Labor caucus meeting to decide shape of Anthony Albanese’s Cabinet for second term

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to convene a Labor Caucus meeting on Friday as party factions jostle to maximise their influence in the Federal Cabinet and wider ministerial positions.

Mr Albanese on Monday indicated he would “slow the pace” in the immediate days following Labor’s landslide win to “consult with colleagues about forming a frontbench” and wait for the full election results to trickle in before finalising the Cabinet’s structure.

But it has not stopped factions from manoeuvring into position, particularly with their eye on two vacant portfolios in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), formerly held by right faction member Bill Shorten, and the prized assistant treasurer role previously under Stephen Jones, on the left.

While the results remain fluid with Labor on 86 seats and 14 still in contention, the Labor Caucus could have as many as 30 new members, with two thirds of them women.

The Government’s frontbench big hitters will remain in their positions, the Foreign Minister and other senior Labor figures have confirmed.

Asked on Tuesday if she would stay in the foreign affairs portfolio, Senator Penny Wong said, “I want to and the Prime Minister’s indicated that me and Richard (Marles), Don Farrell, Katy (Gallagher) and Jim (Chalmers) will stay where we are.”

Ms Wong also confirmed she would stay for the full term, amid earlier speculation the long-term Senator, who has been in in the upper house since 2001, could retire.

“Yes, I will, and in fact, you know, the size of this victory and the prospect of a third-term Labor Government, it looks pretty good,” she said.

The Prime Minister last reshuffled his inner circle in January and the frontbench, widely viewed as a strong team, is expected to remain largely unchanged.

But there may be some readjustments and also shifts in mid-tier roles to accommodate delicate geographical and political demands to reflect the latest election results and achieve a fair spread of leadership positions.

The left of the party may demand 50-50 representation in ministerial jobs, up from the 14 it was allocated in Labor’s first term.

Insiders say this could force a difficult decision over four of the most senior Cabinet jobs held by four New South Wales MPs from Labor’s right – Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Education Minister Jason Clare, Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Industry Minister Ed Husic.

Senator Wong also confirmed that Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, with whom Mr Albanese shared an excruciating air kiss on the campaign trail, would be staying on in a senior position.

Mr Albanese on Monday had dismissed speculation that she would be given the NDIS brief, which would be a tough ask for any new minister due to long overdue reforms.

But the Foreign Minister was less definitive when asked if Mr Bowen needed “some time off the bench?”

“Chris, when we first came to government, had to deal with a gas crisis, an energy crisis, where as a result of where we’d been, we had real reliability and supply problems. He’s doing, and has done, an excellent job,” she said.

“What happens to people’s portfolios is at the privilege of the Prime Minister. He’s made some indication about a number of us in the leadership group and in senior portfolios, who will continue in our current jobs but the rest is up to him.”

The Prime Minister on Monday tried to stamp out rumours of job shifts, with the testy comment that, “the only person who knows is me … if you hear something, unless you hear it come out of my mouth, it’s nonsense.”

Mr Albanese faces a challenge to satisfy requests from the right and the left, which is expected to push for one or two more positions, unless he forces the faction to accept the current balance of roles in a 20-member Cabinet and 10-member outer ministry that legally cannot exceed 30.

After each election, the factions make a claim on a percentage of front bench spots based on their percentage of caucus positions.

The left selects its frontbench candidates from a single nationwide pool and the right makes decisions at a state level before the Prime Minister allocates portfolios and chooses assistant ministers.

“There are rules and conventions, and it’s all very orderly, and a lot of people sort of see it as this very negative thing, and it can be, but what it actually means is that it’s actually a dispute resolution mechanism,” said Dr Marija Taflaga, a lecturer at ANU’s School of Politics.

“So long as there’s still enough debates and ability to have good quality discussion, the factions can be really productive.”

The internal wrangling maintains party discipline but also raises the possibility of confrontation, but one senior Labor source said the party had been so humbled by the opportunity of the election result that Mr Albanese was likely to get anything he asked for.

Of the two vacant spots, both may go to the left, with factional heavyweight and prime ministerial confidant Tim Ayres being touted for the assistant treasurer job. While NSW may be forced to lose a spot, these were marginal issues, said the source.

Managing the energies and ambitions of an increased talent pool is being considered as a “good problem” that could be handled through changes to assistant ministry ranks and plum committee chair jobs.

First-time Federal MP, Rebecca White, the former Tasmanian state opposition leader who won the seat of Lyons, has already been floated as a potential new recruit to the Cabinet.

But when the dust settles on the final election tally, Queensland and Western Australian are expected to push for further spots.

“For too long now, Queensland has been long on influence but short on numbers in the federal parliamentary Labor party,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers told ABC Insiders on Sunday.

“Now we are long on influence and longer on numbers and that’s a very good thing, and we hope to see that represented in the decision-making of the government going forward.”

Dr Chalmers name-checked Madonna Jarrett, Renee Coffey, Kara Cook and Corinne Mulholland as promising members to watch.

Meanwhile, Ali France, who ousted Opposition Leader Peter Dutton from his Dickson seat in the shock twist of the election, has been widely praised by the Prime Minister and the frontbench as a rising star.