Christian Porter And Linda Reynolds Could Lose Their Jobs In A Cabinet Reshuffle

The Prime Minister has revealed to Parliament he is considering a Cabinet reshuffle that could see a new Attorney General and Defence Minister.

AG Christian Porter had to take leave after publicly naming himself as the MP at the centre of a decades old rape allegation.

Mr Porter stringently denies raping a woman when they were both teenagers and has sued the ABC for the way it reported on the story.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds also had to take leave after her office was criticised for the handling of a rape allegation from a former Liberal Party staffer.

Brittany Higgins alleged she was sexually assaulted by a colleague in Ms Reynolds' office in 2019. The MP was threatened with defamation from Ms Higgins after she admitted to calling her a 'lying cow' when she said she felt she wasn't offered sufficient support from the government.

While Scott Morrison has publicly backed Mr Porter in the wake of the allegations, he has revealed there could be a reshuffle on the cards once an investigation is complete.

"I am considering that advice with my department secretary, in terms of the application against the ministerial guidelines," Morrison said told the Parliament during question time.

"And when I have concluded that assessment, I'll make a determination and I'll make an announcement at that time."

Mr Porter could be replaced by the acting Attorney General Michaelia Cash and the Guardian Australia reports Ms Reynolds could be dumped from the Cabinet altogether.

Mr Porter could still remain in Cabinet in the Industrial Relations Minister role.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has been tipped to take over the role of Defence Minister, with colleagues reportedly saying he has long dreamed of taking over that job.

As the Prime Minister mulls over switching up his Cabinet, he said he would be expediting work on recommendations given from the sex discrimination commissioner, Kate Jenkins.

She gave several suggestions to the government on how to prevent workplace sexual harassment in Parliament and Scott Morrison has finally revealed his intent in getting them implemented, despite them sitting on his desk for 12 months.

Featured Image Credit: ABC

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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