Albanese names new assistant minister for climate and energy

The federal Labor government has named a new assistant minister for climate and energy after Jenny McAllister was promoted to a full ministerial role, with responsibility for cities and emergency management.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese named Western Australian Josh Wilson as the new minister assisting Chris Bowen. Butler is the member for Fremantle.

Among his most recent postings on Facebook was a “reel” that claimed the Coalition’s policy on SMRs (small modular reactors) is a scam.

“Within the Coalition’s dangerous nuclear fantasy the SMR is the biggest scam of all,” Wilson wrote. “Small modular reactors don’t exist and all the evidence from the failed projects is they are just as expensive and uncommercial as large scale nuclear.”

Wilson, 52, is a former lecturer at Curtin University, a paralegal and litigation project manager, a freelance journalist as well as a travel writer, according to his Wikipedia page. He was a councillor of the City of Fremantle from 2009 to 2016 before he won the seat of Fremantle and entered federal parliament.

The move came as part of the Labor government’s first ministerial shuffle since winning power in early 2022. The main casualties were Andrew Giles, who lost immigration and a cabinet position and is now minister for skills and training, and Clare O’Neill, who remains in cabinet but switches from home security to housing and homelessness.

The biggest winner appears to be Burke, who takes on the added roles of home affairs and immigration, and is also responsible for cyber security; the Arts, and remains leader of the house.

“These combined changes, I think, represent a significant move forward,” Albanese told journalists on Sunday. “I would expect that this is the team that I will take to the election when it is held sometime in the future, and it is a team that I think tomorrow, the swearing-in will take place.”

An election is due to be held by May next year, although there is some speculation that the Labor government will choose an earlier election, as soon as later this year.

“I will recommend that the swearing in take place at 9am tomorrow, and then there will be a full meeting of the new ministry,” Albanese said.

The full list of changes can be found here.