24 October 2016

Burch for Speaker; Ramsay, Stephen-Smith to join ministry

| Charlotte
Join the conversation
2
New Labor caucus

Labor caucus has voted unanimously for former Education Minister Joy Burch as their pick for Speaker in the new Legislative Assembly, for Yvette Berry to serve as Deputy Labor Leader under Chief Minister Andrew Barr and for new MLAs Gordon Ramsay and Rachel Stephen-Smith to join cabinet.

Joy Burch on election night. Photo: Charlotte Harper Rachel Stephen-Smith

Meegan Fitzharris and Mick Gentleman will continue to serve as ministers.

The Labor caucus met this morning and voted unanimously for Mr Barr to continue as Labor leader, Ms Berry to be the Deputy Labor Leader and for Ms Stephen-Smith (above) and Mr Ramsay (below) to serve as Labor ministers along with selecting Ms Burch as their nominee for Speaker.

Gordon Ramsay

It is not yet clear whether Shane Rattenbury will also join cabinet, with deliberations within the Greens and between Mr Rattenbury and Mr Barr about the matter continuing.

Mr Barr (pictured below with his new deputy, Ms Berry) will announce portfolios after his swearing in early next week.

Andrew Barr and Yvette Berry.

The new ACT Labor caucus consists of seven women and five men.

On Labor’s backbench will be Tara Cheyne, Bec Cody, Suzanne Orr, Michael Pettersson and Chris Steel.

Pictured from top are the new Labor caucus, Joy Burch, Rachel Stephen-Smith, Gordon Ramsay and Andrew Barr with Yvette Berry. Photos: Charlotte Harper/supplied

Join the conversation

2
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Joy will be a good choice for speaker. Any unruly, misbehaving pollies can be stuffed in the purpose built cage to calm down.

How long before the first assembly cage match? Will Gordon Ramsey send anyone home?

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.