Australia PM Malcom Turnbull's choice for the "difficult but critical role" of health minister was the incumbent Sussan Ley, "no surprise," according to Patrick Smith of THE AUSTRALIAN. Ley's first choice for sports minister was "Ley herself. Surprise." Ley said that it made "perfect sense for sport and health to live in the same portfolio." Australians who are active are "also likely to be healthy." Ley: "Being sports minister can't be just about photo opportunities -- despite the fact that is how it has undoubtedly been perceived in the past." She added, "I'm determined to get more of our kids playing organized sport as not only does it keep them active but they also learn important life skills like being part of a team and learning to lose." Ley had taken a liking to the portfolio despite "the position often being reserved for a junior minister and the outer cabinet." She has successfully "protected sport from the efficiency cuts forced across government" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/25). Smith reported in a separate piece that "sports ministers come and go but Ley knows what she wants." Since '10 "there have been six federal sport minsters, that's about one a year." Sport requires "delicate handling" for any government. It "appears frivolous" to allot footballers, gymnasts, sailors, boxers and the like a seat around the weightiest table in the nation but then "downright dangerous not to acknowledge the importance of sport to both the mental and physical well being of the nation." One would think health alone would present enough "worry warts to engage the busiest of minds." However, in Ley's short encounter with sport "she has clearly developed a fondness and sense of responsibility for the portfolio." Smith said, "So sport gets a spot in the cabinet, piggy backing off health. It is a good result and Ley's carE for the health and welfare of athletes is genuine. She embraced the role in a very difficult environment" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/25).
