The prime minister will make the first changes to his front bench since coming to power after two senior ministers announced their retirements, allowing Anthony Albanese to reset as he prepares for the election.
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney, 67, and Skills and Training Minister Brendan O'Connor, 62, will leave parliament at the election next May.
Their decision now allows Mr Albanese to bring new blood into a ministry that has been unchanged since the May 2022 election.
Mr Albanese will announce the changes on Sunday, but not until factions have nominated candidates to replace left-wing Victorian and NSW ministers.
National Senate leader Bridget McKenzie says the process means the prime minister has to check with “his faction and union bosses” who will be in line for promotion.
“They have to go through this underground approval process, which doesn't mean the best get the job,” she told Sky News.
“It's going to be the best trade unionist backed, faction boss approved people who get the job and I think that's going to be a detriment to the Australian public.”
Mr Albanese returned from a five-day holiday in north Queensland on Thursday to announce the long-awaited departures of Ms Burney and Mr O'Connor, who will step down from the ministry with immediate effect.
He said both had “made an extraordinary contribution to our government and our country”.
“I am proud to call Linda Burney and Brendan O'Connor my friends,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“I am proud to have witnessed firsthand their passion for this nation, their determination to leave the country better for their contribution as members of parliament and ministers.”
“As a result, they have also decided to step down from the ministry to allow for a refresher and to allow some new ministers to take their place and take us forward in the coming months ahead of the 2025 election,” Mr Albanese said.
Ms Burney, who oversaw the failed Vote referendum, said now was the time to give the next generation of Indigenous leaders a chance.
“After 21 years in politics, eight years in the Federal Parliament and 13 years in the NSW Parliament, it's time for me to pass the baton on to the next generation,” she said.
“It's time for me to pass that baton on to the likes of Malarndirri McCarthy, Jana Stewart and Gordon Reid.”
She said losing the referendum is not the end.
“So while people may think it's a defeat, some very good things came out of the referendum,” she said.
“I am proud of the Prime Minister and his leadership. I am proud of First Nations people and I am proud to have been a part of it.
She said she did everything she could to close the gap for Indigenous Australians.
Mr O'Connor said he was proud to be part of the Albanian government, the third Labor government in which he was a minister.
“This is the most cohesive and united government I have seen since I was elected,” he said. “The way it's been done, including today, is orderly, deliberate, and I think today is a good example of that collegiality and unity.
“I'm very proud to be a part of it.
Mr Albanese called for nominations to the front bench committee.
The new cabinet will be announced in Canberra on Sunday and the new ministers will be sworn in on Monday morning.
“We have also been an incredibly stable government. No government in living memory has had the same cabinet and ministerial positions in their first two years in office,” Albanese said.
“At the next election I will be aiming to be the first Prime Minister since John Howard in 2004 to serve out a term and be re-elected as Prime Minister.”
Senator McKenzie said just because Mr Albanese didn't sack anyone “doesn't mean they are good”.
“No one has been moved on, although there is a need for many ministers who have been underperforming to be moved on,” Senator McKenzie said.
“I think you've seen the defiance … from the prime minister (to deal) with underperforming ministers.”
Mr Albanese was widely expected to announce the reshuffle before parliament resumed after the winter recess.
The departure of the two ministers will allow Mr Albanese to carry out a wider reshuffle, which many expect will include the move of key ally Andrew Giles, who has been under heavy pressure in the immigration portfolio.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton pressed Mr Albanese on Wednesday to release Mr Giles, saying he had “unnecessarily” released 153 criminals into the community.
“The prime minister's test in this change is whether he fires Andrew Giles,” Mr Dutton said.
“Anything else shows how weak and untouchable this Prime Minister is.”
Home Secretary Clare O'Neil has also faced pressure over immigration and security issues, with suggestions she could be replaced by Agriculture Secretary Murray Watt to revamp the government's handling of the portfolio.
Deputy Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy is widely expected to replace Ms Burney.
The 54-year-old has been a senator for the Northern Territory since 2016 and was previously in the NT Parliament.
Other names floated for promotion include Assistant Ministers Jenny McAllister and Tim Ayres and Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy.
A number of ambitious junior MPs will also be lobbying for ministerial assistant roles that could become vacant.
Liberal deputy leader Sussan Ley said she would be watching closely
replacement for Mr. O'Connor.
“Brendan O'Connor is a good man and I wish him well in his retirement from politics,” she said in a statement.
“While I disagreed with much of Brendan O'Connor's approach, he had experience at a level appropriate to this important portfolio.
“So today I am calling on the Prime Minister to replace him with someone of equal standing.”
Opposition Indigenous Australian spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who was a leading campaigner for the No vote referendum, paid tribute to Ms Burney.
“While we often differed on how best to end Aboriginal disadvantage, Minister Burney's career was driven by a burning desire to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians,” Senator Price said.
“When the day comes when Indigenous Australians have the same life expectancy
like every other Australian it will be partly because of Minister Burney's dedication to the area
politics full of difficult and harrowing realities.”
Mr Albanese will address the NSW Labor State Conference in Sydney on Sunday and attend the Garma Aboriginal Festival in the Northern Territory next week.
