Virtual swearing-in another wacky 2020 vision

Scott Morrison, left, and Governor-General David Hurley swear in Coalition minister Andrew Hastie via video on Tuesday. Picture: Gary Ramage

Scott Morrison’s south coast holiday to “recharge the batteries” has been thrown into disarray by Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak.

End-of-year ministerial reshuffles are traditional precursors for prime ministers to head off on their summer breaks. But this year is like no other — and it shows no signs of slowing down with nine days still to go.

After copping criticism over his Hawaii holiday last year during the bushfires, Morrison will stay close to home to deal with any coronavirus outbreaks, cyclones, floods and getting Australians stranded overseas home.

At best, Morrison is eyeing a week off in January, when he will hand over the reins to Michael McCormack.

With expectations of an election as early as late 2021, the summer break will quickly transition to Australia Day, the return of parliament in February, JobKeeper ceasing in March and preparations for the May 11 budget.

In a year of political firsts, including the Prime Minister taking part in Question Time virtually from The Lodge, Governor-General David Hurley and Morrison sat in front of a TV screen on Tuesday for a remote swearing-in ceremony following last week’s ministerial reshuffle.

After a few technical glitches as ministers swore oaths on their Bibles and pledged allegiance to the Queen, the digital ceremony was capped by an awkward class photo with Morrison standing alongside the virtual faces of his new appointments.

Apart from the obvious cabinet shifts, Richard Colbeck’s aged care demotion and McCormack’s refusal to extend an olive branch to Nationals rivals, the most significant element of the reshuffle was bringing through next generation talent.

Senior Liberals view Amanda Stoker and Andrew Hastie, both aged 38, as future Coalition stars. Jane Hume, Michael Sukkar, Luke Howarth, Zed Seselja and Alex Hawke, aged between 39 and 49, were also handed extra responsibilities in a nod to their performances and potential.

Anthony Albanese, who returned to work this week after a Tasmanian holiday, will now turn his mind to Labor’s frontbench line-up. Given Morrison’s modest reshuffle, don’t expect any major shadow cabinet changes as Labor prepares for its pre-election national conference on March 30.

With the Opposition Leader under pressure to sharpen Labor’s messaging on climate change and resources, some MPs are agitating for Albanese’s loyal ally Mark Butler to be moved into a new portfolio. Albanese, who needs to win seats in Queensland, Western Australia and regional NSW, has so far resisted those calls.

Ed Husic, the MP who took over Joel Fitzgibbon’s resources and agriculture responsibilities, could also remain in the portfolio despite his Sydney-based electorate being outside farming and mining communities.

Once Albanese settles on his team in the next fortnight, expect little respite from federal politics over the summer break.