The fall in the dollar will result in some reassessment of spending on road and rail infrastructure and defence equipment. Howard is also giving some thought to reshuffling his front bench, although not as much as some of his ministers and backbenchers - some of whom think of little else. Many of his senior ministers would like to change their portfolios, although officially they say they are happy to remain in their present jobs. These include Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith, Industry Minister Nick Minchin, Environment Minister Robert Hill and Health Minister Michael Wooldridge. Then there are the junior ministers who feel they are ready for promotion into cabinet, including Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey and Amanda Vanstone.
Some backbenchers are restless for promotion, including some who have previously sat in cabinet.
NSW MPs Bill Heffernan and Brendan Nelson, as well as Victorian Kevin Andrews and Western Australian Julie Bishop, are seen as frontrunners, although they may miss out if NSW and Victoria are seen to have too many ministers. Queensland Coalition MPs are pushing to increase their numbers on the front bench, for Queensland will be a crucial state in the next election with a swag of marginal Coalition seats. But the government will want to keep a senior minister in Western Australia, so would either have to keep Williams in a cabinet post or promote another Western Australian such as Ian Campbell into cabinet. The government is also beginning to formulate its research and development and higher education policies, on which business is increasingly focusing. The important question will be whether the government is prepared to offer tax incentives to encourage research and development by corporations, and what measures it will introduce to prevent rorting of these.