After Health Minister Sussan Ley fell on her sword over the travel expenses controversy, it is curious that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s small cabinet reshuffle would promote two men with their own share of controversies in her place.
As had been widely predicted overnight, Turnbull announced on Wednesday that Greg Hunt will replace Ley as Health and Sport Minister, while Arthur Sinodinos will take over Hunt’s former portfolio of Innovation, Industry and Science.
Just days ago, the Herald Sun reported that Hunt had charged taxpayers more than $20,000 for trips for himself and his family to Queensland, including five trips to Noosa and six trips to Hayman Island during more than a decade in Parliament. This is significantly less than the estimated $40,000 Ley had spent on trips to the Gold Coast, and as far as has been reported, Hunt did not buy any investment properties, but it raises questions as to why Hunt’s trips were not considered to render him an unfit replacement for Ley.
[Bronwyn Bishop: let’s spit on socialism’s grave together, Sussan]
Arthur Sinodinos, a trusted operator within the Coalition and a close confidant of the Prime Minister, also has a messy past because of his appearances at ICAC over both the NSW Liberal Party laundering donations from property developers and his time at Australian Water Holdings. As Fairfax’s Kate McClymont notes, although there were no findings made against Sinodinos or expected to be made against him in either matter, his failure to act in either incident and his poor memory in ICAC hearings will likely haunt him as Labor targets the new Innovation Minister.
Turnbull said that Sinodinos’ role as cabinet secretary would go back to the public service in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, reducing the size of the Turnbull cabinet by one.
The other limited changes made to the Turnbull cabinet include appointing Ken Wyatt as the assistant minister for aged care and Minister for Indigenous Health, making Wyatt the first indigenous person appointed to a Commonwealth ministry.
Conservative rising star Michael Sukkar has also been appointed as assistant minister to the treasurer, but any conservative desire for a Tony Abbott return to cabinet has been dashed.
[George Brandis and the struggle for competence]
The changes mean one less woman in Turnbull’s cabinet, and Ley is the only one to have been punished for her expenses claims, while other senior ministers, including Peter Dutton, Mathias Cormann and George Brandis, have had their own controversies over the past few weeks over expenses.
At some point, too, you have to wonder, what dirt does Brandis have on those in power in order to save himself for as long as he has? Many had been predicting Brandis might go in an early 2017 reshuffle by the PM, and yet he remains. The Attorney-General has more ministerial stuff-ups than any of his colleagues, he has misled Parliament, and there are still questions around his actions regarding the Bell Group High Court case still yet to be answered and more hearings over what he knew and when still to come. But London’s calling, so the fifth reshuffle in 18 months might not be that far away.
Here’s to Tosser and his captain’s picks….
Arfur C. Nodonors with his history of chronic “convenient” memory lapses – an industrial science of innovative amnesia in certain areas : ask him about anything else and he’ll quote chapter and verse (not necessarily accurately – what he doesn’t know he can make up) – to Innovation, Industry and Science….
What’s Arfur got on the rest of ’em?
…. Now, about my nose Tosser …
Arfur has been around long enough to know where all the bodies are buried, from Howard onwards. Not only that, he knows who buried them.
Arfur gets what he wants because he has truckloads of dirt and he will unload it if/when he feels the need. The best way to ensure his silence is to keep him happy. . Getting what he wants included a created just for him by Turnbull cabinet position and full ministerial pay while he was supposed to be sin-binned over his ICAC appearances.
Now Arfur has that ‘proper’ ministry. Even when he stuffs it up, as he inevitably will, he will be forgiven because ‘dirt’. He’s more corrupt than a skip full of dead rats, but compared to the rest of the Turnbull ministry I suppose that’s just par for the course. And don’t believe that dopey ‘I can’t remember’ schtick. Arfur never forgets. That’s why he’s always going to have Liberal PMs wrapped around his greasy little finger for as long as he cares to stay in politics.
An extremely accurate summation of the ‘Life of Arfur.’ Thank you Leone.
Me, three. That was succinct, accurate & mordant.
Ha ha Klewso very clever. Sadly, we have a man who is possibly corrupt and at best an incompetent who could not begin to fulfill his corporate responsibilities despite his large salary. God above are there no proper, decent liberals with talent in this bloody nation.
Who better to run a Turbott ministry – with all those responsibilties and budget? He’ll probably apply himself just as diligently as he did at AWH ………. opening doors?
I wonder if he has/needs any talent beyond “skeleton sponge in Honest John Howard’s kitchen cabinet”?
No, not to my knowledge.
This is why I didn’t particularly care if Ley would get punished or not. The rules won’t be changed and they all keep their snout in the trough. Congratulations for claiming one (1) political scalp though, partisans.
I shaln’t be shedding a tear for Ley’s salary cut, but after all that noise, you guys got what you wanted: nothing of importance.
If the leader of the Labor Party had any street smarts he would belabor the choice of Arthur Sinodinos-on the grounds of proven dishonesty-and rhyming slang Hunt, on the grounds of having done a rotten job as minister for the environment, and as being yet another parliamentarian imitating a greedy pig. Shorten could hammer the point of just how close to the bottom of the barrel lies the Liberal Party’s talent pool if they have to rely on this squalid duo.
However, Bill has stuffed up with his appointment of Kimberley Kitching.
It’s all about merit in the Libs and Nats. Men have merit. Women are ornamental. All you have to do to have merit in the LNP is be a man.
Lady Penelope is an ornament?