Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07CANBERRA1697
2007-11-29 07:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Canberra
Cable title:  

RUDD ANNOUNCES NEW CABINET

Tags:  PGOV MARR ECON ETRD AS 
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P 290742Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY CANBERRA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8636
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C O N F I D E N T I A L CANBERRA 001697 

SIPDIS


SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV MARR ECON ETRD AS
SUBJECT: RUDD ANNOUNCES NEW CABINET

Classified By: James F. Cole for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L CANBERRA 001697

SIPDIS


SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV MARR ECON ETRD AS
SUBJECT: RUDD ANNOUNCES NEW CABINET

Classified By: James F. Cole for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C/NF) SUMMARY: Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd announced
his 20-member Cabinet November 29. It is a talented line-up
that strikes a balance between different regions and the
Labor Party's left and right-wing factions. Rudd honored his
undertaking to retain his core economic team - Julia Gillard
as Employment and Workplace Relations Minister, Wayne Swan as
Treasurer and Lindsay Tanner as Finance Minister - in their
positions. He surprised many observers by appointing Stephen
Smith as Foreign Minister and Gillard as Education Minister
on top of Workplace Relations and her position as Deputy
Prime Minister. Rudd has appointed Joel Fitzgibbon as Defense
Minister and former Australian Labor Party (ALP) Leader Simon
Crean as Trade Minister. The other major surprise was the
appointment of gaffe-prone shadow minister and former rock
star Peter Garrett as Minister for the Environment, Heritage
and the Arts while creating a new position of Minister for
Climate Change and Water (the two most important components
of the Environment Ministry) and giving it to Senator Penny
Wong, a rising star who performed well during the election.
The Cabinet will be sworn in on Monday December 3. We will
report on the cabinet appointments in more detail, and
provide a full list, septel. END SUMMARY

FOREIGN AFFAIRS


2. (SBU) Western Australia's Stephen Smith, currently Shadow
Education Minister and close to former Opposition Leader Kim
Beazley, will be Minister for Foreign Affairs. A former
lawyer, Keating Government adviser, and State Secretary of
the Western Australian ALP, Smith has a sharp mind and calm
manner, although he has little experience in foreign affairs.
In his press conference, Rudd cited Western Australia's
time-zone (it is two hours behind eastern Australia and the
same as several Asian countries) as an advantage of having
Smith in the portfolio. Former Keating Government Minister
Bob McMullan was touted for Foreign Affairs but will be
Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Affairs Minister --

with responsibility for overseas development.

DEFENSE


3. (SBU) In Defense, Fitzgibbon's appointment is a reward for
his solid performance in that portfolio and perhaps gratitude
for helping deliver Rudd New South Wales support in his
leadership coup 12 months ago. Assisting Fitzgibbon will be
two Parliamentary Secretaries Greg Combet and new MP and
former Australian Army lawyer, Mike Kelly. Combet is the
former secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
and has no background in defense procurement, which is his
new portfolio.

TRADE AND AGRICULTURE


4. (SBU) Former ALP leader Simon Crean, a minister in the
last ALP Government, retains the Trade portfolio he held when
Labor was in opposition. Former ALP spokesperson for
Immigration, Tony Burke, is the new Minister for Agriculture.
Having just finished his first term in Parliament, this is a
significant appointment for someone Rudd called a "rising
star" in his press conference. An accomplished politician
who increased his margin of victory in the recent election in
Qwho increased his margin of victory in the recent election in
what was already a safe Labor seat, he is from Southwestern
Sydney and is not likely to have much of a background in
agriculture.

CLIMATE CHANGE


5. (SBU) Former Labor Environment and Water Spokesperson
Peter Garrett has lost the climate change portfolio but will
be Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. The
Cabinet Ministry of Climate Change and Water will be held by
South Australian Senator Penny Wong who performed very well
during the recent election. (Wong visited the United States
on an IVG earlier this year.) The former Foreign Affairs
Spokesman Robert McClelland will be Attorney-General. Nicola
Roxon continues her role in health for the ALP as the new
Health Minister. She will have the unenviable task of trying
to improve quality and control expenses in Australia'a
state-run public hospitals. Martin Ferguson is new Minister
for Resources, Energy and Tourism. His expertise is in

transport and regional services. Senator Chris Evans, the
former Labor spokesperson for resources from Western
Australia, is Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.

A TOUGH LOAD FOR GILLARD


6. (C/NF) COMMENT: In September, Rudd broke ALP tradition by
declaring that he would name the Ministry rather than cater
to the demands of the various factions within the party. He
appears to have chosen a capable team that contains a good
mixture of youth and experience while also maintaining the
balance between the factions. Gillard has a monumental task
as the Minister responsible for overseeing the winding back
of WorkChoices and implementing Rudd's "Education
Revolution." Its unclear why she would take on two difficult
portfolios and now that the Liberal Party has named the
capable and high-profile Julie Bishop as its spokesperson on
industrial relations (see septel),Gillard will have her
hands full. While Smith may have little experience in
foreign affairs, it is probable that the real foreign
minister will be Kevin Rudd himself, a micromanager and
former diplomat who was Labor's spokesperson for foreign
policy.

MCCALLUM