Scott Morrison’s latest cabinet reshuffle has seen the MP he dubs his “apprentice”, Western Australian MP Ben Morton, complete his rapid rise to the ministry, being named the special minister of state.
Morton, Morrison’s right-hand man, has stepped into the ministry, while Morrison’s second apprentice, Alex Hawke, has been promoted to cabinet, as a reward for his role in the Kabul evacuations.
Christian Porter’s previous portfolio has been split into two, with the defence industry minister, Melissa Price, also taking on science and technology, and Angus Taylor to add industry to his current portfolios.
Victorian MP Tim Wilson has been moved into the junior ministry, being named Taylor’s assistant minister.
“These changes provide a timely opportunity to reinforce some of the key issues that the government is progressing, especially following on from the successful series of meetings that we recently held in Washington,” Morrison said.
The new ministry locked out the Nationals from any changes it wanted, including locking Keith Pitt, the resources minister, out of cabinet.
Morrison rushed through his newest ministry announcements in a press conference on Friday which had been brought forward to avoid a later press conference where the NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, was expected to resign.
He combined the announcement with the formal announcement Australia would open its international border in November, once jurisdictions moved into the next stage of the national plan.
Read More: Scott Morrison allies rewarded in cabinet reshuffle as Christian Porter