Prime Minister Julia Gillard has defended her ministerial reshuffle amid persistent criticism as she prepares for today's swearing in of her new front bench.
Indigneous Health backflip
Meanwhile, Health Minister Nicola Roxon has struggled to explain why Prime Minister Julia Gillard has done a backflip on the reappointment of Warren Snowdon as indigenous health minister, on the eve of her cabinet being sworn in.
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Indigenous groups, doctors and the opposition had questioned Ms Gillard's decision to do away with the portfolio.
Roxon last night told ABC TV that Gillard made it clear she wanted a big focus on a range of key challenges, including health reform, jobs and productivity, and a strong economic team.
She says they've now seen that indigenous health had been overlooked and made the change.
Shake up draws criticism
The opposition and stakeholders from a range of sectors have criticised the shake-up, which has created a string of new portfolios, while also splitting education among three ministers.
The coalition has called on Ms Gillard to reinstate the education portfolio while questioning the appointment of former prime minister Kevin Rudd to foreign affairs and Penny Wong to finance.
But the prime minister's office has defended the changes saying both schools and higher education will be well represented and there'll be no changes to the appointments.
And a spokesman for Ms Gillard says Opposition finance spokesman Andrew Robb was in no position to criticise Ms Wong after he miscalculated the opposition costings by between seven and 11 billion dollars during the election campaign.
