With the Budget on the horizon and Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP shuffling his deck, Nexus returns with the third instalment of our political matchups to watch.
This week we will showcase the next set of Coalition and Opposition members to go head-to-head after the recent reshuffle. Which contenders seem evenly matched? Who will be the underdog to provide a real fight against the current champions?
The Nexus team will let you decide for yourself as the next contestants step up to the contest and go head-to-head.
ROUND 1: Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business Portfolio and Industry, Science and Technology Portfolio – The Hon Stuart Robert MP & The Hon Christian Porter MP VS The Hon Richard Marles MP & The Hon Ed Husic MP
The Hon Christian Porter MP and The Hon Stuart Robert MP
| ROBERT | PORTER |
| OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
Since his election to the seat of Fadden, Minister Robert has served in the Australian Parliament for over 14 years.
He has also served as Assistant Treasurer, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and Minister for Government Services. |
OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
Elected in 2013, Minister Porter has over eight years of experience in the Federal Parliament.
During this time, Minister Porter has held several ministerial roles, including Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Social Services. |
| PORTFOLIO EXPERIENCE:
Minister Robert was appointed Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business Portfolio in March 2021.
Minister Robert’s Business Administration Master’s degree and his previous experience in founding a successful IT services firm which was listed on Business Review Weekly’ Fast 100′ in 2006, 2007, and 2008 gives him some expertise in the portfolio area. |
PORTFOLIO EXPERIENCE:
Minister Porter was appointed Minister for Industry, Science, and Technology in March 2021.
Minister Porter has also held the office of Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and Minister for Social Services. |
| PARTY POSITION:
Minister Robert is considered to be quite close to the Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP.
Minister Robert is also a member of the Policy Implementation Committee, the primary Cabinet body responsible for ensuring Government policy progresses from announcement to implementation.
|
PARTY POSITION:
Minister Porter served as the Leader of the House from 2019 to March 2021.
With Minister Porter having less experience in the portfolio than his predecessor, it is unclear as to whether the industry portfolio will remain to be as prominent in the lead up to the next Federal Election.
|
The Hon Richard Marles MP and The Hon Ed Husic MP
| MARLES | HUSIC |
| OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
Mr Marles has served for over 13 years in Parliament after his election to the House of Representatives in 2007.
He has been Minister for Trade and Shadow Minister for Defence, and Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. |
OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
Husic has represented the seat of Chifley, New South Wales, since his election to Federal Parliament in 2010.
From July to September 2019, he worked as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and Parliamentary Secretary for Broadband. He was appointed Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy (2018-2019) and Shadow Minister for Human Services (2018-2019). |
| PORTFOLIO EXPERIENCE:
Mr Marles is currently serving as Shadow Minister for National Reconstruction, Employment, Skills, and Small Business and was also appointed Shadow Minister for Science in January 2021.
|
PORTFOLIO EXPERIENCE:
On the 28th of January 2021, Mr Husic was appointed Shadow Minister for Industry and Innovation. Throughout his parliamentary career, Husic has been a big advocate for improving and expanding Australia’s technology industry. In 2014, he called for a parliamentary investigation into the ‘Australia Tax’ and the higher prices of goods and services in Australia than equivalent costs in comparative overseas nations. |
| PARTY POSITION:
Mr Marles has been Deputy Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party since 2019.
Mr Marles is considered to be a leading figure of Labor’s right faction and is the most senior Labor right member from Victoria. |
PARTY POSITION:
Mr Husic is considered to be one of the most consistent performers from the ALP Right.
This has seen his stature rise within Labor, even after stepping aside from the Shadow Ministry to make room for NSW Senator, Senator the Hon Kristina Keneally, following the 2019 election defeat. In fact, this set back actually improved his standing with colleagues and stakeholders. |
ROUND 2: National Disability Insurance Scheme Portfolio and the Government Services Portfolio – Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC VS The Hon Bill Shorten MP
Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC
OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
Minister Reynolds was elected to the House of Representatives in 2014.
In this time, she has served across a range of portfolios, first entering the ministry as Assistant Minister for Home Affairs before transitioning into the defence portfolio. Senator Reynolds has also been Minister for Emergency Management and North Queensland Recovery, leading the Government’s response to the 2019 Townsville floods.
PORTFOLIO EXPERIENCE:
Senator Reynolds served as a member of the Joint Standing Committee National Disability Insurance Scheme from 2014 to 2016. She also worked as Minister for Emergency Management and North Queensland Recovery from March to May in 2019. During her service in this portfolio, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC announced a $242 million long-term recovery package to support communities devastated by the Queensland floods. Minister Reynolds’ service in this role and her experience in the Liberal Party’s organisation wing showcases her ability to be an excellent Minister for Government Services.
PARTY POSITION:
Minister Reynolds is the President of the Liberal Party Hasluck Women’s Committee. She is now considered to be the second most senior member of the WA Liberal Senate team behind Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, following the departure of former Senator, the Hon Mathias Cormann.
The Hon Bill Shorten MP
OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
Mr Shorten was elected to the House of Representatives in 2007.
Mr Shorten has held many roles during his parliamentary career, including the Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. He also served as Minister for Education, Minister for Workplace Relations, and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation.
PORTFOLIO EXPERIENCE:
Mr Shorten was appointed Shadow Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Shadow Minister for Government Services in 2019. He has previous experience in this portfolio area. He served as Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services from 2007 to 2010 and used this role to push for the foundation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
PARTY POSITION:
As former Leader of the Opposition, Mr Shorten maintained a leading position within the Australian Labor Party.
He has been considered a strong voice within the Labor Caucus, and has been a formidable force in Question Time, particularly on the Robodebt issues. However, it remains to be seen how prominent he will be in the coming months, with his portfolio no longer laying within the House of Representatives for the Coalition.
ROUND 3: The Defence Portfolio – The Hon Peter Dutton MP VS The Hon Brendan O’Connor MP
The Hon Peter Dutton MP
OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
Elected to represent the seat of Dickson, Minister Dutton has had over nineteen years of service in Parliament. He was appointed Leader of the House in March 2021. He has held a wide range of ministerial positions, including Minister for Sport, Minister for Health and Minister for Revenue, and Assistant Treasurer.
PORTFOLIO EXPERIENCE:
Before entering politics, Minister Dutton worked as a police officer from 1990 to 1999. His strong leadership in his role as Minister for Immigration and Border Protection and Minister for Home Affairs has also given him a wealth of expertise to bring to this portfolio.
PARTY POSITION:
As recently appointed Leader of the House, Minister Dutton has gained a powerful position within both the Liberal Party and Federal Parliament.
He is considered to be the leading member of the Conservative faction of the Liberal Party, and is known for convening the “Monkey Pod Lunch Conservatives”, a group of like-minded conservatives who share a Tuesday takeaway lunch.
The Hon Brendan O’Connor MP
OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
Mr O’Connor has served in the Australian Parliament for almost 20 years since his election in 2001. He has served in many portfolios across his time in both Opposition and Government.
One of Mr O’Connor’s most notable achievements was leading the Labor Party’s review and response to the controversial WorkChoices policy and serving as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industrial Relations, drawing on his union background.
PORTFOLIO EXPERIENCE:
Mr O’Connor was appointed as Shadow Minister for Defence in January 2021. He previously held the Minister for Home Affairs portfolio (2009-2011) and sat on the National Security Committee. This, coupled with his industrial relations, may signal a shift to a defence industry and worker-focussed approach to defence industry for the Labor Party.
PARTY POSITION:
Mr O’Connor is one of the leading members of Labor’s left faction in Victoria. This has seen Mr O’Connor hold some key positions during the Rudd and particularly the Gillard years, including Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Employment, Skills and Training, and Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.
However, despite both Mr O’Connor and Mr Albanese existing in Labor’s left faction, there have been disagreements between the pair, with Mr O’Connor arguing for the retention of some Labor policies following the 2019 election loss.
ROUND 4: The Home Affairs Portfolio – The Hon Karen Andrews MP VS Senator the Hon Kristina Kennelly
The Hon Karen Andrews MP
EXPERIENCE OVERALL:
Minister Andrews was elected to represent McPherson, Queensland, in the House of Representatives in 2010. She was appointed Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills from 2016 to 2018 and served as Minister for Industry, Science and Technology from 2018 to 2021.
PORTFOLIO EXPERIENCE:
Although Minister Andrews has little previous experience in this area, her solid record as Minister for Industry, Science and Technology and the rollout of Prime Minister’s Modern Manufacturing Strategy demonstrates her ability to handle key ministerial departments successfully.
PARTY POSITION:
Minister Andrews is one of the senior Liberal women in the House of Representatives.
Minister Andrews’ performance in her previous portfolio has made her a key part of the Morrison team. As such, her promotion into Home Affairs, which has one of the largest associated Public Service Departments, is a testament to her position within the Prime Minister’s team.
Senator the Hon Kristina Kennelly
OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
Senator Kennelly was chosen to represent NSW in the Senate in 2018 after former Senator Sam Dastyari resigned. She has previously served as the NSW Premier and later as Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and Shadow Minister for Government Accountability.
PORTFOLIO EXPERIENCE:
Senator Kennelly has served as Shadow Minister for Home Affairs since June 2019. Her membership on the Joint Statutory Committee on Law Enforcement) and the Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security gives her the added expertise in the area.
PARTY POSITION:
Senator Kennelly holds a high position within the Labor Party as she has been serving as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate since May 2019.
There remains some uncertainty as to whether Senator Keneally will retain her position in the Senate following the next election, with a preselection battle between Right Faction heavyweights, Senator Keneally and Senator Deb O’Neill, guaranteed to relegate one of the two to the ‘unwinnable’ third spot on the NSW Labor ticket.
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