Alex Hawke has been relegated to the backbench after new Opposition Leader Angus Taylor unveiled a revamped shadow cabinet following his leadership spill victory over Sussan Ley.
Hawke, a key Ley factional ally who played a central role in supporting her leadership, was removed amid a broader frontbench overhaul that rewarded Taylor loyalists and elevated senior conservatives.
His demotion follows criticism of his performance as manager of opposition business and lingering internal tensions stemming from a NSW factional crisis under former prime minister Scott Morrison. Hawke had also spent Peter Dutton’s term on the backbench.
Several other Ley supporters, including Andrew Wallace, were also dumped as Taylor reshaped the Coalition’s frontbench, describing the new lineup as a “fresh beginning.”
Victorian moderate Tim Wilson takes on treasury, with deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume assigned employment, industrial relations, productivity and deregulation, and Tasmanian conservative Claire Chandler elevated to finance, government services and the public service.
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price returns to the frontbench with small business, skills and training, while leadership rival Andrew Hastie takes industry and sovereign capability and becomes deputy leader in the House of Representatives.
Allies were reshuffled across senior roles, with James Paterson moving to defence, Ted O’Brien to foreign affairs and Michaelia Cash appointed shadow attorney-general.
Key moderates including Julian Leeser, Anne Ruston and Andrew Bragg retained or expanded their portfolios. A number of conservatives and emerging MPs were also handed outer ministry roles, reflecting Taylor’s effort to blend experience with a new generation of Coalition talent.
