Changes to Shadow Ministry
Today, I announce the following changes to
the Coalition Shadow Ministry.
I am delighted that
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price will take on the role of Shadow Minister for
Indigenous Australians.
Jacinta is a fighter
and a warrior for Indigenous Australia. As a proud Territorian, a former
councillor and deputy mayor of Alice Springs, and a former small business
owner, she has always fought hard to improve the lives of Indigenous women and
kids, and tackled immensely difficult issues like the scourge of sexual abuse,
domestic violence, and the crisis in law and order in some Indigenous
communities.
I am proud of her,
and I know she will do an outstanding job in leading the charge for better
practical outcomes for Indigenous Australians – not through the Prime
Minister’s Canberra Voice Bureaucracy.
Senator Kerrynne
Liddle will join the outer shadow ministry as Shadow Minister for Child
Protection and the Prevention of Family Violence. Kerrynne had a distinguished
career prior to entering the Senate, having worked as a senior business leader,
small business owner and journalist. A former small business owner and senior
leader in the private and public sector, Kerrynne’s extensive professional
experience has led to her success in key areas including in the tourism,
energy, media, tertiary education, arts, social housing and indigenous affairs
sectors. I am delighted she will join my Shadow Ministry and this critical role
will allow her unique policy strengths and insights to come to the fore.
I want to thank the
Hon. Karen Andrews MP for her many years of fine service on the Coalition
frontbench. Karen has offered to step aside from the Shadow Ministry and to
return to the backbench. Karen was a distinguished and first-rate minister
during the period of the last Coalition government and I am so grateful for her
contribution to the Coalition team over many years.
Senator James
Paterson will join the Shadow Cabinet as the new Shadow Minister for Home Affairs.
As a member and former chairman of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on
Intelligence and Security, James has been at the forefront of many of the
critical national security debates facing our country in recent years.
James has done an
outstanding job in holding the government to account for its failures in cyber
security, along with raising the critical issue of foreign interference in our
community. He will retain his existing shadow ministerial portfolio of Cyber
Security and I am delighted to bring him into the Shadow Cabinet.
Senator the Hon.
Michaelia Cash will return to a familiar portfolio area for her as she takes on
the role of Shadow Attorney-General.
A fierce and
talented legal operator, I’m delighted Michaelia will take on this position, in
addition to her existing Industrial Relations portfolio remit. With the legal
uncertainty, complexity, and constitutional risk inherent in the Prime
Minister’s Canberra Voice proposal becoming clearer by the day, I know
Michaelia will do a forensic job in this role.
I can assure all
Australians that the Coalition will continue to focus on delivering positive
plans and policies for the future of our country in 2023 and in the lead-up to
the next election.
These new shadow
ministry appointments strengthen our team as we approach the task ahead.