With ministers Linda Burney and Brendan O’Connor announcing they will not stand in the next federal election, two front-row seats have opened up in the Labor government.
Minister for Indigenous Australia Ms Burney and Minister for Skills Mr O’Connor are stepping down immediately, allowing Anthony Albanese to make his first reshuffle since Labor came to power in May 2022.
The Prime Minister will make the announcement on Sunday, although Malarndirri McCarthy and Murray Watt are among the favourites to win the promotions.
They will be joined by a third person who will be promoted, as Tasmanian Senator Carol Brown announced on Saturday that she would be leaving her post as associate minister for transport and infrastructure.
Ms Brown is stepping down for health reasons and will remain in Parliament, but this creates a vacancy in the Foreign Office.
More openings could be achieved by sacking people, but this is highly unlikely to happen because that would give the opposition the opportunity to boast that incompetent ministers are causing the government to collapse.
Liberal leader Peter Dutton will continue to try to make that claim on Sunday, but Albanese will not give him any arguments to back it up.
Instead, Home Secretary Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles, both recent targets of opposition ridicule, are likely to be moved to other posts.
Anthony Albanese (pictured at the NSW Labor Party conference with Jodie Haydon) is set to make his first reshuffle since Labor came to power in May 2022.
When the Prime Minister announces his Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday, MPs Malarndirri McCarthy (pictured) and Murray Watt are expected to be promoted.
The opposition has been calling for both to be sacked since the High Court’s NZYQ ruling late last year led to convicted criminal asylum seekers being released from indefinite detention because no other country will take them.
Among those released were seven who had committed murder or attempted murder and 37 sex offenders, including child sex offenders.
Another 72 were convicted of assault and violent crimes including kidnapping and armed robbery, 16 had convictions for domestic violence and stalking and 13 committed serious drug-related offenses.
But despite repeated calls for O’Neil and Giles to be removed from their posts, Albanese has not budged.
But the resignations of Ms Burney and Mr O’Connor offer him a way out, by reorganising the system and shifting ministers widely seen as the least effective out of the role, rather than sacking them.
Ms McCarthy, who is Aboriginal, is a senator for the Northern Territory. Her promotion will see her replace Ms Burney, who is also Aboriginal, as Minister for Indigenous Australians.
Although Ms McCarthy worked hard on last year’s failed Voice referendum, unlike Ms Burney, she was not seen by the public as central to the campaign.
This will enable the Government to move beyond the humiliating defeat and try to rethink its policies and objectives for Indigenous Australians.
Mr Watt, currently Agriculture Minister, could be promoted to the Home Affairs portfolio, replacing Ms O’Neil.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt could get a major promotion at the Home Office
Another possibility is that Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke would take over at Home Affairs and Watt would replace him at industrial relations.
As the furniture is moved, NSW Senator Jenny McAllister is thought to be promoted to the foreign ministry, while Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy or Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh could be promoted to Cabinet.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the Labor government’s new top-line look “is going to… for the upcoming election focused on delivering results for Australians, particularly in the area of cost of living.
Speaking in Canberra on Saturday, he said it would be “a strong, united team that is absolutely focused on delivering the goals of the Australian people and I think will be a nice contrast to the divided and negative opposition led by Peter Dutton.”
However, Mr Dutton disagreed, telling Sky News what changes Mr Albanese should make.
“I think Andrew Giles’ position is absolutely untenable. That’s why he should go, that should be the first test for the Prime Minister, and not just send him to another portfolio, he has to go,” said the opposition leader.
New South Wales Senator Jenny McAllister (pictured) is considered a candidate for the foreign ministry.
“There is no way the Prime Minister can have Andrew Giles in a ministry, given what he has done so far. And Clare O’Neil, of course, is complicit in all of that.”
Mr Dutton also kicked Mr Watt in the backside, even before he got the widely expected promotion.
‘I think there’s a lot of speculation at the moment about Murray Watt moving into the immigration portfolio… He’s basically an Andrew Giles clone.
“So you can change salespeople, but they’re still reading the same script,” he said.