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Michael McCormack refuses to guarantee Canavan’s job

The new deputy PM has refused to guarantee that Matt Canavan will retain his portfolio.

The new deputy PM has refused to guarantee that Matt Canavan will retain his portfolio. Photo: AAP

New federal Nationals leader Michael McCormack has refused to guarantee the jobs of Barnaby Joyce’s supporters in an upcoming ministerial reshuffle.

The new deputy prime minister declined to say whether Minister for Resources Matt Canavan, a Joyce supporter, would keep his portfolio.

“I haven’t made up my mind yet – ministerial arrangements will be announced in due course,” Mr McCormack said in interview with The Courier-Mail published Thursday.

A reshuffle of the Nationals’ ministerial portfolios – which follows Mr Joyce’s resignation as leader to sit on the backbench – is expected to be finalised within days.

Mr McCormack also has to name his replacement as veterans affairs minister.

Nationals backbencher Andrew Broad, who was the first MP to call for the leadership “reset”, said the new leader had a “big job”.

“He’s spoiled for choice,” Mr Broad told Sky News on Thursday.
“Michael has more good people than he has positions, and so that will be the decision he will have to make.”

Mr Broad said decades-old homophobic articles written by Mr McCormack, who is a former journalist, were old news.

“To keep bringing this up … doesn’t show any sense of maturity in this country,” Mr Broad said.

-AAP

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