Abbott’s Cabinet had 19 ministers.
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Business groups have called on Mr. Turnbull to press quickly for changes that could inject momentum into the economy, including a broadening of the 10% consumption tax and less rigid labor laws that could help drive business investment and jobs. Howard-era veteran Ian Macfarlane is also dumped.
A ReachTel poll of 3,278 people on Tuesday evening confirmed deep dissatisfaction with Abbott’s performance as prime minister.
Julie Bishop retains the foreign ministry, Andrew Robb keeps trade and Peter Dutton retains immigration.
But Mr Turnbull said there needed to be a “genuine popular movement” for change.
Turnbull, a former barrister and journalist before he moved into banking, is a man of considerable eloquence and will be able to persuade voters to swallow the tough medicine.
Joe Hockey would be moved to defence, with the largest proportion of readers agreeing with Turnbull’s choice of Scott Morrison for treasurer.
But not so the other big casualty of the Turnbull win. Previously the post was in the outer ministry.
Christopher Pyne takes the Industry, Innovation and Science portfolio, charged with leading an economic agenda of innovation and agility that Turnbull emphasised would be central to his government’s economic message.
As some cabinet members joined Turnbull’s revolt, Abbott agreed to a party leadership election for that night. Three quarters of the cabinet members are men, eighty per cent of the outer ministry are men. Billson was foolish to reject the offer. Gone, too, is former Treasurer Joe Hockey, a potential rival who’s seemingly been bought off with an attractive gig elsewhere.
Now that his ministry is sworn in, and now that Tony Abbott has finally vacated the office, we’ll get to see whether this turns out to be true – or whether old habits die hard. Labelling it a “21st Century Government”, Turnbull is responsible for Australia’s first female Minister of Defence, the introduction of a Minister for Cities and the Built Environment, and the return of Science to the cabinet.
Unlike a corporate chief executive, a prime minister can only choose from the set of MPs and senators he’s been elected to government with.
Briggs was formerly the assistant minister for infrastructure and represents the electorate of Mayo on the outskirts of Adelaide, South Australia, an electorate classified by the Australian Electoral Commission as rural. Defence Minister Kevin Andrews was dropped after less than a year in the job.
The boost to women’s frontbench representation has been a matter of pushing them up to higher levels, rather than a significant expansion of numbers. One of the Liberal Party’s best communicators, Josh Frydenberg, now sits as the Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia.
The ultra-conservative Nationals and far-right Liberals have been vocal in their disapproval of Turnbull’s ousting of Abbott, with some threatening to break ranks from the party. He is injecting the government into a debate that has been more often Labor ground, most recently emphasised by Anthony Albanese in his Saturday Light on the Hill address in Bathurst.
Senior Liberal Arthur Sinodinos returns to the inner circle, becoming cabinet secretary.
RECENT events in Canberra reveal the good, ugly and indifferent characteristics of our greatly revered Westminster system of democratic government.
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Turnbull’s changes and strategic thinking can only strike more fear into the opposition.
