Video above: Abbott vs Stegall - the battle for Warringah
Two Liberal MPs have been given promotions by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, despite having resigned from past ministries over political controversies.
Morrison announced his new cabinet on Sunday, a week after the Coalition was re-elected into government.
Sussan Ley and Stuart Robert have been given sought-after portfolios, even though both politicians were at the centre of expense scandals less than four years ago.
The new Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley, quit as Minister for Health in 2017 after an investigation showed she misused her travel expenses when she bought a $795,000 Gold Coast apartment while on a taxpayer-funded trip.
Ley apologised for the "error of judgement" at the time and said her resignation followed a discussion with the Prime Minister where he agreed the claim did not meet the "high standards he expects of Ministers".
The member for Farrer promised to repay the travel expenses for the trip. She was appointed Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories in August last year.
Ley will take over the environment portfolio from Melissa Price, who was criticised for being absent during the election campaign. Ley will not be tasked with negotiating emission reductions, which has been created into its own portfolio and handed to energy minister Angus Taylor.
As to why her name is spelled with a double-s, the new environment minister deliberately added a third “s” to her name after reading about numerology.
In a 2015 interview with The Australian, Sussan Ley revealed, “I read about this numerology theory that if you add the numbers that match the letters in your name you can change your personality,” she told The Australian.
“I worked out that if you added an "s" I would have an incredibly exciting, interesting life and nothing would every be boring. It’s that simple.”
Morrison’s friend promoted
Scandal-prone MP Stuart Robert will now take on the National Disability Insurance Scheme as Minister for Government Services and the NDIS, despite having tried claim almost $38,000 for his home internet bill and resigning from cabinet in 2016 over a trip to China.
Robert was resigned as the Minister for Human Services more than three years ago for breaching ministerial standards during a trip to China in 2014. Then Prime Minister Macolm Turnbull was forced to demote Robert after it was revealed he helped a friend and Liberal donor sign a deal in China while holding shares in the company at the centre of the scandal.
The Corruption Crime Commission later found there was “insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.”
The Queensland front bencher is one of Morrison’s closest friends in parliament and a former flatmate. The Prime Minister promoted Robert to assistant treasurer when he toppled Turnbull for top job.
Shortly after his promotion, Robert was forced to repay more than $38,000 he accumulated in taxpayer-funded home internet bills.
Robert charged taxpayers more than $1,000 a month for data at his Gold Coast home from 2016 to 2018.
'Historic' cabinet selection
Morrison named Ken Wyatt as the first Indigenous Australian to hold the portfolio for Indigenous Affairs Minister.
The West Australian MP was the first Indigenous Australian to become a federal government minister when he took on aged care in January 2017.
There are a record number of women on the front bench, with a total of seven women to serve in Morrison's cabinet.
Editor's note: In an earlier version of this article we refer to Sussan Ley as a backbencher. We have updated this to reflect her appointment as an Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories in August last year.
