After leaving Perrottet exposed to the damaging John Barilaro trade appointment fiasco for weeks,Ayres was forced to quit the ministry after a review raised questions about whether he remained at arm’s length from the controversial US trade post that haunted the government. Ayres has since languished on the backbench,seething that he was made the fall guy.
A reshuffle is always fraught,which is no doubt why Perrottet has avoided one. Ambitions cloud judgments and factional deals must be accommodated. Moving the deckchairs this close to an election and risking internal warfare,which already exists in some sections of the party,could be disastrous.
Presumably Perrottet sees the benefit in seasoned hands arguing the government’s position in the campaign rather than thrusting untested new ministers into the white heat of battle. The ministers know what is expected of them and have the confidence to take on most Labor onslaughts.
But it is a risky move for a 12-year-old government wanting to convince voters it is new and fresh.
While relying on old hands as its merits,it also exposes Perrottet’s lack of depth in his frontbench should he defy the polls and win a historic fourth term. Another glaring issue he will have when selecting his new ministers in the event of victory is a dearth of women.
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Despite watching their federal counterparts brutally punished in the May election for not taking women seriously,the NSW division of the Liberals have not learnt their lesson.
With the exception of North Shore MP Felicity Wilson,all the Liberal candidates for the blue-ribbon electorates north of the Harbour Bridge (where the risk from teal candidates is the highest) are male. In 10 of 11 seats on Sydney’s north shore,the Liberal Party will be represented by men.
Perrottet tried to push the case for more women,but the factions prevailed. When he stamped his foot and demanded that the upper house ticket represent society – that is having 50 per cent female representation – his own faction turned on him and threatened to release details,or worse – a photo,of his 21st birthday party where he was dressed as Nazi.
Meanwhile,Labor has had its frontbench in place since Chris Minns took over as leader in June 2021,with the exception of firebrand MP Walt Secord who quit amid bullying allegations andOne Nation recruit Tania Mihailuk who accused the party of being too close to property developers.
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Senior opposition politicians,such as shadow treasurer Daniel Mookhey,roads spokesman John Graham and environment spokeswoman Penny Sharpe,have had 18 months to get across their portfolios. But that is not without its own problems. Only former leader Michael Daley,who led the party to defeat in 2019,has experience as a cabinet minister. If Labor wins,it will be a baptism of fire for the new frontbench. Government is a very different beast to opposition.
After the stunning downfall of Berejiklian,Perrottet had to move quickly to establish himself as a fresh face that would deliver a renewed government worthy of another four years in power. But as the federal Liberals also learnt,an election is about the future,and Labor will be sure to hammer that point that,under Perrottet,it is not clear what that future looks like.
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