News Review: Smith, Clare, Snowdon get Defence | ADM Oct 2010

Gregor Ferguson | Sydney

Former Foreign Minister Stephen Smith is Australia’s new Minister for Defence, supported by Jason Clare as Minister for Defence Materiel and Warren Snowdon who returns to his old portfolios of Defence Science and Personnel and Veterans’ Affairs.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the new ministerial line-up on 12 September after a three-week stand-off between the two major parties following the 21 August Federal election.

Smith replaces Senator John Faulkner who announced before this year’s poll that he would retire from the front bench.

Smith had held the portfolios of Foreign Affairs and Trade as well as being deputy leader of the House of Representatives under former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

He had previously been an adviser to Prime Minister Paul Keating before entering Parliament himself.

Warren Snowdon was Minister for Defence Science and Personnel during the early Rudd premiership and was appointed Minister for Indigenous Health after a minor re-shuffle in 2009 following the resignation of then-Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon.

Jason Clare entered Parliament at the 2007 Federal election, representing Paul Keating’s former seat of Blaxland.

He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Employment in the 2009 re-shuffle.

The ministerial team is supported in the Upper House by Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Senator David Feeney.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott hasn’t changed his front bench, which means the new Defence ministerial team will continue to be shadowed by WA Senator David Johnstone, NSW MPs Bob Baldwin and Louise Markus and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Stuart Robert.