invest $20 billion to improve transmission into the grid.
Respect and Safety For Women In The Workplace
Labor has committed to implement all 55 recommendations of Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ Respect At Work Report. The failure of the Morrison government to adequately address this issue is widely considered one of the main reasons why women deserted the Coalition at the ballot box.
Childcare
Labor will spend an extra $5.4 billion over the forward estimates on childcare subsidies as part of a plan to improve access and affordability. The government says that 96 per cent of families will be better off and no-one worse off as part of a bid to increase workforce participation and boost productivity.
Aged Care
Healthcare and aged care workers were the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic and Labor has set itself an enormous task to clean up the aged care sector. The ALP’s proposed changes include increased minimum care times, registered nurses on-site at all times, better food and improved checks for how public money is spent.
Grand Bargain Between Employers and Unions
The Albanese government will hold a jobs summit in September to bring together businesses and unions to develop a cooperative agenda to deliver higher wages and productivity growth. Albanese also pledged during the federal election campaign to welcome a wage increase of at least $1 or around 5 per cent on the national minimum wage of $20.33.
Reconstruction Fund
Labor’s $15bn national reconstruction fund will provide loans and guarantees to help businesses invest in a variety of industries aimed at revitalising Australia’s domestic manufacturing sector.
THE OPPOSITION
Former Defence Minister Peter Dutton was elected unopposed as the Leader of the Opposition this week, with former Environment Minister Sussan Ley his deputy.
The Nationals also opted for a new leadership team with former Agriculture Minister David Littleproud replacing Barnaby Joyce, with NSW Senator Perin Davey as deputy.
THE ELECTION COUNT
Significant swings on election day, particularly in Western Australia, meant Labor looked likely to make it to 76 seats in the lower house and therefore govern in majority but the journey has been a slow one with several tight contests across the country.
ABC Election guru Antony Green today called the last three seats – the inner Melbourne seat of Macnamara, Gilmore on the NSW South Coast and Deakin in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs – with Labor finishing with 77 seats, the Coalition 58, the Greens four and a burgeoning crossbench of 12 MPs in the lower house.
The Senate remains a tight race for the final spots but it appears likely that Labor’s 26 seats plus the Greens’ 12 will form a blocking vote in the Senate, with only one more vote required from Jacqui Lambie’s two senators, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation’s two senators or ACT Independent David Pocock to pass legislation.
TWO PARTY PREFERRED
SEATS CHANGED HANDS
NSW
Bennelong: ALP gain → 7.8% swing to ALP
Fowler: IND gain → 16.4% swing from ALP
Mackellar: IND gain → 15.3% swing from LIB
North Sydney: IND gain → 12.5% swing from LIB
Reid: ALP gain → 8.3% swing to ALP
Robertson: ALP gain → 6.3% swing to ALP
Wentworth: IND gain → 5.4% swing to IND
Victoria
Chisholm: ALP gain → 6.9% swing to ALP
Goldstein: IND gain → 10.3% from LIB
Higgins: ALP gain → 4.3% swing to ALP
Kooyong: IND gain → 9.5% swing from LIB
Queensland
Brisbane: GRN gain → 10/9% swing from LNP
Griffith: GRN gain → 7.4% swing from LNP
Ryan: GRN gain → 8.3% swing from LNP
Western Australia
Curtin: IND gain → 15.4% swing from LIB
Hasluck: ALP gain → 10.9% swing to ALP
Pearce: ALP gain → 14/1% swing to ALP
Swan: ALP gain → 11.9% swing to ALP
Tangney: ALP gain → 11.2% swing to ALP
South Australia
Boothby: ALP gain → 4.0% swing to ALP