With ministers Linda Burney and Brendan O’Connor announcing they will not run in the next federal election, two spots have opened up on the Labor Government’s front bench.
Indigenous Australians Minister Ms Burney and Skills Minister Mr O’Connor are both immediately stepping back from their roles, allowing Anthony Albanese to make his first reshuffle since Labor won power in May 2022.
The Prime Minister will make the announcement on Sunday, though hotly tipped to get the promotions are Malarndirri McCarthy and Murray Watt.
They will be joined by a third person moving up, as Tasmanian senator Carol Brown announced on Saturday she would step aside from her position as assistant minister for transport and infrastructure.
Ms Brown is stepping back for health reasons and will stay in parliament, but it does create an opening in the outer ministry.
Further openings could be made by sacking people, but this is very unlikely to happen as that would give the Opposition a chance to crow that incompetent ministers are causing the Government to fall apart.
Liberal leader Peter Dutton will still try to make that claim on Sunday, but Mr Albanese will not give him any scalps to back it up.
Instead, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles, both the recent targets of the Opposition’s jibes, could likely to be moved to other positions.
Anthony Albanese (pictured at the NSW Labor conference with Jodie Haydon) is about to make his first reshuffle since Labor won power in May 2022
When the Prime Minister announces his Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday, MPs Malarndirri McCarthy (pictured) and Murray Watt are expected to be promoted
The Opposition has been calling for both of them to be sacked since the High Court’s NZYQ ruling late last year led to convicted criminal asylum seekers being released from indefinite detention because no other country will take them.
Another 72 were convicted of assault and violent offending, including kidnapping and armed robbery, 16 had domestic violence and stalking convictions and 13 committed serious drug offending.
But despite repeated calls for Ms O’Neil and Mr Giles to be dumped from their positions, Mr Albanese has not budged.
The resignations of Ms Burney and Mr O’Connor gives him an out, though, by reshuffling the deck and moving the ministers widely seen as the least effective sideways, rather than sacking them.
Ms McCarthy, who is Aboriginal, is a senator from the Northern Territory. Her promotion will be to take over from Ms Burney, who is also Aboriginal, as Indigenous Australians Minister.
Though Ms McCarthy worked hard on last year’s failed Voice referendum, unlike Ms Burney, she was not seen by the public as central to the campaign.
This will allow the Government to move beyond the humiliating defeat and try to reframe its policies and goals for Indigenous Australians.
Mr Watt, who is currently the Agriculture Minister, could be promoted to the Home Affairs portfolio, replacing Ms O’Neil.
Agriculture minister Murray Watt could get a big promotion to Home Affairs
Another possibility is that Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke could take over Home Affairs, with Mr Watt then replacing him in industrial relations.
As the furniture gets moved around NSW senator Jenny McAllister is tipped to be promoted to the outer ministry while Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy or Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh could be promoted to the Cabinet.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the new look top line in the Labor government ‘will to the next election focused on delivering for Australians, particularly in the area of cost of living’.
Speaking in Canberra on Saturday, she said it would be ‘A strong and united team that’s absolutely focused on delivering for Australians and I think will stand in good contrast to the divided and negative opposition that’s being led by Peter Dutton.’
Mr Dutton did not agree though, and told Sky News what changes Mr Albanese should make.
‘I really think Andrew Giles’ position is completely and utterly untenable. So he should go, that should be the first test for the Prime Minister, and not just parachuted into another portfolio, he needs to go,’ the Opposition leader said.
NSW senator Jenny McAllister (pictured) is tipped to be promoted to the outer ministry
‘There’s no way in the world the prime minister could credibly have Andrew Giles in a ministry, given what he’s done so far. And Clare O’Neil, of course, is the co-conspirator to all of that.’
Mr Dutton also put the boot into Mr Watt, before he even gets the promotion that is widely expected.
‘I think there’s a lot of speculation at the moment around Murray Watt moving into the immigration portfolio … He’s basically just a clone of Andrew Giles.
‘So, you can change the sales person, but you still have them read from the same script,’ he said.
