Spotlight: Australian PM to reshuffle cabinet as two ministers resign

Australian Minister for Cities and the Built Environment Jamie Briggs had resigned and Special Minister of State Mal Brough stepped aside in the last week of the year, providing Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with an opportunity for a bigger reshuffle in the new year.

Briggs announced his resignation on Tuesday after admitting he had made "an error of professional judgement" during a business trip to Hong Kong last month.

In his letter of resignation to the prime minister, Briggs described the incident which involved a young female public servant working at the Australian Consulate General in Hong Kong who complained about the inappropriateness of Briggs' behavior during a visit to a bar late at night.

Minister Brough stepped aside as the federal police are investigating his role in the affair of former speaker Peter Slipper and staffer James Ashby.

Ealier this month, Brough provided conflicting accounts to parliament and to local media over whether he had asked Ashby to procure copies of then House of Representative Speaker Slipper's diary for evidence.

Political analysts said Turnbull's handling of Briggs' resignation indicated that the prime minister is less tolerant in term of his ministers' personal and professional behavior.

Briggs admitted that "the fact that I was at a bar, late at night while on an overseas visit... this behavior has not met the particularly high standards required of ministers."

"Every one of Malcolm Turnbull's ministers is now on notice. A hard line is being enforced on standards and it will not take much to trigger a demotion," wrote David Crowe, political correspondent of The Australian newspaper.

"The treatment of Briggs establishes a process for the future. The decision went all the way to a cabinet committee, which left the former minister for cities with no choice but to resign even though he has been a top performer," Crowe said.

More importantly, despite the fact that the Turnbull cabinet has been in place for less than five months, Australia media have not been worrying for Turnbull over instability.

Instead, mainstream media suggested that this provides the prime minister with an opportunity to choose talents in a bigger reshuffle of his frontbench ahead of the federal election.

One convenient option is to bring former prime minister Tony Abbott back to the frontbench as Abbott is still enjoying considerable support from the more conservative faction of the Liberal Party and its coalition National Party.

Coalition MPs led by conservative senator Eric Abetz have called for Abbott to take on a "prominent" role in a future ministry, with some saying it would help "heal the wounds" after the September leadership coup.

Turnbull toppled Abbott in a Liberal Party room ballot in September when polls indicated a plummeting support rate for the former prime minister.

To dampen the speculation of Abbott being included in the cabinet, Turnbull clarified that he would like to see new faces.

"Fresh talent is very important. Unless people move on you can't bring new people in. Unless some of the men retire or leave the ministry, you can't bring the women in," he said.

"I'd simply note that one of the most important considerations to take into account is the need for renewal and the need to bring in new talent into the ministry; my focus in the future is bringing that new talent forward."

Turnbull has been under pressure from the National Party for an extra ministerial position as they are concerned that they were overlooked after the leadership spill.

The support for the Liberal-National Coalition has quickly recovered since Turnbull replaced Abbott as prime minister. And opinion polls show that 64 percent of people think Turnbull makes a better prime minister, well ahead of the 14 percent support rate for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

A possible leadership change of the National Party could further complicate the reshuffle decisions. Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss, who is the incumbent National Party leader, is likely to announce his retirement next month.

As political commentator Dennis Shanahan said, with the prospect of an earlier election growing from "no chance" to "a reasonable chance," Turnbull cannot afford another unseemly round of ministerial change before the election. Enditem