Axed frontbrencher Mark Dreyfus sits through Labor’s welcome parade as caucus

A bloody internal war, which threatened to undermine Anthony Albanese’s emphatic victory and claimed united front, has officially resulted in the knifing of two senior Ministers and four up-and-comers being promoted.

As the Prime Minister welcomed his expanded Labor caucus back to Canberra, ousted Ed Husic was absent and a demoted Mark Dreyfus, who smiled for the cameras, sat in the second-row, metres away from his factional allies who had toppled him.

Labor’s brutal democratic caucus system has elected Victorian Right MPs Sam Rae and Daniel Mulino into the 30-person ministry, from which the Prime Minister will assign portfolios. The former, the second-term Hawke MP, takes the place of Mr Dreyfus, the former attorney-general, after a bitter fight orchestrated by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

Mr Mulino, the returning MP for Fraser, takes the spot the Victorian Right had wrested from their NSW counterparts in a bid to balance the ledger, which resulted in former industry minister Mr Husic being relegated to the backbench.

The now-dominant Left, whose numbers have ballooned following Saturday’s thumping win, was able to promote Tim Ayres and Jess Walsh without any bloodletting.

Mr Albanese did not intervene in the political hunger games, and as he addressed the party room - currently numbering 122 but expected to grow further - the PM spoke of the importance of unity and discipline, cautioning against grandiosity and back-stabbing.

“The people who’ve sat in this caucus previously and who sat in the room down there gave me extraordinary support and confidence,” Mr Albanese said.

“I was never looking behind, always looking forward.

“And I repeated the message a number of times in this room of the importance of unity, of not getting ahead of ourselves, of being focused not on ourselves, because I’ve seen that happen too. We know where that ends.

“Going forward, we need that same discipline, the same unity, the same sense of purpose.”

The bruising unseating of Mr Dreyfus and Mr Husic is part of the democratic process, said health minister Mark Butler - a close ally and confidante of the PM.

“Those 120 members have had a series of meetings where we’ve had to present ourselves. I had to, in front of dozens of my colleagues ask for the honour of being a Minister again, and that democratic process has been concluded,” he said.

“Now, it’s tough. I’ve served with Mark since I was elected in 2007. He’s a good friend and this is very tough for him. Ed, I’ve served with a little less time, but I’ve known for a long time as well. But politics is a tough game and they’d be feeling very, very hurt right now, I’m sure.”

He said there was “inevitably a bit of turnover and renewal”.

“We want to balance that with stability and experience. We have a lot of talent, a number of people who could be ministers but weren’t able to fit into 30 spots,” he said.

He also disagreed with a scathing critique by former Labor PM Paul Keating, who described the movements as “an act of factional thuggery”.

“This is just part of the long tradition of the Labor Party,” Mr Butler said.

The rest of the ministry remains unchanged from the previous term. Queensland MP Milton Dick has been nominated to remain as speaker, and WA senator Sue Lines as senate president. Over the weekend, Mr Albanese will designate portfolios before a swearing in ceremony on Tuesday.

With about two dozen new faces in Parliament House on Friday, new MPs sported visitor lanyards as they were escorted to the Prime Minister’s courtyard for a freshman selfie, above, before receiving a raucous welcome by the caucus room.

There, the 22 confirmed new MPs signed the caucus book in order of when their seat was created.

Ali France, who ousted Peter Dutton in Dickson received a hug from the Prime Minister. Sarah Witty, who toppled Adam Bandt in Melbourne, and Renee Coffey, who saw off Max Chandler-Mather in Griffith, received particularly loud cheers.

There was a special shoutout for Anne Urquhart, who resigned from her Senate position mid-way through her term to run in Braddon.

In his inaugural address to Labor members of the 48th Parliament, Mr Albanese urged a “laser-like focus” on the people who voted for Labor, as well as those who didn’t but needed a socially progressive government in power.

He said the Australian people had given Labor a clear mandate and they shouldn’t take that for granted by over-reaching.

Mr Albanese gave the new MPs a clear objective to “continue to earn the right to sit in this room, at this end of this corridor”.

“This is where decisions are made that actually make a difference to the country,” he said.

“You need to be in government to make a difference.”

Mr Albanese thanked all of the MPs and senators for their strong campaigning that handed him a “historic victory” that exceeded what many believed possible.

With 91 seats so far under his belt, he said there was “no reason” Labor couldn’t win even more seats in 2028.

“If the Labor Party is focused, if the Labor Party is united, if the Labor Party is always thinking about the people not in the room, but outside... whether it be workplaces or anywhere in Australian society, then there is no reason at all why not only can everyone return here after the next election in 2028, but that more people cannot be elected with Labor next to their name as well,” he said.

Parliament will return in late July.