Anthony Albanese has been widely criticised after he sacked two ministers and gave their jobs to one MP, who now has to manage four portfolios.
The Prime Minister announced the first cabinet reshuffle since Labor’s election in 2022 at a press conference on Sunday afternoon.
He sacked Home Secretary Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and gave their portfolios to Tony Burke, who was responsible for employment and industrial relations.
Mr Burke now has responsibility for home affairs, cyber security, immigration and multicultural affairs, while remaining Minister for the Arts and Leader of the House.
When asked if Mr Burke was up to the task, the Prime Minister replied: ‘He is certainly up to it.’
“What it means is that in terms of a department, there will be one person responsible. I’ve been thinking a lot about the right structure.”
Still, not everyone was convinced.
Anthony Albanese (pictured) announced a cabinet reshuffle on Sunday, but not everyone was impressed
Senator James Patterson, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security, sharply criticised the decision.
He pointed out that Burke has reprised his role as Immigration Minister, having first held the position during the Rudd-Gillard Labor government in 2013.
After Sunday’s press conference, he wrote on X: ‘Tony Burke is a failed immigration minister from the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era.
‘During his administration, in just 80 days as minister, 6,634 illegal immigrants arrived on 83 boats.
‘His appointment at the Ministry of the Interior is a shocking signal of weakness to people smugglers.’
Senator Patterson also criticised the Prime Minister’s decision to transfer ASIO from the Home Office to the Attorney-General’s department.
He continued: ‘And with the news that ASIO is moving to the Attorneys-General, Tony Burke will be Home Secretary in name only.
Tony Burke (pictured) was given Mrs O’Neil’s portfolio, along with three others
‘Labor has destroyed the Home Affairs portfolio, as they always secretly wanted to do but never bothered to tell voters.’
Another social media user said: ‘An interesting reshuffle: Tony Burke becomes Labor’s anti-Dutton party, but remains Leader of the House.
‘A sign that Labor has serious concerns about the way things are going.’
Some commented on the scale of the workload, while others compared the restructuring to moving the deck chairs on the Titanic.
But not everyone was skeptical.
Mr Burke has received widespread praise from unions, with ACTU secretary Sally McManus congratulating him on his “groundbreaking” work on employment.
During his tenure, Mr Burke presented a series of policy demands to the trade union movement, which the Coalition largely ignored for almost a decade of his tenure.
The policy included minimum wages for gig economy workers, making it easier for on-call workers to transition to full-time employment, and a tougher crackdown on laborers and contractors.
Ms McManus said: ‘Minister Burke was methodical in correcting workplace wrongdoings and was guided only by what was right and necessary to improve the lives of workers and the economy.’
Clare O’Neil (pictured) lost her role as Home Secretary and was moved to the housing portfolio
“I don’t believe any Minister of Labour Relations has left such a huge legacy and he has achieved that in just over two years. Working people in the future will benefit from his work, we wish him well in his next portfolio.”
Ben Davison, a long-standing trade union activist who hosts a political podcast with his wife Van Badham, a columnist for The Guardian, said: “Congratulations to Tony Burke on his appointment as Minister for the Home Office, Immigration, Multicultural Affairs and Cyber Security, while also remaining Minister for the Arts.”
During the press conference, a reporter asked Mr Albanese what the reason was for giving Mr Bourke so much responsibility.
‘Isn’t it a bit over the top honestly for your party leader? And over the top for your party leader?
The Prime Minister replied: ‘No, he is certainly in favour of it. That means that within a department there will be one person responsible.’
‘I’ve been thinking long and hard about the right structure. That’s one of the reasons why the structure is there. One minister and then two junior assistants is, I think, the right structure.’
He defended Ms O’Neil and Mr Giles, stressing that they had not failed in their roles: there had been a reshuffle and the positions had been redistributed.
Sunday’s announcement followed the resignations of the Minister for Indigenous Australians and Ministers for Skills and Education Linda Burney and Brendan O’Connor on Friday.
Northern Territory Senator Malarndirri McCarthy takes over Ms Burney’s role and Mr Giles takes over Mr O’Connor’s former position.