After Leader of the Nationals, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Barnaby Joyce resigned last week, these three positions were all taken over by one person: The Hon. Michael McCormack.
McCormack now becomes the minister in charge of the aviation reform process set in place by Warren Truss and continued under Darren Chester.
"This is obviously a great honour and privilege, and I will seek to do my very best, always," McCormack told parliament. "I look forward to working with my coalition colleagues to advance the interests of the nation, especially for rural and regional Australians."
McCormack is a native of the Riverina and former editor of the Wagga Wagga newspaper The Daily Advertiser. He entered federal parliament in 2010 as the member for Riverina. His parliamentary career has included being Assistant Defence Minister, Small Business Minister, Assistant to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Veterans Affairs and Defence Personnel.
But he is perhaps better known as the minister responsible for the 2016 Census debacle, during which a move to make the survey online failed spectacularly, compromising the integrity of the data collected. McCormack later apologised.
When questioned about the new minister's plans for continuing aviation reforms, a spokeswoman for the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport said only that "The Minister is delighted with his new portfolio and looks forward to meeting stakeholders to hear about the opportunities and challenges in their industry."