13 May 2011

Design your own Cabinet?

| Gungahlin Al
Join the conversation
11

The Canberra Times are claiming the inside scoop that (front page – paper edition only) that Katy Gallagher will pull back the size of her Cabinet to just four – herself, Andrew Barr, Simon Corbell and Joy Burch for the final year and a bit of this term of the ACT Parliament.

If so, the new person appointed after the countback (tipped to be Adina Cirson, current staffer in Katy’s office) won’t get a look in. Nor will Mary Porter or John Hargreaves.

Katy Gallagher has already said she wants to retain Health while of course gaining CM and Cabinet. CT reckon that Andrew Barr will take on Treasury from Gallagher, and Simon Corbell will regain Planning from Barr and TaMS from Stanhope, while keeping Attorney General and Justice. Given the Hawke review talked about Planning and Land and Property Services (with LDA) being rolled together, surely Simon would end up with a related, but huge workload?

Anyway, perhaps the RA hive-mind can come up with an “ideal” cabinet, within the obvious constraints of the seven make that six people available?

The existing portfolios are here. There are a bunch more of them apart from those above. Wonder if this experience will help get them talking about seeking a bump in the numbers to 5 x 5-member electorates?

Join the conversation

11
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

johnboy said :

Have you looked at the labor back bench?

Can’t be any worse than the front bench.

(surely….?)

housebound said :

Mr Evil said :

Hargreaves for Senior Village Idiot and Drunken Boofhead.
Mary Porter for Invisible Member and Tea Lady.
Joy Burch for Having No Idea and Polishing the Turd for ACT Labor.

Mean. Very mean. Mary Porter works hard out there in the community.

Of course she does – that’s why 9 out of 10 Canberrans have no idea who she is!

Mr Evil said :

Hargreaves for Senior Village Idiot and Drunken Boofhead.
Mary Porter for Invisible Member and Tea Lady.
Joy Burch for Having No Idea and Polishing the Turd for ACT Labor.

Mean. Very mean. Mary Porter works hard out there in the community.

Hargreaves for Senior Village Idiot and Drunken Boofhead.

Mary Porter for Invisible Member and Tea Lady.

Joy Burch for Having No Idea and Polishing the Turd for ACT Labor.

Unless they are suggesting that a Cabinet of more than five is somehow unmanageable, why would you not give every Labor member some element of responsibility?

Have you looked at the labor back bench?

I believe the number of ministerial “portfolios” will reduce from 1 July and they will directly reflect the directorates.

So will Joy end up with the smaller portfolios? Community services is a tough one to have but she hasn’t got near the diversity that the others are carrying – time for her to shoulder a broader load I think.

The Frots said :

They have said for a long time that running the ACt is like running a business – let’s make it so!

But most big businesses are run by directors put in by dominant institutional shareholders, receiving obscenely excessive remuneration with minimal accountability for their performance.

G/Al – I’ve had a look at the document outlining the responsibilites and I have to say that, taking a general business approach (which is really what Government is – a business) there is too much disproportionate functionality in the existing portfolio’s. In other words, too few are doing too much.

The ‘new’ Cabinet shouldn’t be reduced for a start – they simply don’t have enough there to try that. Ex-Stanhopes current functions need to be redistributed and properly balanced – and I really don’t know that we need such a ‘high-profile’ on some of the things either.

But the ‘new’ Government also needs to develop a ‘Charter of Committment’ or something similar where they make a ‘contractual committment’ to the ACT people to do certain things (health, infrastructure, no ‘art, things like that) and we (the people) actually ask for penalty clauses if they don’t – otherwise, as we all know, accountablity simply doesn’t exist.

They have said for a long time that running the ACt is like running a business – let’s make it so!

I’d like to see Barr take on Transport. It would align with his views on Canberras future urban form.

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.