Malcolm Turnbull sworn in as Australian PM for second term

Canberra: Malcolm Turnbull was on Tuesday sworn in as Australia’s prime minister for a second term, along with a jumbo Cabinet after a narrow election victory that left him with the slimmest of majorities in the Parliament. The Liberal/National coalition Party leader Turnbull was sworn in as Australia’s 29th prime minister by the Governor General Peter Cosgrove in Government house in Canberra. Turnbull broadly stuck with the team of ministers he took to the federal election but has handed some cabinet members new roles. [caption id=“attachment_2868748” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Malcolm Turnbull broadly stuck with the team of ministers he took to the federal election but has handed some cabinet members new roles. Reuters[/caption] Said to be one of the largest frontbenches in Australian history that include 23 ministers, the cabinet has been described by Turnbull as the team to “deliver a strong and secure future”. As the re-elected Coalition Government we have a clear mandate to proceed with our policies. “We are committed to three years of strong, stable economic leadership so we can provide both the economic security and the national security that Australians expect and deserve,” Turnbull had said on Monday ahead of his swearing in ceremony. “We will be judged in 2019 by the Australian people as to whether we have delivered on the plans and the programs and the investments that we have promised and set out and described in the lead-up to the election.” “My team will now get on with the job of governing — constructively working and engaging with the other parties in the Parliament, to deliver a strong and secure future — the strong economic leadership that Australians expect and will get from my Government,” he said. The multi-millionaire former banker’s Liberal/National coalition is holding 76 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives. “We’ve all fought a long campaign. A very tough campaign in winter — eight weeks. There has been a lot written about all of us but this election was not about us. It’s about 24 million Australians — their future. It is the service we deliver as their Government, delivering on our commitments, on our programmes, on the investments that we have promised - this is a term of delivery,” he said. “This is three years of strong, stable economic leadership delivering on the promises we made — on our massive Defence Investment plan, on our big infrastructure commitments, on our economic reforms — that is our commitment to deliver the economic security, the national security that Australians deserve and need and have elected us to do,” the prime minister further added. Turnbull announced some new names and few shifts within the Cabinet. Christopher Pyne was sworn in as Minister for Defence Industry within the defence portfolio. His former role as Industry, Innovation and Science Minister has been taken on by Greg Hunt, whose Environment role would now move to Josh Frydenberg. Frydenberg was sworn in as Environment and Energy Minister after the two portfolios were merged. Deputy Nationals leader Senator Fiona Nash added Local Government and Territories to her regional development role. Senator Matt Canavan was promoted to Cabinet as the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia. The other four key changes to the ministry were Bradfield MP moving to Urban Infrastructure, Victorian senator Scott Ryan becoming special minister of state, Victorian MP Dan Tehan adding Defence Personnel to his existing role as Veterans Affairs minister and NSW Nationals MP Michael McCormack swapping assistant defence minister to the Small Business portfolio. Julie Bishop continued with her foreign affairs ministry portfolio while Steven Ciobo was given the same trade tourism and investment ministry.