NSW:Three new faces in NSW cabinet

AAP General News (Australia)
04-03-2011
NSW:Three new faces in NSW cabinet

SYDNEY, April 3 AAP - NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell's first cabinet has been sworn into
office, with three new faces introduced as part of a shake-up of ministerial departments.

Mr O'Farrell declared his 22-member leadership team balanced, experienced and ready
to start delivering change, adding that he now hoped to recall parliament before Easter.

He had to fend off questions about the dumping of Liberals Catherine Cusack and Greg
Aplin and National Melinda Pavey, all of whom served in the shadow ministry but who did
not make the cut on Sunday.

"It's a team that's balanced, it's a team that matches people with the right jobs,
it's a team that reflects the electoral reality that came out of (the state election),"

Mr O'Farrell told reporters.

"It seeks to balance interests between the upper and lower house, seeks to balance
between country and city, it seeks to balance across the city".

Among the departmental changes announced on Sunday was the creation of eight so-called
"super-ministries".

As part of the shake-up, National Party leader Andrew Stoner, who held the roads portfolio
in opposition, becomes trade and investment, regional infrastructure and services minsiter.

Other expanded ministries includes that of Mike Gallacher as police and emergency services
minsiter.

Five new regional cabinet portfolios have also been created to represent the state's
west, Central Coast, north coast and the Hunter and Illawarra.

Mr Stoner was pragmatic about losing his roads and ports job, as he was about the fact
there are seven National Party MPs in the cabinet compared with eight in the shadow ministry.

"Of course I would have liked to have seen a stronger representation of Nationals in
the cabinet," Mr Stoner told reporters.

"But the electoral reality is that there was a massive swing to the Liberal Party,
there are huge numbers of Liberals now in the parliament."

The coalition holds 69 of the 93 seats in the Legislative Assembly, with the vast majority
taken by Liberal MPs following last week's state election.

On losing his roads and ports portfolio, Mr Stoner added: "I would've liked to have
held on to roads and ports, but we've got huge challenges, that's a full-time job in itself."

The coalition's upper house leader Duncan Gay takes the roads and ports job.

Robyn Parker, Graham Annesley and Victor Dominello are the new faces in the cabinet.

Ms Parker, who had served in the upper house but is newly elected to the lower house
as the member for Maitland, has been appointed environment and heritage minister.

Mr Annesley, a former rugby league referee and NRL chief operating officer who is
the newly elected member for Miranda, is the sport and recreation minister.

Mr Dominello, the member for Ryde who was not in the shadow cabinet, has been appointed
minister for citizenship and communities and minister for Aboriginal affairs.

Mr O'Farrell defended his decision to not select Ms Cusack, Ms Pavey or Mr Aplin for
his leadership team.

"When it comes to forming a coalition frontbench it is a matter of proportion," he said.

"That means one of the National members had to go off.

"I had to make some tough decisions."

Mr O'Farrell was also forced to defend having only five women in the cabinet.

"We promote on the basis of merit, the fact is that the parliament on all sides is
under-represented in terms of women, what we've done is ensure that women are in some
of the most senior portfolios in the cabinet," he said.

AAP mdg/mp/bwl

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