The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has announced his new Cabinet and Ministerial line-up, creating a new agency to deal with Indigenous matters and a new Services Australia agency to drive greater efficiencies across the Australian Public Service (APS).
The Prime Minister has appointed himself Minister for the Public Service with Minister for Health, Greg Hunt Minister Assisting him for the Public Service and Cabinet and Ben Morton MP, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
In other moves, Mr Morrison has elevated former Minister for Senior Australians, Aged Care and Indigenous Health, Ken Wyatt to Minister for Indigenous Australians and the first Indigenous Minister to sit in Cabinet.
Senator Bridget McKenzie will be the first female Minister for Agriculture.
The former Minister for Agriculture, David Littleproud becomes Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disasters and Emergency Management with the new Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Youth and Sport, Senator Richard Colbeck.
A new Minister for the National Disability and Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has been appointed in the form of Stuart Robert who will also become Minister for Government Services, and former Minister for Families and Social Services, Paul Fletcher becomes Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, replacing Communications and Arts Minister, Senator Mitch Fifield who is to take the post of Australia’s next Ambassador to the United Nations.
Anne Ruston has been elevated to Cabinet as Minister for Family and Social Services with the new Minister for Defence, former Brigadier in the Army Reserve, Linda Reynolds and outgoing Minister for the Environment, Melissa Price taking on Defence Industry.
Sussan Ley returns to the Ministry as the new Minister for the Environment.
Alex Hawke is the new Minister for International Development and the Pacific and also Assistant Minister for Defence.
Announcing his Ministry Mr Morrison said a key focus for all Ministers and their Departments will be to lift the performance of Government service delivery.
“This will include congestion busting on regulatory and bureaucratic roadblocks, making better use of technology and better integrating service delivery across portfolios,” Mr Morrison said.
“The goal is to make it easier to deal with and access the Government services Australians rely on.”
He said the new Service Australia agency would play a major role improving efficiencies in the APS by integrating Government service delivery and making the best use of technology and digital applications.
Mr Morrison’s full Ministry, including all Ministers and Assistant Ministers, can be accessed at this PS News link.
