Overview
- Ben Carroll finalised a reduced 20-member cabinet on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, promoting Tim Richardson as the sole new minister and leaving two of three vacancies unfilled to cut costs.
- The reshuffle created a new Minister for Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Economy, assigned to Anthony Carbines, while removing a dedicated transport infrastructure portfolio and the Suburban Rail Loop brief.
- Colin Brooks was appointed treasurer and minister for industrial relations, and Jaclyn Symes was moved off treasury to energy, environment and the State Electricity Commission.
- The changes shift factional power inside Labor after Jacinta Allan’s resignation and the departures of Harriet Shing and Lily D’Ambrosio, narrowing the Socialist Left’s influence on the frontbench.
- Carroll framed the move as fiscal discipline and a campaign reset but faces pressure from poor polling that shows him trailing Opposition leader Jess Wilson and from looming teacher industrial action and construction-sector scrutiny that could shape the election campaign.