Leader reveals reshuffle following Liberal exits
Liberal leader Vincent Tarzia revealed his reshuffled shadow cabinet after the departure of Jing Lee and the retirement of John Gardner.
The changes follow Lee, the deputy leader of the Opposition in the Upper House and shadow minister for tourism and multicultural affairs, announcing her resignation last week.
Former deputy leader Gardner announced in December that he’ll leave politics altogether in 2026 after a health scare with the desire to spend more time with family.
When asked about Lee’s departure, Tarzia said “these things are never nice but what we’ve got is a new year and a new opportunity to hit the ground running”.
Tarzia said his shadow cabinet is “youthful and experienced” and represents “a vital step in preparing for the challenges ahead”.
The changes announced Wednesday afternoon include two new appointments to the shadow cabinet and multicultural affairs being added to the shadow attorney general and deputy leader Josh Teague’s responsibilities.
Tarzia said Teague is “capable, keen and enthused” to take on additional responsibility.
“I’m confident that the team I lead is going to be an exceptional team,” Tarzia said.
“It’s going to be a team that works very hard on the lead up to the election, which is now around 60 weeks away so we’re looking forward to hitting the ground running this year.”
The new shadow cabinet will begin its work immediately, with the Liberals gathering at Mount Gambier later this week to connect with regional voters.
Who are the shadow cabinet ministers?
Member for Finniss David Basham is the new Shadow Minister for Environment and Water Infrastructure.
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Member for Hammond Adrian Pederick is the new Shadow Minister for Veterans, Marine Infrastructure, and Regional Roads.
Deputy leader Josh Teague adds multicultural affairs to his responsibilities as Shadow Attorney General, Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Shadow Minister for Child Protection.
Member for Bragg Jack Batty adds Arts and Festivals to his responsibilities as Shadow Minister for Community Safety, Police and Correctional Services, Shadow Minister for Road Safety, Shadow Minister for the Future Economy and Manager of Opposition Business.
Hon Heidi Girolamo MLC adds Education to her responsibilities as Shadow Minister for Cost of Living, Shadow Minister for Finance and Shadow Minister for Tax Reform.
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Colton MP Matt Cowdrey adds Training and Skills, Workforce and Population Growth portfolios to his existing responsibilities as Shadow Minister for Sport.
Penny Pratt MP adds Tourism to her responsibilities as Shadow Minister for Regional Health Services, Shadow Minister for Ageing and Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.
Tim Whetstone MP adds Social Services to his responsibilities as Shadow Minister for Trade, Industry and Investment, Shadow Minister for Recreation and Racing and Shadow Minister for Emergency Services.
Hon Ben Hood MLC adds the Industrial Relations and Public Sector, and Hospitality portfolios to his responsibilities as Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Shadow Minister for Government Accountability.
Hon Laura Henderson MLC will receive a promotion in the outer Shadow Cabinet to Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader and Shadow Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs.
