In naming his new Shadow Ministry, the incoming Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, has opted to split his teams responsibilities across several portfolios with significant digital and ICT workloads, rather than matching them neatly against the ministerial titles assigned to the new Albanese Ministry.

This decision is due to a combination of practical constraints after the loss of so many seats (18), some unique personal strengths in specific areas, and pragmatic political calculations to focus on the incoming government’s perceived weaknesses.

One of the primary roles of Dutton’s first Shadow Ministry will be to ‘defend the legacy’ of nine years of Coalition Government, ensuring that the various cyber security, ICT, and digital transformation projects that were initiated on their watch will continue to be adequately funded and supported by Labor.

Dutton has largely dismantled the previous Morrison-Joyce era power structures, sending former cabinet ministers Alex Hawke, Melissa Price, Linda Reynolds and Keith Pitt to the backbench, and demoting Stuart Robert to a junior minister outside cabinet.