Local boy and Labor’s duty Senator for the New England, Tim Ayres, will be promoted to the front bench in the new Albanese Government.
Ayers, a graduate of Glen Innes High School whose parents still live in Tamworth, is a frequent visitor and strong advocate for the region.
He was the Assistant Minister for Trade in the last term of parliament but has been promoted to the front bench this week, after previously sitting out a promotion round last year to help a female MP be promoted instead.
The Labor Party decides who will be cabinet ministers in factional deals that attempt to balance representation from the left and right of the party, and across the states, in an even manner. The factions choose a pool of 30 people, and then the Prime Minister allocates the portfolios. Which ministry Ayres will get will be decided over the weekend before the new cabinet is sworn in on Tuesday.
Ayers and Victorian Senator Jess Walsh have been promoted by the Left faction without controversy to replace the retiring Bill Shorten and Stephen Jones.
However, the decision by the right of the party to dump Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Industry Minister Ed Husic from the ministry has been met with widespread condemnation. The two highly experienced and respected ministers are gone in favour of career political operative Sam Rae, and economist and political staffer Daniel Mulino, who has served in local council and as a Victorian upper house member before moving to federal politics.
Rae and Mulino are both close factional allies of Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, who is believed to be the driving force behind the decision.
Husic had, like Ayres, previously stepped aside to allow a woman to take a more senior role, stepping aside for Kristina Keneally in 2019. That the most senior Muslim in parliament, and the only one in cabinet, has been demoted for the second time to allow the promotion of a Catholic (Mulino is a Catholic of Italian heritage like Albanese), has not been missed by commentators.
Neither has the relegation of the most senior Jewish MP in the parliament in Dreyfus gone unnoticed, particularly in light of Albanese’s frequent remarks on the diversity of the Labor team that has just been elected.
Veteran Labor MP Dr Mike Freelander has slammed the decision as “pathetic” and said the party should be ashamed of itself, while former Prime Minister Paul Keating savaged the decision as an act of contempt for the Muslim community by “factional lightweights” which showed “poor judgement, unfairness, and diminished respect for the contribution of others”.
Meanwhile the Liberal Party will also vote for a new leader on Tuesday, with Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor and Deputy Leader Sussan Ley announcing they will contest the leadership ballot following Peter Dutton’s failure to be re-elected.
The Nationals will also face a leadership ballot, with maverick Queensland Senator Matt Canavan announcing he will challenge current leader David Littleproud when they meet on Monday, with Canavan advocating for an end to the Coalition so that the Nationals can contest more seats.
Read all the way through to the end of the story? So did lots of other people. Advertise with New England Times to reach New England locals who are interested and engaged. Find out more here.