Cabinet shuffle a missed opportunity for real refresh

Will this be Mick Gentleman’s last stand?

Having gotten the new planning system over the line, Mr Gentleman has been relieved of his planning duties so he can focus on keeping the Territory safe during the bushfire season.

At least, that’s the government’s story.

This week’s Cabinet shuffle was full of re-s. It was a realignment, rebalance and a refresh ahead of what Labor hopes will be its re-election.

The question is, will Mr Gentleman return for another term? He is now 68 and is believed to be facing some serious opposition winning pre-selection for Brindabella, although general voters seem happy enough to keep him in the Assembly, if the 2020 result is anything to go by.

But his time as Planning Minister has been marked by growing frustration at his unwillingness to engage with the community and deference to his directorate and the Chief Planner.

The fact that he has been kept on in Cabinet suggests that Mr Gentleman does not want to retire, given the election is less than a year away, and Chief Minister Andrew Barr seems happy to indulge him.

Business and industrial relations do align, but Mr Gentleman, a union man, will need to be more outgoing and outreaching than he has been with Planning for that to work, particularly when there are points of tension between the two portfolio areas.

Mr Barr may feel that the new jobs for Chris Steel and Tara Cheyne, promotions of a kind, point to where the future of the party and government lies and provide that refresh.

But retaining Mr Gentleman is a missed opportunity to bring on someone new. Perhaps we will have to wait until after the election for that, if Labor gets back.

It does make sense for Mr Steel to cover both Transport and Planning, given light rail is an urban development project, not just a way to move people around, but he will continue to have to fend off Opposition attacks over his directorates’ alleged waste of millions of dollars.

It is hoped Mr Steel can bring new energy to Planning, and his City Services stint should assist this, given how wide-ranging the portfolio is with so many intersection points with the community.

One has lost count of the number of press conferences Mr Steel has given announcing this and that across Canberra.

It certainly can be a profile raiser, which may be one reason why Tara Cheyne was so keen to get her hands on the portfolio.

Ms Cheyne has shown that ambition is not something she shies away from – leading the Territory rights and voluntary assisted dying charge on the Hill and spruiking her big vision for making Canberra the arts capital.

She may, of course, have the community at heart in wanting to take on City Services, but there is nothing wrong with being ambitious.

So is Mr Barr laying down some succession pathways here?

If so, it won’t be for a while.

Significantly, he did not give up the crucial Treasury role. That would be the one to watch if Mr Barr was eyeing an exit.

He has already stated several times that he will lead Labor to the next election and that with a Labor Federal Government to work with, there are some big-ticket items for him to shepherd through.

The fact is that, at present, there is no obvious alternative to Mr Barr, who stands head and shoulders above the rest.

The big loser is the Greens’ Emma Davidson, who has had a torrid time as a minister. She reluctantly loses Disability and is now lumbered with problem child Corrections, where there is hardly ever any good news.

The compensation is a new portfolio of Population Health that fits with her community interest.

So, better balanced maybe, but not quite a fully refreshed Cabinet.