Anthony Albanese promotes four female frontbenchers in cabinet reshuffle as Bill Shorten retires
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Prime minister promotes Amanda Rishworth, Anne Aly, Katy Gallagher and Anika Wells, as Peter Dutton also prepares reshuffle before election. Anthony Albanese has promoted or handed new roles to four female Labor frontbenchers in a pre-election reshuffle triggered by the retirement of the NDIS minister, Bill Shorten.
The prime minister on Thursday revealed the frontbench lineup he will take to this year’s federal election as Shorten quits politics to become vice-chancellor at the University of Canberra. As flagged by Guardian Australian on Tuesday, the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, will be charged with overseeing the major overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme to curb its ballooning costs and participant numbers.
The early childhood education minister, Dr Anne Aly, will assist Rishworth in a newly created junior NDIS ministry. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email. The minister for finance, women and the public service, Katy Gallagher, will add Shorten’s government services portfolio – which includes responsibility for welfare agencies such as Centrelink – to her already broad remit.
Shorten’s retirement opened up a vacancy in Labor’s 23-member cabinet, which will be filled by the aged care and sports minister, Anika Wells. Wells’ promotion means the gender split in cabinet is 12 males and 11 females. Albanese praised the 39-year-old as an “outstanding” minister, highlighting her role last year in shepherding through laws to reform the aged care funding model.
