ISAACS MP Mark Dreyfus is the country’s new Attorney-General.
He also picked up the Emergency Management portfolio in a Federal Government Cabinet re-shuffle following former Attorney-General Nicola Roxon’s resignation over the weekend.
Governor-General Quentin Bryce swore Mr Dreyfus in at a ceremony in Canberra on Monday 4 February.
He said he was honoured to be part of Cabinet and looked forward to the challenges ahead.
“I will continue to strongly represent my constituents in the Isaacs electorate and I am grateful for the opportunities they have provided to me by electing me as their representative in the Federal Parliament,” he said.
The 56-year-old said Australia’s legal system should provide a framework that protected and cared for all Australians.
“Our elderly, our sick, our injured, our workers, our new arrivals, our indigenous people, our young and our outspoken writers, artists and journalists,” he said.
“The best attorneys-general are those who seek to ensure that Australian laws reflect our national values of fairness and equality of opportunity.”
Mr Dreyfus is the first Isaacs representative to become a cabinet minister since the electorate’s creation in 1969.
The seat of Isaacs is named after Sir Isaacs Isaacs, a chief justice of the High Court and governor-general, and includes Dandenong South, Keysborough and parts of Noble Park.
Sir Isaacs was also Australia’s Attorney-General, from 6 July 1905 to 10 October 1906.
“Throughout my years of legal practice I have formed a deep belief in the principles of the rule of law, open, transparent and accessible justice, the right to a fair trial and the protection of an independent judiciary,” Mr Dreyfus said.
“I will be guided by these principles in my new role as Attorney-General.”
In his role as Emergency Management Minister he will oversee the government’s financial contribution to administering emergency services and disaster relief.
“To ensure communities devastated by the fires and floods across Australia this summer have food, water, shelter and decent support during the months and years of rebuilding their homes and lives,” he said.
Mr Dreyfus was elected as the Isaacs representative in 2007. In 2010 he was appointed Cabinet Secretary and Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Innovation and Industry.
