NEW OPPOSITION SHADOW CABINET

C O N F I D E N T I A L CANBERRA 001728

SIPDIS


NOFORN
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR AS
SUBJECT: NEW OPPOSITION SHADOW CABINET

REF: CANBERRA 1698

Classified By: Political Counselor James F. Cole, for reasons 1.4 (b) a
nd (d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson
announced his new Shadow Ministry December 6, the same day
Prime Minister Rudd held his first Cabinet meeting. Nelson's
front bench is a mixture of veterans from the Howard
Government and newcomers. None of the veterans were in the
same portfolios they had occupied under John Howard.
Long-serving former Treasurer Peter Costello and former
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer declined to accept
portfolios in the Shadow Ministry and have moved to the
backbench. In addition to the earlier appointments of
Malcolm Turnbull as Shadow Treasurer and Deputy Opposition
Leader Julie Bishop as Spokesperson for Workplace Relations
(reftel),Nelson announced the appointment of Senator Nick
Minchin, formerly Finance Minister, as Coalition Spokesperson
for Defense. Andrew Robb, Howard's campaign director when he
first was elected prime minister in 1996 and a junior
minister in the last Howard government, is the new Shadow
Minister for Foreign Affairs. With the National Party
winning only 10 seats in the November election, it did not
receive the Trade Portfolio, which was given to the Liberal
Party's Ian MacFarlane, the former minister for Industry.
Joe Hockey, who defended Howard's unpopular workplace
relations laws during the campaign, received another
prominent position as Shadow Health and Aging Minister, while
the polarizing right-winger and Howard-favorite, former
Health Minister Tony Abbott, received the portfolio of
Family, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. END
SUMMARY.

MINCHIN FOR DEFENSE


2. (SBU) Senator Nick Minchin from South Australia, one of
the Coalition's most senior members, has been appointed
Shadow Defense Minister. Formerly Government Leader in the
Senate and Minister for Finance, Minchin is close to former
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. They are both from the
right-wing of the South Australian Liberal Party. Minchin,
who visited the US on a political exchange in 1990, is a
strong supporter of the US Alliance.

ROBB AT FOREIGN AFFAIRS


3. (SBU) Andrew Robb, from the state of Victoria, although in
Parliament only since 2004, as expected, received Foreign
Affairs. He is a former Liberal Party Federal Director who
helped John Howard win his first election in 1996. Robb has
also worked as executive director of two prominent business
lobbying organizations. He served as Minister for Vocational
Education and Training in the last Howard government. Robb
is one of the Coalition's more credible performers and while
he has no background in foreign affairs, he has the political
experience and stature within the Liberal Party that the job
demands.

EDUCATION GOES TO A NEWCOMER


4. (SBU) Perhaps the biggest winner was Tony Smith, who has
been handed the Education, Apprenticeship and Training
portfolio. An adviser to former Treasurer Peter Costello
before entering Parliament in 2001, Smith was Parliamentary
Secretary to the Prime Minister before the election.

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Opposition Leader Nelson emphasized that Education would
remain a separate portfolio for the Coalition, in contrast to
the Government, which has created a "super-ministry" of
Education, Employment and Workplace Relations under the
leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

THE NATIONAL PARTY GETS LESS
QTHE NATIONAL PARTY GETS LESS


5. (SBU) The National Party, whose electoral fortunes
continue to decline as its representation in the House of
Representatives dropped from 12 to 10 seats after the
November election, has had its representation in Shadow
Cabinet downgraded. The Trade portfolio, for decades held by
the Nationals, has now been assigned to Liberal MP Ian
Macfarlane, a former Industry Minister.

JOE HOCKEY GETS HEALTH


6. (SBU) In other significant appointments, former Workplace
Relations Minister Joe Hockey is now Shadow Minister for
Health. This is another prominent role for him and should
help him erase his previous image as the defender of Howard's

unpopular workplace relations laws. Greg Hunt, former
parliamentary secretary to Foreign Minister Downer, is now
spokesperson for climate change. Former Aging Minister
Christopher Pyne, an unsuccessful contender for the Deputy
Leadership and a long-time supporter of Peter Costello's
leadership ambitions, surprisingly was left out of Shadow
Cabinet and assigned the Justice and Border Protection
portfolio. George Brandis, a Peter Costello supporter who
came to prominence in 2004 for allegedly calling Howard a
"lying rodent," is Shadow Attorney-General. Former Health
Minister Tony Abbott, is now Shadow Minister for Family,
Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

PAYOFF FOR ABBOTT?


7. (C/NF) COMMENT: Abbott demonstrated his propensity for
insensitivity and controversy during what was a disastrous
election campaign for him. His appointment to the emotive
area of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
is risky, particularly given the fact that he is an outspoken
conservative Catholic who once studied for the priesthood.
It is possible that Abbott received this portfolio in return
for pulling out of the leadership contest and delivering his
numbers to Nelson. That the National Party has lost its
treasured Trade portfolio will please many Liberal MPs who
believe the Nationals had an influence in John Howard's
Coalition unwarranted by parliamentary representation or
ability. Pitting the inexperienced Tony Smith in Education
against the formidable Julia Gillard is perhaps surprising.
A more experienced performer might have been better able to
expose the weaknesses created by Gillard's overly expansive
portfolio of education and workplace relations.
Nevertheless, the Coalition frontbench - with 11 former
Cabinet Ministers - should provide an effective opposition.

MCCALLUM