Some of this easy public transition is because of Tony Abbott.
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Turnbull increased the number of female Cabinet ministers from two to five, including Defence Minister Marise Payne.
In challenging Abbott’s leadership, Turnbull indirectly attacked Hockey with the criticism that “the government is not successful in providing the economic leadership that we need”.
He committed an additional $41 million to help tackle domestic violence. The package had been in the pipeline for Abbott and inherited by Turnbull. This will be a government of surprises, good or otherwise.
Goldman Sachs warned this month that Australia faced a one-in-three chance of falling into recession in the current fiscal year which began on July 1.
The new Prime Minister, according to Robb, remained extremely focussed on further developing the relationship with India.
Less than a week into his stint as prime minister, he had already confronted the issue.
Turnbull has now identified an area where we can lift our game. Yet Mr Turnbull insists that what worked in the past two decades will no longer cut it for Australia and that it must reform domestically if it is to benefit from the changes occurring in the region. And while the Trade Union Royal Commission may be a political stunt, it still has Shorten on the defensive, as shown by his performance on last Monday’s ABC Q & A.
Why would GE, Siemens or Foxconn choose Australia to locate its plants when there has been little movement in making its corporate and income tax rates more competitive with countries such as Singapore or even the United Kingdom, and while its industrial relations regime is in important ways even more inflexible now than in the 1990s? “We’d also like to extend an invitation to Mr Turnbull to visit our operations on Nauru and see for himself the conditions in which asylum seekers are living”.
We do know what they would not have done – Abbott ruled out touching superannuation or negative gearing. It remains to be seen whether Joyce can, for example, be both a climate change denier and a member of Cabinet that accepts the science. There will be a temptation, if not a political imperative, at some point to start ruling things out before next year’s white paper. He’s new, so I can’t speak too soon but he’s preaching a lot about innovation, ‘ he said.
“At the moment it is about style rather than substance, I think Malcolm Turnbull does need to change the substance of his government going forward”, he told Sky. His chances of winning next year’s election – and Australia’s continued prosperity – depend on him doing so successfully. Maybe the budget emergency will continue to be – well, not such an emergency.
Turnbull’s a fan… The view atop a wind turbine. But ultimately, as Prime Minister, he will be asked to make big decisions, like whether we should build light rail or coal rail. This implies the federal government taking an active approach on issues that are in the states’ domain.
Abbott’s love of road funding had nothing to do with economics and everything to do with his instinctive hostility to the groups demanding investment in public transport.
He may also have to tread carefully in managing his new responsibilities as Water Minister.
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Although iron ore and coal are resources-dependent Australia’s largest exports, the business community has argued the economy must become more diversified and flexible to boost weak productivity and growth.
