The Shadow Ministry of Tony Abbott was the opposition Coalition shadow ministry of Australia from December 2009 to September 2013, opposing the Australian Labor Party governments of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.
The shadow ministry is a group of senior Opposition spokespeople who form an alternative Cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual Minister or portfolio of the Government.
Since the 2007 federal election, the Liberal–National Coalition had been the Official Opposition, initially led by Brendan Nelson and later Malcolm Turnbull. In 2009, Tony Abbott defeated Turnbull in a leadership spill 42 votes to 41 in the second round and took on the role of Opposition Leader.
The Abbott shadow ministry was the first in which shadow ministers received additional pay for their roles, taking effect from 2012 after a decision of the Gillard government.
Structure The "opposition front bench" comprises the full shadow ministry including the shadow cabinet, other shadow ministers and shadow parliamentary secretaries. As an institution, the shadow cabinet is much less defined—or studied—than the Cabinet with its well established formal procedures. Shadow Cabinet operates more as a committee of an opposition political party than an institution of Government or Parliament. The Cabinet Handbook was first published in 1926 and the updated version is available on-line but no such equivalent exists for Shadow Cabinet.
First arrangement (2009–2010) The Shadow Cabinet of Tony Abbott was created following the accession of Tony Abbott to the leadership in December 2009. It remained largely unchanged until the 2010 election, excluding one minor reshuffle in March 2010. After this reshuffle, Barnaby Joyce gained the Regional Development portfolio from Warren Truss and the Infrastructure and Water Portfolio from Ian Macfarlane. Andrew Robb took on Joyce's previous portfolio of Finance and Deregulation and Macfarlane gained the Energy and Resources portfolio from the retiring Nick Minchin.
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Shadow Cabinet Shadow Minister Portfolio Tony Abbott Leader of the Opposition Julie Bishop Deputy Leader of the OppositionShadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Warren Truss Leader of the NationalsShadow Minister for Trade, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (To 25 March 2010)Shadow Minister for Trade, Transport and Local Government (From 25 March 2010) Senator Nick Minchin Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (To 3 May 2010)Shadow Minister for Resources and Energy (To 25 March 2010) Senator Eric Abetz Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace RelationsDeputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (To 3 May 2010)Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (From 3 May 2010) Joe Hockey Shadow Treasurer Christopher Pyne Manager of Opposition Business in the HouseShadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training Ian Macfarlane Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Water (To 25 March 2010)Shadow Minister for Energy and Resources (From 25 March 2010) Senator George Brandis Shadow Attorney-General Senator David Johnston Shadow Minister for Defence Peter Dutton Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing Kevin Andrews Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services Greg Hunt Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage Senator Nigel Scullion Deputy Leader of the NationalsShadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs Senator Barnaby Joyce Leader of The Nationals in the SenateShadow Minister for Finance and Debt Reduction (To 25 March 2010)Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Infrastructure and Water (From 25 March 2010) John Cobb Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Food Security, Fisheries and Forestry Bruce Billson Shadow Minister for Small Business, Deregulation, Competition Policy and Sustainable Cities Tony Smith Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Scott Morrison Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Sophie Mirabella Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Andrew Robb Chairman of the Coalition Policy Development CommitteeShadow Minister for Finance and Debt Reduction (From 25 March 2010) Philip Ruddock Shadow Cabinet Secretary
Members of the Outer Shadow Ministry
Shadow Minister Portfolio Bronwyn Bishop Shadow Minister for Seniors Senator Michael Ronaldson Shadow Special Minister of State and Scrutiny of Government Waste Sharman Stone Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education and ChildcareShadow Minister for the Status of Women Steven Ciobo Shadow Minister for Tourism and the ArtsShadow Minister for Youth and Sport Michael Keenan Shadow Minister for Justice and Customs Sussan Ley Shadow Assistant Treasurer Bob Baldwin Shadow Minister for Defence Science and PersonnelShadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Defence Luke Hartsuyker Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the HouseShadow Minister for Consumer Affairs, Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law Louise Markus Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells Shadow Minister for Ageing Senator Marise Payne Shadow Minister for COAG and Modernising the Federation Senator Mathias Cormann Shadow Minister for Employment Participation, Apprenticeships and Training
Shadow Parliamentary Secretaries
Shadow Minister Portfolio Senator Ian Macdonald Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia Andrew Southcott Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Health Services, Health and Wellbeing Senator Brett Mason Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education and School Curriculum StandardsShadow Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Senator Mitch Fifield Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, Carers and the Voluntary Sector Senator Richard Colbeck Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Senator Cory Bernardi Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the OppositionShadow Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Population Policy Don Randall Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Transport Senator Simon Birmingham Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin Stuart Robert Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Senator Gary Humphries Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families, Housing and Human ServicesShadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship Joanna Gash Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Jason Wood Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Public Security and Policing Mark Coulton Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Emerging Trade Markets Senator Guy Barnett Chairman of the Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee
Second arrangement (2010–2013) Tony Abbott reshuffled the Shadow Cabinet following the 2010 election and this arrangement remained largely unchanged until the election of the Abbott government in 2013. Two alterations were made during this period. In March 2011, Michael Ronaldson was appointed Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader of the Opposition on the Centenary of ANZAC. A wider redistribution took place in September 2012 following the resignation of Cory Bernardi. Arthur Sinodinos took on the role of Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the Opposition and Jamie Briggs took on the role of Shadow Parliamentary Secretary of Supporting Families. Michaelia Cash was also appointed Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate.
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Shadow Cabinet Shadow Minister Portfolio Tony Abbott Leader of the Opposition Julie Bishop Deputy Leader of the OppositionShadow Minister for Foreign AffairsShadow Minister for Trade Warren Truss Leader of the NationalsShadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Senator Eric Abetz Leader of the Opposition in the SenateShadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Joe Hockey Shadow Treasurer Christopher Pyne Manager of Opposition Business in the HouseShadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training Ian Macfarlane Shadow Minister for Energy and Resources Senator George Brandis Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the SenateShadow Minister for the ArtsAttorney-General Senator David Johnston Shadow Minister for Defence Peter Dutton Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing Kevin Andrews Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services Greg Hunt Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage Senator Nigel Scullion Deputy Leader of the NationalsShadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs Senator Barnaby Joyce Leader of The Nationals in the SenateShadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Water John Cobb Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Bruce Billson Shadow Minister for Small Business, Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs Malcolm Turnbull Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband Scott Morrison Shadow Minister for Immigration and CitizenshipShadow Minister for Productivity and Population Sophie Mirabella Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science Andrew Robb Shadow Minister for Finance, Deregulation and Debt ReductionChairman of the Coalition Policy Development Committee
Members of the Outer Shadow Ministry
Shadow Minister Portfolio Bronwyn Bishop Shadow Special Minister of StateShadow Minister for Seniors Senator Michael Ronaldson Shadow Minister for Veterans' AffairsShadow Minister Assisting the Leader of the Opposition on the Centenary of ANZAC (From 3 March 2011) Stuart Robert Shadow Minister for Defence Science, Technology and Personnel Senator Mathias Cormann Shadow Assistant TreasurerShadow Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation Sussan Ley Shadow Minister for Employment ParticipationShadow Minister for Childcare and Early Childhood Learning Senator Marise Payne Shadow Minister for Indigenous Development and EmploymentShadow Minister for COAGShadow Minister for Housing Senator Brett Mason Shadow Minister for Universities and Research Luke Hartsuyker Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the HouseShadow Minister for Youth and SportShadow Minister for Regional Communications Michael Keenan Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection Bob Baldwin Shadow Minister Regional DevelopmentShadow Minister for Tourism Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells Shadow Minister for AgeingShadow Minister for Mental Health Senator Mitch Fifield Manager of Opposition Business in the SenateShadow Minister for Disabilities, Carers and the Voluntary Sector
Shadow Parliamentary Secretaries (2009–2013)