Australian Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd unveiled his ministerial team on Thursday, naming four women and a former rock star to the centre-left cabinet, and making close collaborator Julia Gillard his deputy.
Penny Wong becomes Australia’s first Asian-born minister. Taking on the new climate change portfolio, she will be in charge of carrying out Labor’s pledge to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
Wong, 39, arrived in Australia from her native Malaysia as a child in 1977 and worked as a lawyer and barrister before entering parliament as a senator in 2002.
Peter Garrett, former lead singer with Midnight Oil, becomes environment, heritage and arts minister, but loses his hold on climate change after embarrassing his leader with policy gaffes during the campaign.
Rudd, 50, swept to power in Saturday’s election on a promise of generational change after more than 11 years of conservative rule under Prime Minister John Howard, 68.
Rudd and his ministers, forming what he called a rejuvenated government with fresh ideas, will be officially sworn in on Monday. (Read More)
