Tony Burke takes over Home Affairs, Immigration in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s first Cabinet reshuffle

Andrew Giles has been dumped as immigration minister and Clare O’Neil shifted from home affairs under a federal cabinet reshuffle that puts Tony Burke in charge of both politically charged portfolios.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled a new look frontbench on Sunday that attempts to draw a line under the immigration detention saga that has plagued his government for the past nine months.

Fremantle MP Josh Wilson has been promoted to the ranks of the assistant ministry but WA will remain with just one seat in cabinet after a trio of Perth-based MPs were overlooked for bigger roles.

After more than two years with the same ministerial lineup, Mr Albanese has used the departures of senior ministers Linda Burney and Brendan O’Connor to reshuffle his frontbench ahead the next federal election.

NT senator Malarndirri McCarthy rocketed straight into cabinet as Ms Burney’s replacement as Minister for Indigenous Australians, while NSW senator Jenny McAllister has also been elevated.

But the biggest shakeup is in home affairs, with the two ministers who presided over the botched response to the High Court’s bombshell ruling on immigration detention removed from the roles.

But rather than sacking Mr Giles and Ms O’Neil from the ministry, as the Coalition has been demanding for months, Mr Albanese has elected to shift the pair sideways.

Mr Giles will become skills and training minister while Ms O’Neil will remain in cabinet as minister for housing – putting her front and centre in one of the major election battlegrounds.

Mr Albanese denied the changes were an admission the duo had messed up after the High Court ruling forced the release of almost 180 immigration detainees - including murderers and rapists - into the community.

Pressed for an explanation on Mr Giles’ demotion, Mr Albanese said: “What you do when there is a reshuffle is that there is a change that then has a knock-on effect”.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said Mr Albanese was forced into a “significant reshuffle” because he is in “all sorts of trouble”.

“It is nothing more than shuffling of deck chairs on the sinking HMAS Albanese,” Mr Dutton wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Deputy Opposition leader Sussan Ley said appointing the “worst performing” Labor minister to the skills portfolio was an “insult to the sector”.

“If Anthony Albanese thinks Andrew Giles will have an easier run in skills he should think again,” Ms Ley said.

Mr Burke – the architect of Labor’s pro-worker IR agenda opposed by WA miners – will take over both portfolios after immigration was elevated to a cabinet position.

However, it will be a diluted ministry after Mr Albanese confirmed intelligence agency ASIO will shift back to the Attorney-General’s Department.

The move continues the slow dismantling of the mega-department that was created under Malcolm Turnbull in 2017 and initially led by Mr Dutton.

Mr Albanese said it was necessary to reunite ASIO with the Australian Federal Police, which was shifted back to the AGs department after Labor’s 2022 election win.

Mr Albanese was confident Mr Burke, who briefly held the immigration portfolio during the Rudd and Gillard years, would perform well in the “challenging” portfolio.

“He’s certainly up for it,” Mr Albanese said of Mr Burke, who already has a heavy workload as Leader of the House.

In other changes, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt will replace Mr Burke as employment and workplace relations minister.

Already a divisive figure in WA after overseeing the live sheep export ban, Senator Watt will now have to deal with simmering anger in the State’s mining industry over the Government’s industrial relations reforms.

Senator Watt will be replaced as agriculture minister by low-profile Tasmanian Julie Collins, who held the portfolio in opposition.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy will be promoted to cabinet in an expanded role that underscores the growing importance of the sector as the AUKUS project ramps up.

Mr Wilson is one of three backbenchers prompted to the assistant ministry, with the Fremantle MP to serve as Chris Bowen’s assistant minister for climate change and energy.

WA’s two junior ministers, Matt Keogh and Anne Aly, will remain in their current roles while Perth MP Patrick Gorman missed out on a promotion to the ministry.

Mr Gorman’s assistant minister responsibilities will be expanded to cover the attorney-general portfolio.

Mr Albanese has also appointed three new special envoys, including one dedicated to dealing with “social cohesion” as the Gaza conflict continues to flare community tensions domestically.

The prime minister has also scrapped Matt Thistlewaite’s assistant minister for a republic portfolio, a move that confirms Labor won’t pursue a referendum to establish an Australian head of state in the foreseeable future.

The reshuffle will lock in the frontbench Mr Albanese will take to the next election and fuel speculation he is preparing to send voters to the polls early.

The announcement comes just a day after NSW Labor members were told to prepare for an election as soon as December, five months before the term expires.

Labor strategists will be anxious after new RedBridge polling showed the Coalition leading for the first time since the 2022 federal election at 51.5-48.5 two-party preferred.

Cabinet changes

• Tony Burke MP – Minister for Home Affairs; Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Minister for Cyber Security; Minister for the Arts; Leader of the House

• Julie Collins MP – Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Minister for Small Business

• Senator Murray Watt – Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations

• Clare O’Neil MP – Minister for Housing; Minister for Homelessness

• Senator Malarndirri McCarthy – Minister for Indigenous Australians

• Pat Conroy MP – Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery; Minister for International Development and the Pacific

Ministry changes

• Andrew Giles MP – Minister for Skills and Training

• Senator Jenny McAllister – Minister for Cities; Minister for Emergency Management

Assistant Ministry changes

• Matt Thistlethwaite MP – Assistant Minister for Immigration

• Patrick Gorman MP – Assistant to the Prime Minister; Assistant Minister for the Public Service; Assistant Minister to the Attorney-General

• Ged Kearney MP - Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care; Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health

• Senator Tim Ayres – Assistant Minister for a Future Made In Australia; Assistant Minister for Trade

• Senator Anthony Chisholm – Assistant Minister for Education; Assistant Minister for Regional Development; Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

• Kate Thwaites MP – Assistant Minister for Social Security; Assistant Minister for Ageing; Assistant Minister for Women

• Josh Wilson MP – Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy

• Julian Hill MP – Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs

Special Envoy changes

• Peter Khalil MP – Special Envoy for Social Cohesion

• Luke Gosling MP – Special Envoy for Defence, Veterans’ Affairs and Northern Australia

• Andrew Charlton MP – Special Envoy for Cyber Security and Digital Resilience