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Anthony Albanese cabinet: Prime Minister reveals new-look Ministry after Labor’s election victory

Peter Law and Kimberley CainesThe West Australian
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has unveiled his first cabinet.
Camera IconPrime Minister Anthony Albanese has unveiled his first cabinet. Credit: AAP

A trio of Labor MPs from WA - Madeleine King, Matt Keogh and Anne Aly - have been named in Anthony Albanese’s new-look frontbench.

At a press conference in Canberra on Tuesday, the Prime Minister confirmed Ms King would be the only West Australian in his Cabinet as the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia.

Ms King, the MP for Brand, held the Trade portfolio in opposition, but that role was assigned to SA Senator Don Farrell in the shake-up.

In the Outer Ministry, Mr Keogh (Burt) was appointed Minister for Veterans Affairs and Defence Personnel, while Dr Aly (Cowan) is the Minister for Early Childhood Education and Youth.

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Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles is Defence Minister, Penny Wong is Foreign Affairs Minister, Jim Chalmers in Treasurer, Katy Gallagher is Minister for Finance and Tony Burke is Employment and Workplace Relations Minister, Mark Butler is Health Minister and Julie Collins is Housing Minister.

Elsewhere in the Ministry, there were jobs for Chris Bowen (Climate Change and Energy), Mark Dreyfus (Attorney General), Brendan O’Connor (Skills and Training), Bill Shorten (NDIS), Amanda Rishworth (Social Services), Murray Watt (Agriculture) and Ed Husic (Industry).

Arguably the biggest winner from Mr Albanese’s frontbench shake-up was Jason Clare, who becomes Education Minister after his starring performance as Labor’s campaign spokesman.

Education was held in opposition by Tanya Plibersek, who despite being one of the party’s best-known politicians was given a reduced role in government as Environment and Water Minister.

Clare O’Neil was appointed Home Affairs Minister after Kristina Keneally, who held the portfolio in opposition, was defeated in the once-safe Sydney seat of Fowler.

Perth MP Patrick Gorman missed out on a promotion into the Ministry, but was made Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister.

Mr Gorman was the only West Australian appointed an Assistant Minister, with Fremantle’s Josh Wilson and WA Senator Louise Pratt both dropped after previously holding shadow posts.

WA Senator Patrick Dodson was named a special envoy for reconciliation and the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a role he will perform alongside Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney.

Ten of the 23 Cabinet Ministers were women, the largest number to serve in an Australian Cabinet, with the Ministry set to be sworn-in at a ceremony in Canberra on Wednesday.

In her first interview since her promotion, Dr Aly told The West Australian that her Ministry position was a testament to the increased number of Labor MPs from WA.

“The substantial number of WA MPs did warrant more representation in the leadership from WA,” Dr Aly said. “The Prime Minister heeded those signs and did the right thing.”

The 55-year-old, an expert in counter-terrorism at Curtin and Edith Cowan universities before switching to Federal politics in 2016, said her elevation proved “if you dream big, there is a place for you”.

Mr Albanese said it was the most experienced incoming Labor Government since federation and claimed his frontbench was “overflowing with talent”.

The PM urged Labor MPs who were overlooked for promotion by the Left and Right factions that pick the Ministry to “hang-in there and be resilient”.

WA Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash said Mr Albanese had “shown his contempt for WA” by only appointing a single West Australian to Cabinet.

“This is fewer cabinet ministers than even the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Government who used WA as a cash cow and consistently robbed us of our fair share of GST,” she said.

“The previous Coalition government consistently had several ministers from WA, which enabled our state to finally get its fair share of GST. With only one minister around the cabinet table, this is at serious risk under Mr Albanese.”

Ten days after Australians voted, Labor on Tuesday secured a clear working majority after the party won two more seats — Macnamara and Gilmore — to bring its numbers in Parliament to 77 MPs.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Albanese revealed he would visit Perth this weekend to show his gratitude in person after West Australian voters delivered Labor a majority government.

The Prime Minister is set to arrive in Perth on Saturday evening and spend time in the city on Sunday before travelling to Indonesia that night for a diplomatic visit.

At a jubilant caucus meeting in Canberra, the first since Labor’s election victory, Mr Albanese said he wanted to say “thank you to people who gave us support this time round”.

Labor picked up four Liberal-held seats in WA — Swan, Pearce, Hasluck and Tangney — and gained a 10.1 per cent swing which was three times the size of the nationwide result.

Federal Parliament will next sit on July 26 and Treasurer Jim Chalmers indicated he will deliver the Budget in the second half of October.

CABINET

The Hon. Anthony Albanese MP - Prime Minister

The Hon. Richard Marles MP Deputy Prime Minister/Minister for Defence

Senator the Hon. Penny Wong - Minister for Foreign Affairs

The Hon. Dr Jim Chalmers MP - Treasurer

Senator the Hon. Katy Gallagher - Minister for Finance/Minister for the Public Service/Minister for Women

Senator the Hon. Don Farrell - Minister for Trade and Tourism/Special Minister of State

The Hon. Tony Burke MP - Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations/Minister for the Arts

The Hon. Mark Butler MP - Minister for Health and Aged Care

The Hon. Chris Bowen MP - Minister for Climate Change and Energy

The Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP - Minister for the Environment and Water

The Hon. Catherine King MP - Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

The Hon. Linda Burney MP - Minister for Indigenous Australians

The Hon. Amanda Rishworth MP - Minister for Social Services

The Hon. Bill Shorten MP - Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme/Minister for Government Services

The Hon. Mark Dreyfus QC MP - Attorney-General/Cabinet Secretary

The Hon. Brendan O’Connor MP - Minister for Skills and Training

The Hon. Jason Clare MP - Minister for Education

The Hon. Julie Collins MP - Minister for Housing/Minister for Homelessness/Minister for Small Business

Michelle Rowland MP - Minister for Communications

Madeleine King MP - Minister for Resources/Minister for Northern Australia

Senator Murray Watt - Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry/Minister for Emergency Management

Ed Husic MP - Minister for Industry and Science

Clare O’Neil MP - Minister for Home Affairs/Minister for Cyber Security

OUTER MINISTRY

Matt Keogh MP - Minister for Veterans’ Affairs/Minister for Defence Personnel

Pat Conroy MP - Minister for Defence Industry/Minister for International Development and the Pacific

Stephen Jones MP - Assistant Treasurer/Minister for Financial Services

Andrew Giles MP - Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs

Anne Aly MP - Minister for Early Childhood Education/Minister for Youth

Anika Wells MP - Minister for Aged Care/Minister for Sport

Kristy McBain MP - Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories

ASSISTANT MINISTERS

The Hon. Justine Elliot MP - Assistant Minister for Social Services/Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence

The Hon. Matt Thistlethwaite MP - Assistant Minister for Defence/Assistant Minister for Veterans’ Affairs/Assistant Minister for the Republic

The Hon. Dr Andrew Leigh MP - Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury

Patrick Gorman MP - Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister

Senator Jenny McAllister - Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy

Senator Carol Brown - Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport

Ged Kearney MP - Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care

Emma McBride MP - Assistant Minister for Mental Health/Assistant Minister for Rural and Regional Health

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy - Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians/Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health

Senator Tim Ayres - Assistant Minister for Trade/Assistant Minister for Manufacturing

Senator Anthony Chisholm - Assistant Minister for Education/Assistant Minister for Regional Development

Tim Watts MP - Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs

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