Cabinet reshuffle: PM gives China trade test to Dan Tehan

The former diplomat will lead Australia’s response to China after a promotion in the ministerial reshuffle.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison with Dan Tehan, who will take over the Trade portfolio. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Former diplomat Dan Tehan will lead Australia’s response to China’s aggressive targeting of key export markets and work to secure free-trade deals with Britain and the European Union next year, after winning promotion in Scott Morrison’s ministerial reshuffle.

The Prime Minister unveiled the federal government’s pre-election ministerial line-up on Friday, adopting a minimalist approach aimed at maintaining continuity across senior cabinet positions and injecting new blood into his executive team.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds and Foreign Minister Marise Payne — all who had been speculated to be in line for a change in role — will remain in their portfolios.

But Health Minister Greg Hunt will bring the aged-care portfolio into cabinet, with Richard Colbeck demoted to the junior role of Senior Australians and Aged Care Services Minister after struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Morrison said cabinet would remain at 22 members — down from 23 after the departure of Mathias Cormann — with six women and 16 men.

“The decisions that I have made reflect the very strong focus on stability in key port­folios, together with a commitment to bring forward some new talent as Australia continues its comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr Morrison said.

“In a time of great uncertainty, stability and consistency is very much what is needed.”

Mr Tehan’s elevation to trade, tourism and investment minister, widely tipped after Simon Birmingham’s promotion to Finance Minister following the departure of Mr Cormann, comes as relations with Australia’s largest trading partner hit their lowest ebb in decades.

Mr Morrison said Mr Tehan, a former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officer with deep connections across the tourism sector, brought “incredibly strong credentials” to the role and “a keen sense of the particular interests of regional and rural Australia in open rules-based trading systems”.

On China, Mr Morrison said “constancy and consistency” were important in maintaining relations with Beijing.

“We’ve made our position very clear and we will continue to seek engagement,” he said.

“Dan will seek those opportunities as I continue to at a ­leader level. But our position is very clear. There are matters that are now being brought forward to the WTO. But I also want to stress, as important as those issues are with China, there is also a very big agenda to be pursued next year with the EU and the UK.”

Alan Tudge, who was forced this year to admit publicly to having an affair with a former staffer, will replace Mr Tehan as education minister with additional responsibilities for youth.

Mr Tehan, who joined DFAT as a graduate in 1995, said Australia’s prosperity was “built on trade and our future relies on it”. Mr Tudge will be supported in his new role by Queensland MP Luke Howarth who will be appointed Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services.

Alan Tudge. Picture: Sean Davey

Mr Tehan said strengthening the tourism sector, which has been hit hard by the pandemic, would be one of his priorities.

Liberal National Party senator Amanda Stoker, who faces a preselection contest with James McGrath for the top spot on the LNP Senate ticket ahead of the next election, was appointed assistant minister to Attorney-General Christian Porter.

Mr Morrison, who made calls to colleagues on Friday morning ahead of the new ministers being sworn in next week, described the 38-year-old Queensland senator as “well-credentialed” and “extremely talented”.

Former SAS commander Andrew Hastie was also promoted into the executive, after West Australian colleague Steve Irons — a close friend of Mr Morrison — stepped aside. Mr Hastie, a critic of China, will move out of his role as chair of the powerful parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security to become assistant minister for defence under Senator Reynolds.

Senator Jane Hume. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Daniel Pockett

Despite pressure on Michael McCormack to inject new blood into the Nationals’ ministerial team and increase frontbench representation in the Senate, the Deputy Prime Minister retained his current line-up.

To boost ministerial representation in the upper house, Mr Morrison promoted Liberal senators Jane Hume and Zed Seselja into key outer ministry positions.

Senator Hume remains Superannuation and Financial Services Minister, and adds digital economy to lead the government’s digital transformation agenda in the lead-up to the election, which could be as early as late next year.

Senator Seselja will become international development and Pacific minister, taking over from Alex Hawke who was appointed immigration, citizenship and multicultural affairs minister.

Former immigration minister David Coleman will return to parliament next year, following an extended period of personal leave, as the assistant minister to the prime minister for mental health and suicide prevention.

Alex Hawke.

With Labor pushing the government on social housing, Assistant Treasurer and Housing Minister Michael Sukkar — credited with protecting and boosting the housing market during the pandemic through the HomeBuilder program — will take on additional responsibilities for homelessness, social and community housing.

Ben Morton, a close adviser to Mr Morrison, retained his role as assistant minister to the prime minister and cabinet, along with new responsibilities for the public service and electoral matters.

Ahead of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety delivering its final report in February, the aged care sector had called on Mr Morrison to consider establishing a stand-alone portfolio inside cabinet.

Asked if Senator Colbeck had been demoted, Mr Morrison said “this is about elevating aged care and our response to the royal commission into cabinet”.