{"id":53512,"date":"2026-07-19T04:02:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T04:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/53512\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T04:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T04:02:16","slug":"terrific-cabinet-labors-andrew-charlton-defends-aging-frontbench-amid-succession-debate-over-next-pm-to-replace-albanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/53512\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Terrific Cabinet\u2019: Labor\u2019s Andrew Charlton defends aging frontbench amid succession debate over next PM to replace Albanese"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of Labor\u2019s biggest rising stars has rejected suggestions the Albanese government\u2019s frontbench is too old, saying he has no concerns about succession planning.<\/p>\n

Labor MP Andrew Charlton, slated as the most qualified person to be treasurer<\/a>, told Sky News Sunday Agenda there was no frustration among younger MPs waiting for promotion.<\/p>\n

Asked about the long queue for frontbench positions, Mr Charlton said:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m thrilled with the work that I\u2019m doing and grateful to be in the role that I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we have a great Labor team. I\u2019ve never seen the Labor Party more united or more capable than it is today, and that is a good thing for our government.\u201d<\/p>\n

The average age for Labor MPs and Senators was 51 years old after the 2025 federal election.<\/p>\n

Among the top positions, including PM, Deputy PM, Attorney-General, Treasurer, Home Affairs Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, the average age sat at 56.<\/p>\n

Asked whether it was time for some of Labor\u2019s older ministers to retire and make way for younger figures like himself, Mr Charlton defended the frontbench.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we have a terrific cabinet that is doing a great job and you can see that in the progress they\u2019re delivering for every Australian,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His comments come as attention has turned to the future leadership of the Labor Party<\/a>, with speculation continuing about who could replace Mr Albanese.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently claimed \u201cno one\u201d in his caucus has been thinking about replacing him.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Sky News Sunday Agenda in June, Mr Albanese refused to nominate a preferred heir apparent when asked who he thought might replace him in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very happy to do the job that I have and one of the good things about our government is there isn’t any speculation. We’re a united team,\u201d Mr Albanese said.<\/p>\n

It comes after rumours swirled that\u00a0Mr Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers had a \u201cfrosty\u201d relationship<\/a>\u00a0in the wake of Labor\u2019s federal budget.<\/p>\n

Asked whether people were naturally wondering who would come next, Mr Albanese said: \u201cNo, no one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pressed further on whether he had any ideas about a successor, he said: \u201cNo one in our caucus is worried about that.<\/p>\n

Almost half of Labor voters recently said they don\u2019t know who should replace Prime Minister Anthony Albanese<\/a> if he were to unexpectedly step down from the top job.<\/p>\n

According to the Sky News Pulse \/ YouGov poll, 47 per cent of people considering voting for Labor did not know who should replace Mr Albanese.<\/p>\n

Among those who nominated a successor, Treasurer Jim Chalmers was the clear frontrunner, attracting 26 per cent support.<\/p>\n

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek was second on 13 per cent, followed by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on five per cent.<\/p>\n

Health Minister Mark Butler received just four per cent support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of Labor\u2019s biggest rising stars has rejected suggestions the Albanese government\u2019s frontbench is too old, saying he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[44412,44375,44403,44417,40159,44398,44411,44367,37016,38918,44391,42709,44410,44372,40607,44413,44402,44365,44415,44393,1757,22726,483,44374,44421,44419,29420,9207,22,21,36917,44377,44370,44371,41497,44369,33725,44373,10635,44363,44395,12699,39112,3180,36788,44380,156,44392,44400,44378,14955,44423,44396,44401,44384,35086,44416,44388,44407,44389,44404,44385,38649,44420,44368,7350,30551,489,13091,44422,16460,44382,44376,44390,44414,44399,38760,44381,44408,11897,40619,44394,44362,36878,44379,44418,44397,38131,40615,44387,40413,37012,44361,44386,37011,44405,39311,44406,44383,44364,36844,40035,36894,31666,5203,10736,44409,44366],"class_list":["post-53512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-s-andrew-charlton","tag-s-biggest-rising-stars","tag-s-federal-budget","tag-s-frontbench","tag-s-next-generation","tag-s-older-ministers","tag-s-rising-stars","tag-44367","tag-37016","tag-38918","tag-51-years","tag-42709","tag-a-frosty-relationship","tag-a-good-thing","tag-a-great-job","tag-a-great-labor-team","tag-a-preferred-heir","tag-a-successor","tag-a-terrific-cabinet","tag-a-united-team","tag-albanese-government","tag-andrew-charlton","tag-anthony-albanese","tag-any-ideas","tag-any-speculation","tag-assistant-science-and-technology-minister-andrew-charlton","tag-attention","tag-attorney-general","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-cent","tag-cent-support","tag-deputy-pm","tag-deputy-prime-minister-richard-marles","tag-every-australian","tag-foreign-affairs-minister","tag-frontbench","tag-frontbench-positions","tag-health-minister-mark-butler","tag-his-caucus","tag-his-comments","tag-home-affairs-minister","tag-home-affairs-minister-tony-burke","tag-jim-chalmers","tag-june","tag-just-four","tag-labor","tag-labor-frontbench","tag-labor-mp-andrew-charlton","tag-labor-mps-and-senators","tag-labor-party","tag-labor-rising-star","tag-labor-rising-star-addresses-next-generation-debate-amid-speculation-on-next-pm","tag-labor-rising-star-rejects-calls-for-generational-change-as-leadership-speculation-swirls","tag-labor-voters","tag-mr-albanese","tag-mr-albanese-and-treasurer-jim-chalmers","tag-mr-charlton","tag-next-generation-debate","tag-next-pm","tag-no-concerns","tag-no-frustration","tag-no-one","tag-our-caucus","tag-our-government","tag-people","tag-pm","tag-prime-minister","tag-prime-minister-anthony-albanese","tag-promotion","tag-questions","tag-rumours","tag-sky-news-sunday-agenda","tag-snapp-sunday-agenda-prime-minister-anthony-albanese","tag-snp-preferred-pm-14072026-albanese-replacement-snp-30062026","tag-social-services-minister-tanya-plibersek","tag-speculation","tag-speculation-continuing","tag-succession-debate","tag-succession-planning","tag-suggestions","tag-terrific-cabinet","tag-the-2025-federal-election","tag-the-albanese-government","tag-the-average-age","tag-the-clear-frontrunner","tag-the-frontbench","tag-the-future","tag-the-future-leadership","tag-the-good-things","tag-the-job","tag-the-labor-party","tag-the-long-queue","tag-the-most-qualified-person","tag-the-party","tag-the-progress","tag-the-role","tag-the-sky-news-pulse-yougov-poll","tag-the-top-job","tag-the-top-positions","tag-the-wake","tag-the-work","tag-time","tag-today","tag-treasurer","tag-treasurer-jim-chalmers","tag-younger-figures","tag-younger-mps"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}