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The battle to form the “cabinet” kicks off today with Chief Minister Ian Gorst pushing for a major reshuffle of his ministerial team – but the one minister being pushed out says he will fight to keep his place.
States Members will spend today and possibly tomorrow deciding who will fill the ten key ministerial offices running the States departments. The last few weeks have seen lots of secret meetings and horse -trading between politicians keen to grab a ministerial or assistant ministerial position for the next three and a half years.
The battle started with a win for the Chief Minister - he got Senator Alan Maclean into the powerful Treasury role in a 29-18 win over Deputy John Le Fondre. But the one minister pushed out into the cold by Senator Gorst says that he will fight to keep his job – and says that the Chief Minister has yet to tell him why he doesn’t want him on board, and has pushed.
Transport Minister Kevin Lewis says that in his three-year spell he has sorted out the shipping of toxic incinerator ash, brought in a new bus operator, finished the underwater drainage shaft in town and was close to a solution to asbestos storage.
“I’ve worked extremely hard and I’ve given 110%,” said Deputy Lewis.
“I am the only sitting minister who has not been offered an alternate portfolio, so rumours are flying around that I have got something terribly wrong. I’ve invited the Chief Minister to point out what I’ve done wrong, but he hasn’t said.”
Senator Gorst’s list of nominees is:
Treasury Minister Alan Maclean
Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham
Education Minister Rod Bryans
External Relations Minister Sir Philip Bailhache
Health Minister Andrew Green
Home Affairs Minister Kristina Moore
Housing Minister Anne Pryke
Planning Minister Steve Luce
Social Security Minister Susie Pinel
Transport Minister Eddie Noel.
Whatever the outcome over the next few days of discussion, the States' decisions to appoint new ministers will take a bit of work off of Senator Gorst's plate - as things stand, besides being Chief Minister, he is also temporarily acting as the minister for Education, Home Affairs, Environment and Social Security, as the old ministers have now left the States.
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