Tony Abbott cabinet reshuffle moves Scott Morrison out of immigration

Tony Abbott announces his cabinet reshuffle in Canberra. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Scott Morrison will become social services minister and take charge of a families package and ongoing welfare crackdown while defence minister David Johnston has been dumped from cabinet by Tony Abbott in a bigger than expected ministerial shake-up.

The prime minister has also elevated Sussan Ley to the health and sport portfolio and into cabinet where she will become the second woman on his frontbench alongside Julie Bishop.

The current social services minister, Kevin Andrews, will move to defence and the current health minister, Peter Dutton who the prime minister described as a tough, no nonsense individual will take over immigration and border security.

Morrison was understood to have been disappointed having sought the defence portfolio in the reshuffle. In his announcement Tony Abbott stressed Morrisons role in social services would be central to the governments hopes for a political revival in the new year by putting jobs and families at the heart of our political agenda, as well as to its plans for budget repair.

The minister [is] responsible for crafting the holistic families package which will be such an important part of our political and economic agenda, Abbott said as he announced the first major changes to the ministerial arrangements since opposition.

He said Morrison would be responsible for ensuring mutual obligation was at the heart of social services policy and said targeting welfare to the vulnerable was an ongoing program Fit working-age people should be working, preferably for a wage, but if not then for the dole.

I can think of no finer advocate than Scott Morrison, he is the master of difficult policy as he has abundantly demonstrated in all but stopping the boats over the last 15 months, Abbott said. He is also a very decent human being.

Facebook

Pinterest

Read the rest here:
Tony Abbott cabinet reshuffle moves Scott Morrison out of immigration