I propose recommending to His Excellency the Governor-General that he
appoints Mr Mal Brough, MP, the Member for Longman, as Parliamentary Secretary
to the Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business.
Mr Brough will have particular responsibility for small business issues.
After a military career, Mr Brough was elected to the House of Representatives
in March 1996 as the first member for the newly-created Queensland seat
of Longman.
I am sure he will bring great energy to this new responsibility.
The duties of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs,
previously discharged by The Hon. Kathy Sullivan, MP, will now be undertaken
by Senator the Hon. Kay Patterson, currently Parliamentary Secretary to
the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. She will also
retain that position.