Mark Latham’s insensitive spray against our servicemen and women took the edge of an insightful view of Labor’s largesse with taxpayer funds. Joel Fitzgibbon’s tenure as Defence Minister was untenable after his indiscretions with his Chinese connections. Our senior strategists in the Defence Department are charged with assessing threats to our national security and ensuring we have the proper force structure and resources to meet them. They have a complex and costly role that includes a high level of risk for our nation.
Kevin Rudd’s selection of Senator John Faulkner as our new Defence Minister is a wise choice. Faulkner is highly respected for his personal and political integrity and his formidable forensic skills in Senate Estimates Committees. Even Mark Latham would have to acknowledge this.
Faulkner will be assisted by Greg Combet as Minister for Defence Personnel, Material and Science. Although Combet is a relative newcomer to Parliament his previous experience in the Trade Union Movement indicates that he is well suited for this job. The professional integrity of our Defence Force Chiefs and the Secretary of the Department, Nick Warner, are beyond reproach. Kevin Rudd should be congratulated for ensuring our Defence Department has the best of his team assigned to this important role.
Mark Arbib is one of the big winners in the reshuffle. He has earned his stripes in the role he played in Labor’s election to Government. He is young, intelligent and a professional exponent in the art of politics.
The same can be said of Chris Bowen who has been promoted to Minister for Financial Services. However his early statement that Australia should seek more investments from Muslim countries will have raised an eyebrow or two. There are still many who remember Gough Whitlam’s politically fatal attempt to deal with a Pakistani money lender by the name of Tirath Khemlani in the early 1970’s.
The promotion of Jason Clare to Parliamentary Secretary for Employment is worth watching. Clare occupies former Prime Minister Paul Keating’s old seat of Blaxland and is widely recognised as one of Labor’s rising stars. Having recently led a group of Lebanese Muslims and Cronulla surfies which was organised by Jason Clare and his Liberal counterpart, Scott Morrison, I can vouch for his ability.
Kevin Rudd’s election and his current standing in the polls have allowed him a degree of independence from Labor’s tribal factions. His appointments in the reshuffle are based on merit which is a unique political experience for Labor. To use a Latham term – they are certainly not factional ‘meatheads’.
Tags: My Opinion
