Election 2022: Key role thrusts Anne Ruston into promotional spotlight

Social Services Minister Anne Ruston has been elevated to the key role of Liberal campaign spokeswoman.

Liberal senator Anne Ruston. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Social Services Minister Anne Ruston has been elevated to the key role of Liberal campaign spokeswoman, filling a crucial role held by past performers such as former finance minister ­Mathias Cormann.

The role has fuelled speculation that the South Australian senator is being considered to ­replace Greg Hunt in the crucial health portfolio.

NSW Labor MP Jason Clare is filling the equivalent role for the ALP for the first time since entering parliament in 2007 and has found himself defending Anthony Albanese after the Opposition Leader’s stumble over the unemployment rate on day one of the campaign.

Senator Ruston entered parliament in 2012, filling a vacancy in the Senate, following a career as a commercial rose-grower and as chief executive of the National Wine Centre.

She served as deputy whip from 2014 to 2016 and was ­appointed as assistant minister for agriculture and water resources in 2015 before becoming the assistant minister for international development and the Pacific in 2018.

The SA senator has been serving as Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate since 2019 and was in 2021 ­appointed to Scott Morrison’s “taskforce of women”, where she took charge of women’s safety.

Liberal sources confirmed with The Australian on Tuesday that Senator Ruston was one of the top contenders to fill the health portfolio, with the Prime Minister ­expected to announce who will ­replace the outgoing Mr Hunt within days.

When asked if she’d be interested in the role, Senator Ruston said she would “serve in whatever capacity the Prime Minister asks me to”.

While some were surprised Senator Ruston was chosen over Superannuation Minister Jane Hume as campaign spokes­woman, most Liberals said she was “an excellent choice” and provided a “measured” and steady hand to steer the campaign.

Senator Hume is also expected to be promoted to a more senior role following the election.

Mr Clare was lauded as a strong choice from within his party, with the NSW MP touted as a future Labor leader early in his political career.

A member of the shadow cabinet since 2013, Mr Clare was born and raised in western Sydney and became a senior adviser to former NSW premier Bob Carr.

He won the seat of Blaxland in 2007, and took on a number of portfolios while Labor was in power including employment, ­defence and home affairs.

Following Labor’s defeat in 2013, he served in the shadow cabinet as opposition spokesman for communications, resources, trade, regional services and finally housing and homelessness, which he currently holds.

When asked about why he wasn’t a more senior member of the party, Mr Clare said there wasn’t a much more important portfolio responsibility than ­housing.

“I think the last two years have taught us that having a roof over your head is more important than having a mask on your face,” he told Sky News last week. “The things that we needed to do to help protect Australians over the last two years involved providing a safe place for people to live.”

Opposition finance spokeswoman Katy Gallagher will also serve as a spokeswoman for Labor’s campaign, while Finance Minister Simon Birmingham will be Senator Ruston’s counterpart.