It is entirely understandable that the Prime Minister and his deputy would seek to boost the number of cabinet ministers hailing from Queensland. The recent state election highlighted that conservatives have a problem in the Sunshine state and more MPs and Senators in Cabinet will address internal concerns that the PM is neglecting Queensland.
The woeful primary result for the LNP at the state election coupled with the fact that five of the government’s 11 most marginal seats are from Queensland speak to the problems Turnbull must address before heading to the polls himself. Turnbull cited geography not merit as the guiding principle for David Littleproud (from Queensland) replacing Darren Chester (Victoria). The PM has also promoted Queensland backbencher John McVeigh.
In other words, a quota which ensures that Queensland’s importance to the Coalition is reflected by its frontbench representation was more important than meritorious promotions. But I thought merit was the excuse conservatives used to reject quotas? That’s long been the argument when it comes to gender. Not geography, at least not when it comes to Queensland apparently.
Speaking of gender, the PM ends the year with fewer women in his cabinet than he started, despite talk about Turnbull’s commitment to diversity. And the only one of five cabinet promotions in the reshuffle who is a woman — Bridget McKenzie — only got her promotion because she was voted in as Nationals deputy (against the wishes of leader Barnaby Joyce incidentally). Joyce wanted his former chief of staff Matt Canavan to win, but support for him inside the party room just wasn’t there.
Turnbull has taken a leaf out of John Hewson’s book when the former opposition leader put together his shadow cabinet post the 1993 election defeat — enlarge it to minimise damage and dissent. The Nationals have retained their quota (there is that word again) of five frontbench positions inside the cabinet despite the size of the Nationals party room reducing off the back of Fiona Nash falling foul of the citizenship test and leaving parliament.
The four outgoing cabinet ministers have been replaced by five new comers, enlarging an already large cabinet by one.
Turnbull will hope he won’t need to make further changes ahead of the election, and the team announced can help improve the government’s polling. Other than the contradiction between gender and geography when it comes to quotas and merit, the changes should be well received.
Christian Porter needed to get out of the divisive social services portfolio to help him hold his marginal WA seat, Mathias Cormann deserved to replace George Brandis as senate leader, and Cormann performed well as acting special minister of state (explaining why he’s taken on that added responsibility). Michael Keenan and Dan Tehan earned their promotions to cabinet, and Melissa Price was overdue for promotion to the frontbench (the one Liberal woman to win promotion).
Peter van Onselen is a professor of politics at the University of Western Australia.
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