Rebecca White has been sworn in as Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Indigenous Health and Women.
The former Tasmanian Labor leader secured the seat of Lyons at the recent federal election and has quickly been elevated to three assistant ministerial positions in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s reshuffled ministry.
White told the ABC she was looking forward to helping deliver Labor’s health agenda.
“It’s incredibly humbling. I have a fair amount of experience in health. It’s an area that I have a deep interest in,” White said.
“The opportunity to work in this role, responsible to Minister Mark Butler and Minister Katy Gallagher, is gonna be incredible. I admire both of them immensely, and I think that we have an ambitious agenda that I now get to be part of helping to deliver.”
White’s responsibilities will include assisting with the expansion of Medicare, urgent care clinics and implementing aged care reforms set to begin from 1 July as part of a $4.3 billion investment across the country.
“My job now is to get to work,” she said.
“I make myself available to people. I hope people know that. Most people have got my number and my email and they get in touch,” she said.
The appointment comes after a long career in state politics where White previously led the Tasmanian Labor Party and held various shadow portfolios including climate change, tourism and justice.
Unveiling his new-look team in Canberra on Monday, Albanese described it as “a Caucus brimming with capacity, talent and energy in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.”
White joins a growing Tasmanian Labor contingent in federal parliament, alongside newly elected Bass MP Jess Teesdale and Braddon MP Anne Urquhart.
Franklin MP Julie Collins has retained her role overseeing Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, a decision welcomed by industry group Salmon Tasmania.
