Australian news and politics recap May 12: Littleproud re-elected as National Party leader, defeats Canavan

Mr Albanese says Murray Watt, who will replace Tanya Plibersek as Environment Minister, is an “outstanding performer”.

Asked if the decision to give him envronment is an indication of the PM’s desire to get get his Nature Positive agenda done quickly, Mr Albanese says the portfolio is “really central”.

“It is the only one I have ever asked for in this building, and I regard it as very much a senior role in a Labor Government. Murray will do it very well,” he said.

Asked if he sees Tanya Plibersek having the role of Social Services Minister until the next election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he “hope(s) it continues for three years across the board”.

He said Ms Plibersek was “very positive” about the portfolio.

Mr Albanese says Ed Husic, who on Sunday called the Deputy Prime Minister a “factional assassin”, has always supported the normal caucus process.

“I had a constructive discussion with Ed this morning. I always have constructive discussions with caucus members,” he said.

“What I have done is to allocate portfolios, that is the system that is there. It is one that Ed and others have supported for a long period of time.”

Asked why he had decided to shift Ms Plibersek out of Environment and replace her with Senator Watt, Mr Albanese said “I have changed a role of portfolios around”.

“I have got people who are in the best positions and that’s across the board. There has been multiple changes made in the Cabient, that’s what happens,” he said.

“I think we have got the right people in the right places.”

Asked if he fought for either Mark Dreyfus or Ed Husic to stay in the ministry, Mr Albnaese says “we have a process in the Labor Party caucus”.

Pointing out that the Labor caucus is the “largest in history since federation”, Mr Albanese said there was an “extraordinary opportunity for ministers”.

“For the entire caucus going forward to put in place the agenda that we put forward positively to the Australian people and an ambitious agenda to change this country for the better,” he said.

“I am deeply humbled by the trust that was put into my government with the election and we certainly won’t take it for granted.”

Andrew Charlton has been promoted to Cabinet Secretary and will also serve as an assistant minister for science, technology and the digital economy.

Freshman federal MP Rebecca White will be the assistant minister for health and aged care, indigenous health, and women.

Nita Green has been promoted into the executive as the assistant minister for Northern Australia, tourism, and Pacific Islands affairs.

Peter Khalil has also been promoted to assistant minister for defence.

New special envoy positions have been created, with Dan Repacholi taking on the men’s health role, Mario Scyrmgour for remote communities, Kate Thwaites for climate change adaptation and resilience, and Tim Watts for the Indian Ocean.

Tim Ayres and Anne Aly have been elevated to a Cabinet position in a Cabinet shake-up to kick-start Labor’s second term ministry.

Mr Ayres will replace Ed Husic as Industry and Science Minister, following Mr Husic’s dumping from the frontbench following a fierce factional fight, alongside Mark Dreyfus.

Ms Aly will be the Small Business and Multicultural Affairs Minister.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday confirmed that Michelle Rowland would replace Mr Dreyfus as attorney-general after he declined to intervene.

Murray Watt will be the Environment Minister, with Tanya Plibersek to be the Social Services Minister.

Anika Wells will take over as Communications Minister from Ms Rowland and will stay on as Sports Minister.

Amanda Rishworth will take up the Employment and Workplace Relations portfolio.

Richard Marles, Jim Chalmers, Penny Wong, Don Farrell and Katy Gallagher retain their same portfolio.

Mark Butler will also remain Health Minister and pick up the NDIS portfolio, and Jason Clare will stay Education Minister.

Chris Bowen will remain Energy and Climate Change Minister, Clare O’Neil will remain Housing and Homelessness Minister, and Julie Collins will continue to serve as Agriculture Minister.

In a shakeup, Amanda Rishworth will be the Employment and Workplace Relations Minister.

Following the factional bruhaha, Daniel Mulino will become Assistant Treasurer, Sam Rae will be the Aged Care Minister, and Jess Walsh the Early Childhood and Education Minister.

The major parties appear to have held on to formerly safe seats by the skin of their teeth, but a handful of other electorates remain too close to call.

Australians handed Labor a sweeping federal election victory, but several former strongholds looked poised to slip from the party’s fingers after independent challengers took the results down to the wire, with less than 100 votes separating the frontrunners at times.

But one by one, they fell back into the fold, and on Monday the ABC called the south Canberra and Norfolk Island seat of Bean for Labor candidate David Smith , after a days-long fight against independent Jessie Price.

Ms Price hasn’t conceded defeat, noting there were still a few thousand votes to count, but she acknowledges a win looked less likely.

“Votes are now coming from people outside of the electorate who maybe weren’t quite as aware that we had such a different option this election,” she told ABC Radio on Monday.”

Check out the latest Federal election count story here.

Current Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has given a long-winded answer to a simple question about her future holding the environment portfolio with the new Albanese Government.

Ms Plibersek was asked by Sunrise host Nat Barr if she thought she would be keeping her portfolio.

“All of these decisions are completely a matter for the Prime Minister,” Ms Plibersek began.

“I was very grateful last week that my colleagues named me as one of the people who will be on the frontbench. And then allocation of portfolios is 100 per cent an issue for the PM.”

Asked what she would like, Ms Plibersek said: ”I’m just, honestly, Nat, so grateful that we won the election, so grateful to be in such a large and diverse caucus and thrilled to be selected to be on the frontbench again.”

“I just want to make a contribution to Australia. I just want to keep doing a good job for the government and for the people.”

Barr labelled Ms Plibersek’s answer “lovely” but again grilled the MP on whether she expected to be on the front bench.

“The first day that I walked into Parliament House, the first day I worked there, I just thought how amazing this country is that my parents came here as refugees in the 1950s after the Second World War, and I got elected to the Australian Parliament,” Ms Plibersek responded.

“Every day that I’m there, I consider just the most enormous privilege. And to actually be a member of the executive is beyond anything I ever anticipated in my life. I genuinely am so grateful.”