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ALP Shadow Ministry 2016 – Statistical Analysis

This page provides statistical data on the 2016 Shorten shadow ministry.

The 32-member ministry was elected/endorsed by the ALP Caucus on July 22. Portfolio allocations were announced today. The ministry comprises 22 members in the shadow Cabinet and 10 members in the shadow outer ministry. There are 16 shadow parliamentary secretaries who act as assistants to the ministry. These positions were chosen by Shorten.

The first table shows the ministry by age, sex, state, parliamentary chamber and faction.

The second table lists each member of the executive and gives their birthdays, ages, electorates, states, portfolio, faction and when they were first elected to parliament. A handful of members have also served in state parliaments and this is shown in the table.

I have shown only the main Left and Right factional affiliations, disregarding the mainly state-based sub-groupings.

The second table lists members of the three groups in order of age. [Read more…]


Arthur Gietzelt, Labor Senator And Hawke Minister, Dies, 93

Arthur Gietzelt, an ALP senator and minister in the Hawke government, has died. The former longtime leader of the NSW ALP Left faction was 93.

GietzeltGietzelt was elected to the Senate from New South Wales in 1970, at the last stand-alone half-Senate election. Upon the election of the Hawke government, he became the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, an outer ministry position he held for two terms until the 1987 election.

Gietzelt resigned from the Senate in February 1989. At the time of his retirement, he was joint Father of the Senate, the longest-serving member of that chamber, a position he shared with Liberal Senator Peter Durack. In 1992, he was awarded an Order of Australia in the Officer category.

Prior to entering parliament, Gietzelt served for 15 years on the Sutherland Shire Council. He was Shire President or mayor for 9 years.

Gietzelt was a prominent and influential leader of the NSW ALP’s Left faction, from the 1960s until the 1980s. He was a member of the faction’s Steering Committee and was regarded on all sides as a fierce factional warrior. [Read more…]


The Rudd Ministry: Age, Sex, State And Factional Breakdown

This page provides statistical data on the second Rudd ministry.

The new Cabinet, outer Ministry and Parliamentary Secretaries were sworn in on July 1, 2013. There are 30 ministers, comprising 20 members in Cabinet and 10 members in the outer ministry. There are 12 parliamentary secretaries who act as assistants to the ministry. All 42 members are sworn as Executive Councillors.

The first table shows the ministry by age, sex, state, parliamentary chamber and faction.

The second table lists each member of the executive and gives their birthdays, ages, electorates, states, portfolio and faction. It also shows when they were first elected to parliament and when they first joined the executive. A handful of members have also served in state parliaments and this is shown in the table.

I have shown only the main Left and Right factional affiliations, disregarding the mainly state-based sub-groupings.

With the exception of the party leaders, who are shown first, the second table lists members of the executive in order of age. [Read more…]


ALP Conference: Some Votes Are More Equal Than Others

Julia Gillard had a good National Conference over the weekend.

ALPShe won the day on gay marriage, uranium sales to India, internal party reform, and refugees. She has been buoyed by the passage of the carbon tax through parliament. The mining tax should be through the Senate early in the new year. Tony Abbott has lost a number in the House and the Government looks almost certain to make it into 2013.

Gillard is looking prime ministerial at last. Kevin Rudd’s leadership ambitions have been dealt a blow. The year of decision and delivery is ending well. This week may well be the time for a ministerial reshuffle to sharpen the Government further.

Well, that’s the official story. It may even be right in many respects.

If you turned off the relentless babble of commentary pouring forth from the cable news channels over the last three days and simply watched the live feed of the ALP conference, it was difficult not to be impressed at times. [Read more…]