Work begins at new stadium

Premier Colin Barnett and Tuck Waldren with the first concrete pile to be driven in the new sports stadium. Picture: Steve Ferrier/The West Austrlian

Beleaguered Minister Dean Nalder looks set to remain in Cabinet after Premier Colin Barnett this afternoon revealed a reshuffle of the ministry would include no new Liberals.

Mr Barnett made the remark at the final press conference of Sports Minister Terry Waldron, whose retirement from Cabinet is triggering the reshuffle.

The pair kicked off the construction phase of the Burswood stadium by driving into prepared earth the first of 2000 piles which will support the 60,000 structure.

There was speculation Mr Barnett would dump Mr Nalder from the ministry after a torrid week in which the Premier admitted the rookie Transport and Finance Minister had mixed up his ministerial role with his business interests.

But Mr Barnett revealed the only new face in the Cabinet would be Mr Waldrons replacement widely expected to be Nationals MLC Colin Holt.

Ive kept (the reshuffle) to a minimum but nevertheless you do get a ripple effect when a minister leaves so it does affect a number of ministers, he said.

Mr Barnett shrugged off claims by shadow transport minister Ken Travers earlier today that only an ejection from Cabinet would be an acceptable punishment for Mr Nalder.

Mr Nalder has been under the spotlight amid revelations he was the part owner of a car-leasing company targeting public servants through salary sacrificing deals while overseeing the State fleet as Finance Minister.

His acquisition of a $400,000 stake in a property company Metier Asia Pty Ltd and abandoned plans in July to travel to China with a co-investing ministerial staffer to observe some of its activities has also not gone down well among Liberals.

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Work begins at new stadium