It comes after incumbent Ed Husic was axed from the role late last week, with newspapers speculating the decision was made to balance the left and right-wing factions of the Labor party following the election win.
Ayres was previously the assistant minister for trade and a future made in Australia during Albanese’s first term.
The 51-year-old grew up on a beef cattle farm on the north coast of New South Wales and completed high school in Glen Innes. He studied industrial relations at the University of Sydney and currently resides in Sydney.
Before entering Parliament, Ayres held elected positions in the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, representing workers in sectors including manufacturing, defence, food processing, aviation, and metal industries.
He was elected as a Senator for New South Wales in the 2019 election and worked on matters related to manufacturing industries and employment in regional areas of Australia.
The news comes after Husic launched an extraordinary attack on Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles on Sunday over his apparent role in his demotion.
Husic branded Marles an “assassin” on the ABC and even argued his behaviour was unfit for a statesman.
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“The difficult issue here is that we’ve had bare-faced ambition and a deputy prime minister wield a factional club to reshape the ministry,” he said.
Husic served as the science and industry minister during Anthony Albanese’s full first term as prime minister but was reportedly axed to balance state factions within the party.
The decision followed Labor increasing its majority after last week’s federal election, with estimates now suggesting the party could have as many as 93 MPs.
That increase shifted the party’s composition towards the faction of right-wing Victorian MPs, led by Marles, and away from right-wing NSW MPs, including Husic.
“I think people, when they look at a deputy prime minister, they expect to see a statesman, not a factional assassin,” Husic said.
“I just feel for the supporters of our party, who went from the high of a Saturday and a terrific and tremendous win … I just feel like it’s been a distraction at the start of what’ll be a successful second term.”
Husic added that while he respected the need for factions to manage merit and ambition, Marles would have to answer for his personal role in his demotion.
He also blamed the change on his decision to speak out over the conflict in Gaza, arguing that you “can’t celebrate diversity and expect it to sit in a corner silent”.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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