Anthony Albanese announces cabinet reshuffle, Tony Burke the new Minister for Cybersecurity

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced his anticipated Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday, July 28, 2024. He named Tony Burke MP the new Minister for Cybersecurity

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced his highly anticipated Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday, July 28, 2024. Among the key changes, Tony Burke MP was named the new Minister for Cybersecurity, in addition to his roles as Minister for Immigration, Home Affairs, Arts, and Leader of the House.

This extensive portfolio of responsibilities raises questions about the feasibility of plans announced by former Minister Clare O’Neil to make Australia the most cyber-secure nation in the world by 2030. O’Neil, who was demoted to Minister for Housing, had made this bold claim upon her appointment to the cybersecurity role.

However, during her tenure, Australia experienced some of its largest data breaches and IT outages, including the Optus breach, Optus outage, Medibank, Medisecure, and Crowdstrike outages. Despite these incidents, the Prime Minister expressed confidence in Burke's ability to handle the vast workload, stating, “He's certainly up for it. There will be one person who will be responsible. I gave a lot of thought to the appropriate structure… There is a change that then has a knock-on effect. The fact is that we have been a very stable government.”

Another notable shift sees Attorney General Mark Dreyfus once again assuming responsibility for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). These agencies were removed from the Attorney General's department in 2017 when the Turnball Government established the Department of Home Affairs. Their return to Dreyfus' portfolio will provide some relief to Burke, who now has a broad range of cybersecurity-related duties.

In other cabinet movements, Pat Conroy was elevated to his role as Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, International Development, and the Pacific. Murray Watt will take on workplace relations, Malarindirri McCarthy picks up Indigenous Affairs and Julie Collins will take over Agriculture and Small Business. The reshuffle was prompted by the retirement of Ministers Linda Burney and Brendan O'Connor.

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