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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promoted two of his closest political allies in a Cabinet reshuffle triggered by the resignation of Christian Porter.
- Scott Morrison has reshuffled his frontbench for the fourth time in year
- Immigration Minister Alex Hawke joins Cabinet, with Christian Porter's old roles divided between Angus Taylor and Melissa Price
- WA Liberal MP and close PM ally Ben Morton becomes Special Minister of State
Mr Porter, the industry, science and technology minister, quit the frontbench two weeks ago after refusing to name the people who had contributed to a blind trust to pay for part of his legal bills.
Mr Morrison has promoted Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to Cabinet, while changing the roles of existing minister Angus Taylor and Melissa Price.
Mr Hawke has long been regarded as one of Mr Morrison's closest lieutenants.
ABC News: Adam Kennedy
)Mr Taylor will take on the Industry portfolio, in addition to his existing role as Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister.
Ms Price, the Defence Industry Minister, will add science and technology to her workload.
Mr Morrison has also promoted close ally Ben Morton, a Western Australian Liberal MP, who has served as Mr Morrison's Assistant Minister since the 2019 election. He will become the Special Minister of State and the Public Service Minister.
ABC News: Marco Catalano
)The Prime Minister announced the reshuffle as he confirmed the international border would reopen next month for states that have reached 80 per cent vaccination rates, starting with New South Wales.
The changes mark Mr Morrison's fourth frontbench reshuffle within the last year.
Mr Taylor becomes the seventh Industry Minister since the Coalition came to power in 2013, with only two people serving in the role for more than a year.
Mr Morrison praised Mr Taylor for his efforts to cut energy prices and said his new focus would be on Australian sovereignty and ensuring the nation had the ability to manufacture "critical supplies" onshore.
Mr Taylor has been a contentious member of the frontbench. In 2019, he apologised to Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore after conceding he used wrong information in a political attack on her.
ABC News: Marco Catalano
)Mr Morrison demoted Ms Price after the 2019 election. He returned her to Cabinet earlier this year, after the Brittany Higgins scandal forced him to reshuffle his frontbench.
In that reshuffle, Mr Morrison moved Mr Porter from Attorney-General to Industry Minister after he launched defamation action against the ABC.