WITH a Federal election as little as six weeks away, re-instated Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has cleared the decks of former Gillard loyalists, appointing regional NSW MP Joel Fitzgibbon to the agriculture ministry in place of Joe Ludwig, who is now banished to the back-benches.

Mr Fitzgibbon, the NSW member for Hunter, previously served as defence minister in the original Rudd ministry. He was the chief whip in the Gillard Government, and had previous experience as the shadow minister for small business.

The appointment of a new-look ministry follows a tumultuous week in Federal politics.

Other key ministries of significance to the agriculture sector announced by Mr Rudd this morning included:

• Anthony Albanese as minister for infrastructure, transport, broadband and communications
• Victorian MP Richard Marles, who has been catapulted from the backbench into the trade portfolio. Former minister Craig Emerson is out of the cabinet.
• Kim Carr as minister for innovation, industry, science and research
• Mark Butler as minister for climate change and environment. Former environment minister Tony Burke will shift to another key portfolio, in immigration.
• Ballarat MP Catherine King, who has been promoted from her outer ministry of regional services to become minister for regional Australia.

The announcement of Victorian Senator Jacinta Collins, as well as MPs Julie Collins and Catherine King to the cabinet, will increase the number of women in the ministry from nine to a record eleven.

National Farmers Federation chief executive Matt Linnegar welcomed Mr Fitzgibbon to the role as ag minister, saying it was positive to see an MP with a regional background being promoted to the portfolio.

Mr Fitzgibbon was born in Bellingen and his Hunter electorate including towns such as Aberdeen, Cessnock, Murrurundi, Muswellbrook, Scone and Singleton.

“While this region is perhaps best known for its horse studs and mining developments, it is also an agricultural region, particularly beef, dairy, horticulture, cereal crops, wool and lambs. I believe farmers across the country will be pleased to see that their new agriculture minister has this rural reach, as well as some 17 years’ experience as an MP,” Mr Linnegar said.

NFF said it would be requesting a meeting with Minister Fitzgibbon at his earliest convenience so that it could talk through the immediate priorities facing Australia’s farming sector.

“These include the implementation of the Farm Finance package, which is still awaiting state and territory approval – and, in conjunction with the new Trade Minister, Richard Marles, finalisation of the China, Japan and Korea Free Trade Agreements. As Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in his press conference on Friday, the China FTA is currently moving at the pace of a ‘lame camel’,” Mr Linnegar said.

“We look forward to working closely with Minister Fitzgibbon – and indeed all Federal Parliamentarians – on the NFF’s election priority of reprioritising agriculture in the national agenda. The need to do so is as relevant in the Minister’s own portfolio as it is on the national stage, with the importance of agriculture being overshadowed in recent years by the resources boom.”

“But now, the dining boom is firmly on the horizon, and the need to ensure agriculture is prepared means sensible policy decisions are needed to increase investment in innovation, research development and extension; enhance our farmers’ competitiveness and profitability; build a stronger agricultural workforce; and ensure that there is a balance between the needs of agriculture and the needs of the environment,” Mr Linnegar said.

While Joe Ludwig will go down in many primary producers’ eyes as one of Australia’s worst agriculture ministers in history, the NFF was more forgiving than many.

“We had a strong working relationship with Sen Ludwig and his team, and it is important to recognise that he worked hard to make improvements for farmers, particularly in the areas of research and development funding, the National Food Plan and farm finance,” Mr Linnegar said.

“We understand that many farmers remain angry about the Government’s decision to suspend live exports – and rightly so – but it is not fair to lay the blame for this decision solely at the feet of Sen Ludwig, who worked constructively with the agricultural industry to navigate the difficult path forward following the suspension,” he said.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott dubbed Mr Rudd's new frontbench the "C team".