Deputy Liberal Party Leader Sussan Ley has acquired the role of Shadow Minister for Small and Family Business, taking the lead on local enterprise in Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s new-look shadow ministry.
Dutton revealed his shadow ministry on Sunday, outlining the personnel he hopes will pressure the new Labor government.
Ley, already locked in as Deputy Liberal Party Leader, now occupies the role of Shadow Minister for Small and Family Business, and Shadow Minister for Industry, Skills, and Training.
“I will be watching closely to ensure Labor maintains our record growth in jobs, our support for training and apprenticeships, looks after small business and equips young people for the careers of the future,” Ley said in a statement posted to social media.
Ley’s new role adds to her unique professional background. Before entering politics in 2001, Ley worked as a mustering pilot in in rural New South Wales and Queensland, the operator for a family dairy farm, and a training director at the Australian Taxation Office, among other positions.
In assigning the small business and industry portfolios to the Liberal Party’s second-in-command, the party appears to have channeled Dutton’s claim that his opposition will attempt to woo the “forgotten people” in Australia’s SME sector.
And despite the May poll being widely regarded as Australia’s ‘climate election’, the national understudy on small business issues famously appealed a Federal Court ruling which declared the minister for the environment had a duty of care to young Australians regarding climate risk.
Her shadow ministry also represents a significant shake-up for the Liberal Party.
Stuart Robert — a close lieutenant of former prime ninister Scott Morrison, and until recently, the minister for employment, workforce, skills, small and family business — now serves as Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Financial Services in the Dutton-led Opposition.
In addition to her new focus on small business, Ley also occupies the role of Shadow Minister for Women.
Ley held the position of minister for the environment in the Morrison government.
Angus Taylor, one-time minister for industry, energy and emissions reduction, now holds the Shadow Treasurer role, filling a vacancy created by the election loss of Josh Frydenberg.
Michael Sukkar — assistant treasurer under Morrison — was considered a potential replacement for Frydenberg in the lead-up to the election, but retains the housing portfolio in the shadow cabinet.
Senator Michaelia Cash, who served as minister for small & family business, skills & vocational education before taking over as attorney-general in the Morrison government, has taken up the role of Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.
The hard-bargaining approach which typified her Morrison-era career is likely to continue.
“I look forward to holding the Albanese government to account, in particular in relation to the promises they have made Australian workers, which they have already shown they do not intend to keep,” she said Sunday.
Paul Fletcher, former communications minister, now occupies sits as the Shadow Minister for Science, the Digital Economy and Government Services.
Reflecting the industry-forward position of the Coalition, the Environment portfolio has been melded with Fisheries and Forestry under the purview of Senator Jonathan Duniam.
MP Ted O’Brien is Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy.
Senior Business Journalist
Focused on the small business sector, David’s work covers the political, regulatory, and economic issues facing Australian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining SmartCompany, he was a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
