AlHijjah 06, 1436, September 20, 2015, SPA -- Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appointed five women to senior government ministries Sunday, including Marise Payne as Australia's first female defence minister, dpa reported. Six days after winning an intra-party revolt against Tony Abbott to become prime minister, the more moderate Turnbull made sweeping cabinet changes including dumping Treasurer Joe Hockey for Scott Morrison. "Today I'm announcing a 21st-century government and a ministry for the future," Turnbull said. He appointed more women to senior posts, after Abbott's cabinet had only one woman - Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who stays on. Turnbull sacked six ministers, several of them key Abbott supporters including defence minister Kevin Andrews, replacing them with younger, moderate party members. The prime minister, an enthusiastic user of public transport, also created the new post of minister for cities to examine ways to improve transportation.
