Mr Hawke was a key tactical adviser to Mr Morrison during the Liberal leadership spill of 2018 when the two friends,joined by fellow cabinet minister Stuart Robert,sought support to defeat Peter Dutton in the ballot to decide a successor to Malcolm Turnbull.
In a move to avoid a broader reshuffle,Mr Morrison gave the industry portfolio to Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor to expand his responsibilities given both roles share the same federal department.
The changes give Mr Taylor one of the cabinet’s key roles ahead of the federal election with responsibility for climate policy,energy prices,manufacturing and the attempt to attract vaccine companies like Pfizer and Moderna tomake mRNA vaccines in Australia.
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Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price,who is also in cabinet,will gain some parts of the industry portfolio including science and technology to work alongside Mr Taylor.
Western Australian Liberal Ben Morton,another of Mr Morrison’s close colleagues,will rise to the ministry but not enter cabinet as Special Minister of State with a role that includes cutting red tape.
Mr Morton will also be asked to look at reform of the federation,a signal of changes to relations between Canberra and the states after the pandemic sparked the use of extraordinary powers by state and territory leaders using health orders.