The prime minister will today announce his refreshed ministry, after two senior ministers stepped down before they retire at the next election. There's been broad speculation about the scale of the cabinet reshuffle amid pressure on other ministers over their performance.
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00:00This was prompted by the retirement ahead of what will happen at the next election.
00:07The announcement made on Thursday from two senior cabinet ministers in Linda Burney and
00:13Brendan O'Connor.
00:15And the Prime Minister is using it as an opportunity to do a further, a larger refresh of his cabinet
00:23ahead of next year's election or the election that's due next year.
00:29Some speculation around the date of that as well.
00:32We know that Malindiri McCarthy, a Northern Territory senator, is set to become the new
00:38Indigenous Australians minister as a result of this reshuffle.
00:43And also that Jenny McAllister, a senior Labor Party figure from New South Wales, is set
00:51to be elevated to the cabinet.
00:53She currently, both of them currently hold assistant minister roles.
00:58As for the breadth of this change, the scale of this change, there's been immense speculation
01:05around who may or may not be moved within cabinet as part of this.
01:11The answer to that we will know later this afternoon when the Prime Minister makes this
01:15announcement.
01:16But in the interim, much of that scrutiny has been centred on Andrew Giles, who is the
01:21Immigration Minister, relating to his handling of a High Court decision back in November
01:27of last year, which found that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful for people
01:34with no real prospect of being resettled elsewhere in the foreseeable future.
01:40So much of this pressure focusing on him and whether he will hold on to that role, consensus
01:45within government, from figures speaking to members of the media, is that he will be
01:52moved as part of this broader reshuffle.
01:55But the retiring Skills and Training Minister, Brendan O'Connor, speaking on Insiders earlier
02:01today, who was also previously an Immigration Minister, said that it's not fair to attribute
02:08all of the blame or criticism on the minister in a portfolio such as immigration.
02:15Certain portfolios are very, very challenging and therefore it's not always fair just to
02:22blame the person that sits in that portfolio, because anyone sitting in certain portfolios
02:27would find it challenging.
02:29And Nicole, how significant is this?
02:32Caiman, the timing of this is particularly significant, given it's the first reshuffle
02:38of Anthony Albanese's Prime Ministership.
02:41By this time, in the past iterations of governments on both sides, so the Coalition and Labor,
02:48by this point into a term, we have seen multiple reshuffles occur, but this is the first under
02:55Anthony Albanese.
02:56He's really been seeking to highlight stability and consistency, but he's using this as an
03:02opportunity for a broader refresh and a reset ahead of the next election, allowing time
03:10for the new Cabinet Ministers to settle into their portfolios and benefit from the assistance
03:16of those currently in their roles ahead of that election as well.