The Prime Minister has announced two senior ministers will retire, which will lead to a shake-up of his front bench as the government prepares for an election.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney, 67, and Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Connor, 62, will leave parliament at the election, due by May next year.
The announcement now allows Anthony Albanese to make the first changes to his ministry which has been unchanged since the May 2022 election.
He will make that announcement on Sunday.
Mr Albanese said both had “made an outstanding contribution to our government and to our country”.
“In Linda Burney and Brendan O’Connor, I am proud to call my friends,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“I am proud to have witnessed first-hand their passion for this nation, their determination to leave the country better for their contribution as members of Parliament and as ministers.”
Both have decided to step down from the ministry immediately.
“As a result of that they have also made the decision to step down from the ministry to enable a refresh and enable some new ministers to be able to take their place and take us forward over the coming months before the election, which is due in 2025,” Mr Albanese said.
Ms Burney, who oversaw the failed Voice referendum, said now was the time to allow the next generation of Indigenous leaders to have a chance.
“After 21 years in politics, eight years in the federal parliament and 13 years in the NSW Parliament, it’s time for me to pass on the baton to the next generation,” she said.
“It is time for me to pass on that baton to people like Malarndirri McCarthy, Jana Stewart and Gordon Reid.”
She said the referendum loss was not the end.
“So whilst people might think it is a defeat, there is some very good things that came out of the referendum,” she said.
“I am proud of the Prime Minister and his leadership. I’m proud of First Nations people, and I’m proud to have been part of it.
She said she did all she could to close the gap for Indigenous Australians.”
Mr O’Connor said he was proud to have been part of the Albanese government, the third Labor government he had been a minister in.
“This is the most cohesive, united government I have witnessed since I was elected,” he said. “The way it goes about things, including today, it is orderly, considered and I think today is a good example of that collegiality and that unity.
“I am very proud to be a part of it.”
Mr Albanese has called for caucus nominations for the front bench.
He will announce the new ministerial line-up on a Sunday in Canberra and the new ministers will be sworn in on Monday morning.
“We have also been an incredibly stable government. No government in living memory has had the same cabinet and ministerial positions for its first two years in office,” Mr Albanese said.
“At the next election, I will be seeking to be the first Prime Minister since John Howard in 2004 to serve out a term and be re-elected as Prime Minister.”
Mr Albanese had been widely expected to announce a reshuffle before parliament resumed after the winter break.
The retirement of the two ministers will allow Mr Albanese to make a broader change, which many expect will include move of key ally Andrew Giles whose been under intense pressure in the Immigration portfolio.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Wednesday pushed for Mr Albanese to sack Mr Giles, saying he had released 153 criminals “unnecessarily” into the community.
“The Prime Minister’s test in this reshuffle is whether he sacks Andrew Giles,” Mr Dutton said.
“Anything short of that shows how weak and out of touch this Prime Minister.”
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