NATIONALS leader Barnaby Joyce is remaining tight-lipped about potential ministry machinations as his party members hustle for promotions on the back of a strong showing at the federal election.
The junior Coalition partner held its first post-election party-room meeting in Canberra yesterday amid intensifying speculation about future ministerial elevations or demotions.
After the gathering, Mr Joyce said his party achieved a very good election result and the final numbers would soon become known, to determine whether it gained another member in cabinet or the outer ministry.
However, he refused to comment on which ministry or cabinet positions any of his party members would hold within the new Coalition government.
“I’ve got lots of ideas and I’ll be discussing them with the Prime Minister (Malcolm Turnbull) and in fact I look forward to doing that in the very near future,” he said.
Mr Joyce played down media speculation about the future fate of NT Senator and Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion in cabinet, saying he was “doing a good job”.
The Nationals’ leader also said he would not engage in a rule in or rule out scenario on which ministry positions his party members may claim, with four already in cabinet.
After the Opposition conceded election defeat at the weekend, Mr Turnbull said several ministers hadn’t been returned and therefore some changes would occur, “but you shouldn’t anticipate large scale changes”.
“I have said that the ministry I led to the election will be the ministry I lead after the election,” he said.
After Mr Joyce replaced Warren Truss as party leader in February, several Nationals’ members gained promotions including Victorian MP Darren Chester who was made Minister for Infrastructure and Transport.
Mr Joyce continued as Agriculture and Water Resources Minister and the newly appointed Nationals deputy-leader Fiona Nash was elevated to cabinet as Rural Health, Regional Development and Regional Communications Minister.
Both would be expected to continue in those roles as would SA Liberal Senator Anne Ruston as the Assistant Agriculture and Water Resources Minister with only minor changes broadly anticipated in the new ministry.
Liberals who supported Mr Turnbull at last year’s Liberal leadership vote to depose Tony Abbott - Wyatt Roy and Peter Hendy - were rewarded with junior ministries but lost their seats at the election and those vacancies must be replaced.
In February, Keith Pitt was appointed Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce, and Senator Matt Canavan was made Minister for Northern Australia as Queensland Nationals demanded greater leadership presence to reflect their proportion of elected representatives in Canberra.
That push is expected to continue forcing Mr Joyce to balance State based allegiances with other factors like ministerial capacity and practical talents gained through experience earned before entering parliament, in areas like business management.
Queensland Nationals will also feel they’ve gained more leverage since February after winning the critical seats of Flynn and Capricornia, which underpinned the Coalition’s tight re-election.
Speculation has suggested Queensland MP George Christensen could earn a ministry promotion in a potential role that seeks to capture political sentiment and policy concerns expressed by the popularity of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party, at the election.
Party members have described Mr Christensen as being extremely talented but needed to maintain discipline; in particular on social media where he deliberately attacks left-wing critics.
With Damian Drum’s election in the rural seat of Murray, the Nationals now have four Victorian members of parliament, nine from NSW, eight from Queensland and one from the NT.
NSW Nationals MP Michael McCormack is the Assistant Defence Minister but could gain a promotion to a trade position in the new government ministry, which has been a traditional portfolio held by the junior Coalition partner.
Mr Chester has backed Victorian Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie saying she has been an outstanding performer in recent years and “at the leading edge in terms of campaigning on education issues”.
He has also called Mr McCormack a good friend and “outstanding member of parliament”.
But with six Senators and 16 members of the Lower House, Mr Joyce will also be called upon to make a tough decision on ministry roles to ensure workload balance is maintained, to represent the party on various Upper House committees.
NSW Nationals Senator John Williams has expressed an interest in being Chair of the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, to replace retired NSW Liberal Senator and Junee farmer, Bill Heffernan.
For the Liberals, Steven Ciobo is the Trade and Investment Minister and NSW MP Sussan Ley is Health Minister, while Tasmanian Senator Richard Colbeck is his Assistant Minister and Minister for Tourism and International Education.
However, Senator Colbeck is facing an uphill battle for political survival, to be re-elected to the Senate, after being dropped to the vulnerable fifth position on the party’s ticket in Tasmania.
Party members believe the popular Senator could be the beneficiary of a below the line re-election campaign and remain hopeful he can be returned after a continued strong flow of first preference votes.
Senator Colbeck said this week the PM would “love to see me re-elected”.
“I'd love to be re-elected and if re-elected I'd be very, very keen to hold onto my portfolios,” he said.
A neat exchange would be to appoint Mr McCormack to Senator Colbeck’s role if he’s unsuccessful at winning Senate re-election.
Rural Liberal MPs Angus Taylor and Dan Tehan were promoted to the ministry in February and should continue but may be moved into new roles to cover any vacancies while building on their experience and leadership potential.
Other portfolios of interest for rural policy issues held by Liberal MPs include; Small Business Minister Kelly O’Dwyer; Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Christopher Pyne; and Environment Minister Greg Hunt.
Both Coalition parties are due to hold meetings in Canberra on Monday next week followed by a joint party-room meeting where ministry positions are likely to be finalised.
Mr Joyce and Mr Turnbull will also need to determine the final Coalition agreement which sets out details of ministry positions and other management and policy agreements made between the two Coalition partners.
Mr Joyce faced media scrutiny about the agreement after saying its details should be kept confidential, prompting calls for its public release by the Opposition.
“I’m not going to start discussing what would be a deal breaker and what wouldn’t,” Mr Joyce said.
“I believe overwhelmingly that the people want us to form a government and that’s what we have every intention of doing.”
Senator Canavan said he agreed with former PM John Howard that politics was “remorselessly governed by the arithmetic” and it was “a numbers game”.
“We’re going to form majority government because we got to the magic number of 76 and likewise the spread of ministries in the Coalition between the Nationals and the Liberals is governed by the numbers,” he said.
“The National Party’s proportion will increase and it will most likely entitle us to another ministerial position and maybe two but there is still some vote counting to continue, particularly in the Senate, to determine that.
“In my view the Nationals have won this election and to use Christopher Pyne’s term, ‘we’re an election winning machine’, this time at least, and when you win you do get some spoils and rewards.”
Senator Canavan said it was up to Mr Joyce to decide if he wanted to continue as Agriculture Minister but was 99pc sure a Nationals’ member would retain that post.
He said he would also be more than happy to continue in his current ministerial role but was “a team player and will do whatever the captain wants”.
Mr Chester said the Coalition would form a majority government after a good election result but acknowledged, “In many ways we got through by the skin of our teeth”.
He said after a tough election campaign, the bottom line for the Nationals was they’d gained one member – provided Barry O’Sullivan is returned in Queensland .
While there were many “heroes” in the Nationals after winning seats like Page, Dawson, Capricornia, New England, Murray and Flynn, “you don’t rest on your laurels”, he said.
“Now is an opportunity for us to deliver for regional Australia,” he said.
“We have a responsibility that comes as a regionally based party to make sure that regional Australia gets a fair share of government resources, gets the infrastructure it needs, the service delivery we need to grow into the future.”
Mr Chester said the key ministerial portfolios for the Nationals were “pretty well understood across the nation”.
“We obviously are passionate about the outcomes for agriculture and water policy, my own portfolio in the previous parliament in transport and infrastructure, critical issues,” he said.
“Regional development held by Fiona Nash has been very important to us and it will always be important to the National Party because we want to see regional communities grow.
“Nigel Scullion in the portfolio of indigenous affairs (has) had a critical role to play in trying to lift our indigenous communities out of poverty, out of some of the welfare traps they have fallen into, and provide a prosperous future for them.”
But Mr Chester said talk of Senator Scullion’s potential dumping from the minister was “paper talk” as he was “a highly respected colleague” who’d been performing in his portfolio.
In regards to the Coalition agreement, he said he understood why Opposition Leader Bill Shorten wanted to see internal party documentation, “so he can find out how we plan to beat him at future elections”.
“We are in the business of beating Labor and keeping them out of government - why would we be telling Mr Shorten how we plan to do that?” he said.
Mr Shorten said he would consult with his colleagues in coming weeks about the makeup of his shadow cabinet.
“I am very pleased with my shadow cabinet and shadow ministry - we've got lots of new talented people,” he said.
“I have a good problem, a happy problem.
“I've got a lot of talent and we're going to put in the best possible line-up.”
NSW Nationals MP Mark Coulton was a farmer for 30 years before entering politics and would make a strong option for Agriculture Minister if called upon, while Senator Nash has also been linked to the role.
In his weekly newsletter, Mr Coulton said the Coalition agreement was a “critical document” for rural and regional Australians that set-out his party’s agenda in the re-elected Turnbull-Joyce government.
“I am confident that we will secure an agreement that demonstrates a good deal for rural and regional Australia: focusing on the re-elected Coalition government continuing to deliver for local families, businesses and communities,” he said.
“The agreement is set to encompass a broad range of key policy issues ensuring there is no confusion as to the Coalition government’s priorities for rural and regional Australia.
“I anticipate that the iconic inland rail project will be included in the agreement with further planning for this project set to continue over the coming years.
“I also foresee the Nationals maintaining responsibility for water policy outcomes with the Murray Darling Basin Authority.
“Implementation of the Murray Darling Basin Plan is an issue that has been affecting farmers and communities right across my electorate for years.
“We need to ensure that the implementation of the Murray Darling Basin Plan will be resolved in an efficient and effective manner and consider the issues across the entire basin.”
Mr Coulton said it was likely the agreement would also include communications policy matters like ongoing funding for communications technology like the mobile phone and television reception black spot programs.
It’s understood the backpacker tax will also be a core priority for the new Coalition government with several MP’s demanding the tax increase be scrapped.
During the election, the 32pc tax increase on working holidaymakers was deferred to January 1 next year pending a cross-department review as part of a Coalition promise amid concerns about negative economic impacts due to loss of fragile seasonal workforces; especially agriculture.
Capricornia MP Michelle Landry said this week, “I would like to see the backpacker tax gone”.
Coalition MPs said Mr Turnbull needed to “calm the waters” at next week’s meeting and make minimal ministerial changes to help build stability for the new government but must pay closer attention to the demands of conservative backbench members.