Tony Abbott has reshuffled his cabinet in response to Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos’s announcement of his decision to step down, together with the government’s general state of disarray. The principal changes are that Defence Minister David Johnston has been dumped from cabinet to the back bench, and Sussan Ley fills his cabinet vacancy as Health Minister, having previously been Assistant Education Minister. This initiates a game of musical chairs in which Defence goes to Kevin Andrews; Andrews’ portfolio of Social Services goes to Scott Morrison; and Morrison’s portfolio of Immigration and Border Protection goes to Peter Dutton, the former Health Minister.
The promotion of Ley and the departure of Sinodinos leaves two vacancies in the outer ministry, which are filled by the promotion from parliamentary secretary of Josh Frydenberg, who takes Sinodinos’s role, and Simon Birmingham, who takes Ley’s. The second casualty of the reshuffle together with Johnston is Queensland Senator Brett Mason, who has lost his position as parliamentary secretary. The three parliamentary secretary vacancies are filled by Christian Porter, slightly compensating the Western Australian contingent for the dumping of Johnston; and Kelly O’Dwyer and Karen Andrews, who together with Ley’s promotion to cabinet alleviate the front-bench’s glaring deficiency of women.
All of which gives me a helpful opportunity to launch a new thread as the Christmas/New Year poll drought takes hold. There is also the following to relate:
• The one new poll to keep us amused is an Essential Research survey conducted for The Australian, which found Chris Bowen with a narrow 29% to 27% lead over Joe Hockey on the question of “who would you trust to handle the economy”, compared with a lead for Hockey of 34% to 23% in August. More contentiously, respondents were asked to nominate “Australia’s best treasurer of the past 40 years”, but with only five options included – it apparently being taken for granted that no one would nominate Jim Cairns, Bill Hayden, Phillip Lynch, John Kerin, Ralph Willis, John Dawkins or Chris Bowen, even to the extent that no “others” option was included. The responses ran, in order, Peter Costello (30%), Paul Keating (18%), John Howard (12%), Wayne Swan (8%), Joe Hockey (4%). The Australian’s report by Troy Bramston rather audaciously sold this Hockey being “regarded as the worst treasurer of the past 40 years”. Even when better structured than this, I doubt the utility of such polls, which often reflect the degree of competition for the esteem of partisans of one side over the other. It would be more instructive if respondents were rate each contestant in turn favourably or unfavourably. More on this from Kevin Bonham
• Labor is set to have two changes to its Senate line-up early in the new year, the first being the result of John Faulkner’s retirement next month. His vacancy will be filled by Jenny McAllister, the party’s national president and a colleague of Faulkner in the Left, who joined him in advocating for reform to the party’s preselection processes earlier in the year. McAllister was preselected to replace Faulkner in July after he announced he would not contest the next election.
• Labor’s Senate position in the Australian Capital Territory is set to pass from Kate Lundy to Katy Gallagher, following the former’s surprise announcement last month of her intention to retire, and the latter’s resignation from her position as the ACT’s Chief Minister. Lundy will depart on March 31, creating a casual vacancy to be filled by Gallagher the following day. Gallagher was encouraged to take the position by Senator Penny Wong, who shares her alignment with the Left, and Bill Shorten. She has been succeeded as Chief Minister by her former deputy, Andrew Barr, a move which had Gallagher’s endorsement despite Barr’s alignment with the Right.
• Katy Gallagher’s vacancy in the ACT region of Molonglo will be determined by a countback, with reference to Gallagher’s preference votes from the last election. According to Kirsten Lawson of the Canberra Times, “Labor number-crunchers” expect the seat to go to Meegan Fitzharris, chief-of-staff to Andrew Barr, who was the third-strongest performing candidate on Labor’s ticket at the 2012 election with 2.9% of the vote, behind Gallagher (26.2%) and Barr (4.2%). Preferences nonetheless resulted in the third Labor seat going to incumbent Simon Corbell (2.1%).
GG
Two words too many! “Minister for”.
Honestly – shifting Dutton into Immigration and Morrison into Social Services is a pretty transparent political move. It elevates a non-entity and loyal foot-soldier (Dutton) and pushes a leadership rival into a position where he will get negative public attention and one that is an political elephant graveyard
For a bloke like Morrison who makes us all aware of so called “Christianity” what will he do know?
My guess is being as mean as ever.
Still wondering Bout Stephen Ciobo being moved out of Treasury to Foreign Affairs.
Ciobo carries quite a few QLD L-NP votes with him. Mesma and Robb will be much closer to him when the eventual challenge to the Lying Friar comes.
With Joe the loser
BW,
often in politics, the hardest thing is to get the title right
Bw
…
Write a DTD list of how he hasn’t (numbered).
All the Murdoch tabloids have:
PM doubles women in Cabinet
headlines.
I don’t think it’s a joke headline. I think it’s Abbott’s personal choice for what the tabs would say.
Surely they don’t believe even the average bogan punter would fall for that, do they?
Just Me
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/dec/21/tony-abbott-cabinet-reshuffle-moves-scott-morrison-out-of-immigration
CTaR1
Dudorama.
lizzie
From your link:
Now why on earth would a prime minister think that he needs, unprompted, to add the last sentence?
Could it be that Abbott knows that Australians know that Morrison is an inhumane prick?
BB
From previous topic. @1546 I missed nailing it by THAT much. 🙂
BK, I’m sure you’re justified in thinking this way. The NSW Liberal right fully intend to undo the Post-War social consensus. Morrison is their chainsaw.
It will be interesting to see whether Ley is capable of managing a much larger workforce, a much more dynamic and complex policy context, an extremely difficult selling job, a much more conflicted set of rent seekers, fractious states and territories, a hostile Senate, and a nation that mostly likes medical things the way they are, except for the waiting lists…
It is a huge step up for Ley.
She’s worth the punt, IMHO.
It would have to be easy as a coalition person.
The Guardian are reporting that Morrison was disappointed at not getting Defence. His plotting for a super protection ministry seem to have been foiled.
Meanwhile, all unannounced, Cormann has had a reduction in his (acting) responsibilities.
So, 2 women and 18 men is something to boast about?
No shame.
BK, I was sorry to read (on the previous post) of the continuing difficulties your son – and your family – have been experiencing. There are few things more challenging than an unwell child, no matter their age. I hope you manage to get some effective help for him and that you also get some respite. He’s obviously very lucky to be able to rely on you.
I’m sure all the bludgers are right behind you!
ruawake
Oakes said Abbott will require Morrison to cut social services making Morrison unpopular; stop him from the leadership challenge.
So, he was on a watch list and they took him off the list.
They got a warning at least 24 hours before he went off, while he was on bail for violent stuff.
Someone did not connect the connectable dots.
And just why are the NSW police trying to shut up the hostages while an in-house review with a shonky TOR is conducted?
Don’t we live in a democracy any more?
lizzie
Morrison would have been better at Defence. There are multiple huge messes to be sorted out there which are somewhat susceptible to his tact, sensitivity and TLC.
The Blinkies should be happy with Andrews. They always find duds easier to run.
Boerwar
I agree. Either Abbott/Credlin has no judgement, or he’s as cunning as a sh-thouse rat (that simile courtesy of an ex-husband, who had a vivid turn of language).
Thanks lizzie.
Boerwar
Add to the list of overjoyed people the sales reps at military “toy” suppliers.
Bw
:Lol:
Busy writing about 1917.
Thankyou briefly
Unfortunately today the palsey in his face has worsened and is quite affecting his speech. His tongue is also affected. Help of the right sort is very difficult to find let alone access.
There ARE some winners out of this reshuffle – the cartoonists!
Pepper Pig with a stick.
BK
Are they absolutely certain it’s not a stroke? It sounds horrendous.
Health is one of those things the LNP just do not want to get into. They know it’s Labor territory. They also know the more they do to strengthen the portfolio the more this plays to Labor’s vision of the role of the State. Abbott’s MO has always been to try to destroy that which Labor promotes – a reflex that’s now proving problematic.
If the LNP had their way, they would just close down the Commonwealth Health Department. Of course, they can no more do this now than they could in the 1970s.
Health is no longer simply a family security/welfare issue. Considering the rapid changes in health technologies, demographics (especially our ever-extending longevity), fiscal management, economic opportunity and security, workforce participation and population health are all inter-related.
Health planning, spending and management are central to economic and social policy-making. It should be a really interesting and exciting portfolio – pity is, the LNP want to destroy it.
Isn’t it a 100% increase!
BK
If you need to vent we are all here to talk to.
Have you seen a specialist?
BK
Does your son have Bells palsy?
http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/bells-palsy-topic-overview
I’ve just been watching a great PBS doco on Hyman Rickover, the father of the US Nuclear Fleet. Was nine-stone wringing wet and terrorised everyone he dealt with. The navy kept passing him over for promotion and he ended up as a four-star admiral.
lizzie
I, the ambos and the neurologist at the hospital all were pretty convinced that it was a stroke but a CT scan suggested otherwise and they said it was most likely stress related and the symptoms should resolve. We shall see.
vic
It has very similar symptoms.
BK
I know of several people who have had bells palsy. They have all recovered within a relatively short period of time.
BK
If your son was so stressed that he caused himself such physical damage, the hurt must run very deep. So sorry.
Poor man! He must feel very disorientated. I have no medical knowledge to speak of, so can’t suggest a thing. It’s obviously not an easy time of year to gain anyone’s attention. I hope he can find his way through this. At least he’s with his surest supporters.
BK
Not surprised that extreme stress could have brought this on. Think about times we get cold sores when we are stressed or run down. This palsy is thought to be from the same family ie epstein barr
lizzie
Never a truer word was said!
BK
Found this in wiki
and Epstein-Barr viruses, both of the herpes family. Reactivation of an existing (dormant) viral infection has been suggested
as a cause of acute Bell’s palsy. Studies suggest that this new activation could be preceded by trauma, environmental factors, and metabolic or emotional disorders, thus suggesting that a host of different conditions may trigger reactivation.
]
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell%27s_palsy
A few thoughts…
1. Methinks Abbott has done to Morrison what he did to Turnbull – give him a portfolio that will guarantee that he’s not a contender.
2. Adding Science to Industry may move the Australian Research Council away from Pyne in exchange to adding Training. Expect fundamental research to be disadvantaged at the expense of IP-generating research.
3. Social Services will now be a battleground for the next election. Expect a wedge between the “working battlers” and the “leaners” in the run up to the next election. Labor’s response to this will be crucial.
4. Leaving Hockey as Treasurer was a mistake. Any lower and he’ll drop off the coupon. Hockey now has one more budget to prove himself.
5. WA has been shafted. SA now has all of education and training.
Social Services is the hospital handpass.
It’ll kill Morrison’s leadership ambitions stone dead.
Pity the poor & downtrodden of which I am one.
BK
Second opinion? I have been let down by RAH ER first diagnosis before. We were lucky the next day our GP was thorough.
Hope it improves for you soon.
lizzie
Coincidentally yesterday my daughter was working with someone whose partner had just left her after 8 years. She really was in no state to work. You can imagine a large retail outlet at this time of year. It prompted one of the customers to ask my daughter what was wrong with her co worker. My daughter felt helpless. It is more diffcult at times to assist someone with emotional matters than anything else.
Very well observed…!
Jack Stepney
Good summation