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| New trade minister Steve Ciobo was once considered an Abbott supporter | New trade minister Steve Ciobo was once considered an Abbott supporter |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Steve Ciobo, a Liberal MP for the Gold Coast for 15 years, has been elevated to the cabinet with the ministry of trade. | Steve Ciobo, a Liberal MP for the Gold Coast for 15 years, has been elevated to the cabinet with the ministry of trade. |
| Ciobo was considered a Tony Abbott supporter before last year’s leadership spill but has publicly placed himself behind Malcolm Turnbull since he became prime minister. | Ciobo was considered a Tony Abbott supporter before last year’s leadership spill but has publicly placed himself behind Malcolm Turnbull since he became prime minister. |
| “I’m very confident and 100% behind Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister and leader of the Liberal party that he is going to be the best man to drive this nation forward, to realise the challenges and overcome the challenges that we face, and to articulate a clear vision about how we can make tomorrow a better day than today,” he told Brisbane’s ABC at the time. | “I’m very confident and 100% behind Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister and leader of the Liberal party that he is going to be the best man to drive this nation forward, to realise the challenges and overcome the challenges that we face, and to articulate a clear vision about how we can make tomorrow a better day than today,” he told Brisbane’s ABC at the time. |
| Ciobo became minister for international development and the Pacific in Turnbull’s initial ministerial reshuffle after serving as parliamentary secretary to the treasurer and foreign minister. He has now been promoted to trade minister. | Ciobo became minister for international development and the Pacific in Turnbull’s initial ministerial reshuffle after serving as parliamentary secretary to the treasurer and foreign minister. He has now been promoted to trade minister. |
| Related: Cabinet reshuffle: Malcolm Turnbull tipped to offer Steve Ciobo trade in new line-up | |
| A conservative in the Liberal party, he has risen steadily through the ranks but has remained diligent and a reliable advocate of the government’s policies. | A conservative in the Liberal party, he has risen steadily through the ranks but has remained diligent and a reliable advocate of the government’s policies. |
| He was the politician on the ABCs’ Q&A program when the former terrorism suspect Zaky Mallah was allowed to ask a question triggering an Abbott-ordered ministerial boycott of the show and reviews of the program. | He was the politician on the ABCs’ Q&A program when the former terrorism suspect Zaky Mallah was allowed to ask a question triggering an Abbott-ordered ministerial boycott of the show and reviews of the program. |
| Mallah had asked if he would have been stripped of his citizenship under laws introduced by the government at the time. | Mallah had asked if he would have been stripped of his citizenship under laws introduced by the government at the time. |
| Ciobo replied that he wasn’t familiar with the circumstances of Mallah’s case “but I’m happy to look you straight in the eye and say that I’d be pleased to be part of a government that would say you are out of the country, as far as I’m concerned”. | Ciobo replied that he wasn’t familiar with the circumstances of Mallah’s case “but I’m happy to look you straight in the eye and say that I’d be pleased to be part of a government that would say you are out of the country, as far as I’m concerned”. |
| Related: Malcolm Turnbull's new cabinet and ministry: the full list | |
| “... [to the] best as I know your circumstances, the comments you’ve made, the threats you’ve made that you’ve pleaded guilty to, to me more than justify the concerns the government has. I think it’s very wrong for you to portray the Muslim population as all being incentivised to do those things.” | “... [to the] best as I know your circumstances, the comments you’ve made, the threats you’ve made that you’ve pleaded guilty to, to me more than justify the concerns the government has. I think it’s very wrong for you to portray the Muslim population as all being incentivised to do those things.” |
| Ciobo, who has a master’s degree in law, grew up in north Queensland but settled on the Gold Coast as an adult. Before entering politics he worked as a consultant with Coopers & Lybrand and PricewaterhouseCoopers, and at one stage considered joining Australia’s spy agency Asio. | Ciobo, who has a master’s degree in law, grew up in north Queensland but settled on the Gold Coast as an adult. Before entering politics he worked as a consultant with Coopers & Lybrand and PricewaterhouseCoopers, and at one stage considered joining Australia’s spy agency Asio. |