Australia PM names new cabinet team

Bloomberg

Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a new Cabinet team, seeking to rejuvenate his beleaguered government and capitalise on renewed momentum going into the new year.
The revamp will see Attorney-General George Brandis be replaced by Christian Porter, Turnbull told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday. Michaelia Cash became minister for jobs and innovation, while Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce took responsibility for infrastructure and transport instead of agriculture.
The reshuffle may help Turnbull, 63, present a fresh face for his government in 2018 after a tough year dominated by distractions and internal divisions that have sapped focus from his stuttering policy agenda. An improved performance in recent weeks may give his Liberal-National coalition room to push ahead with a plan to cut personal income taxes.
Turnbull’s coalition has trailed its main Labor rival in opinion polls all year, leading to unease among some of
his lawmakers.
A dual-nationality fiasco stripped his government of its one-seat majority in October, and last month he was forced to backtrack and announce a probe into alleged abuses in the banking industry.
Still, this month has been better. Wins in special elect-ions have restored his majority, his government shepherded through legislation to legalise same-sex marriage and a budget update showed it’s on track for a narrower deficit
this fiscal year thanks to a surge in taxes from corporate profits. Parliament is now in
a two-month hiatus over the Australian summer break.