Albo’s Team Queensland: State dominates PM’s frontbench
Four Queenslanders will be elevated to Anthony Albanese’s leadership team, as the Prime Minister unveiled his frontbench while vowing to “change the way politics works in this country”.
Federal Election
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Four Queenslanders will be elevated to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s leadership team, as he unveiled his frontbench while vowing to “change the way politics works in this country”.
Joining Treasurer Jim Chalmers in the inner-circle is Senator Murray Watt, who will become agriculture, fisheries and forestry minister, while keeping his old portfolio of emergency management.
Second-term Labor MP Anika Wells, who holds the inner-north Brisbane seat of Lilley, will take up the hefty portfolios of aged-care and sport – putting a Queenslander in prime position for making important decisions in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.
Senator Anthony Chisholm will serve as the assistant minister for education and regional development.
Due to Labor’s factional system and pressure on the Right faction to elevate more women, Ms Wells’ promotion came at the expense of Blair MP Shayne Neumann.
Mr Albanese noted Mr Neumann’s “outstanding” performance in the veterans’ portfolio while in Opposition, but Labor’s rules of affirmative action meant “there were some people who were impacted by that”.
“I’ve spoken personally to a range of people who’ve missed out on this list (and) my word to them is this, that politics does have its ups and downs, it is a competitive business,” Mr Albanese said.
Western Australian MP Madeleine King will be the Northern Australia minister.
Her electorate is at least 1500km from the nearest point that could be considered northern Australia and a 50-hour drive from Townsville.
It is understood Queenslander Milton Dick (Oxley) was also firming up as the strongest contender for the speakership, with the promotion hinging on Labor securing 77 seats in the lower house.
Labor, as of Tuesday afternoon, felt confident enough about the ultra-marginal NSW seat of Gilmore – which remains on a knife-edge – to claim victory and added Fiona Phillips as the 77th MP.
ABC’s election analyst Antony Green late on Tuesday called Gilmore for Labor.
Parliament will sit for the first time this term on July 26, with Dr Chalmers confirming he will deliver an economic statement that speaks “bluntly” and not “tiptoe around” the big economic challenges the nation faces.
He said he would use the statement to give Australians “our sense of expectations for the economy” before delivering a full budget in the second half of October.
Dr Chalmers, speaking on Sky News, reiterated that the government was “not considering” additional taxation and would seek to bring down the deficit through reduced spending.
“We’re not contemplating a budget-repair levy,” he said.
“We think the first port of call is to trim spending.”
Replacing defeated Griffith MP Terri Butler in the environment and water position she would have held is Tanya Plibersek, who hands her long-time portfolio of education to Jason Clare.
Mr Clare, the standout star of Labor’s election campaign, will hand the housing portfolio – something he had responsibility for in Labor’s last government – to Julie Collins.
Other major promotions include Clare O’Neil from the portfolio of aged-care up to home affairs, replacing Kristina Keneally who was defeated by an independent in the safe Labor seat of Fowler. Mr Albanese, holding Labor’s first caucus meeting as a government in nearly a decade (pictured above), said the party would show Australia as “an inclusive and mature country by recognising the privilege that we have of sharing this great island continent of ours”.
“This great multicultural nation, with the oldest continuous civilisation on the planet and recognising that in our constitution with an enshrined Voice to parliament,” he said.
Signalling the importance of Indigenous Affairs, Linda Burney will hold it as a standalone portfolio, with Northern Territory Senator Malarndirri McCarthy serving as assistant minister.
Mr Albanese reminded his MPs not to “waste a day in government” and said he was looking for Labor to claim “back-to-back premierships”.
“I spoke about two elections,” he said.
“I said I had two dates in mind – one Election Day on May 21, but secondly, as well, where we would be positioned in 2025 to be able to say we said we would do … all the measures that we put in place and that we would be able to point to that in 2025.”
Cairns-based Senator Nita Green will be the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef.
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