Dumped cabinet minister unloads on Labor and reveals EXACTLY who is to blame for his demotion in stunning live TV broadside – as brutal internal war erupts after Albo’s landslide election victory

A dumped Labor frontbencher has taken a swipe against deputy prime minister Richard Marles claiming he was the victim of a brutal ‘factional assassination’. 

Industry and science minister Ed Husic was booted from Anthony Albanese’s cabinet this week along with Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.

Mr Husic told ABC’s Insiders on Sunday he was let go because of factional politics.

‘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.

‘I think people, when they look at a deputy prime minister, they expect to see a statesman, not a factional assassin.’

Insiders host David Speers asked if Mr Marles had put his factional ambitions ahead of the good of the party and government.

‘I think a lot of people would draw that conclusion. I think he needed to exercise leadership,’ Mr Husic said.

‘He’s part of the leadership group. He needs to be able to show that we’ve got to be able to manage these things in an orderly way.’

The Labor party’s huge gains in the election meant the Victorian right-wing faction was ‘owed’ a further frontbench seat – at the cost of a NSW minister.

The factions within the party are responsible for nominating their members for one of 30 available ministerial positions – 20 of these are in the cabinet, while ten are in the outer ministry.

Cabinet roles are allocated to ensure that each faction receives several ministerial positions corresponding to the number of their MPs in Parliament.

Mr Speers asked why Mr Husic had been let go, instead of other NSW ministers, including Tony Burke and Jason Clare.

Mr Husic said he had made the ultimate call to leave the frontbench.

‘I made the decision ultimately, we would have had to have taken it to a national right ballot,’ he said.

‘The way it was managed was all very last minute. You’ve heard the stories about Mark [Dreyfus] trying to get in contact with Richard [Marles]. These things were left, as I said, last minute. I think there was a deliberateness about all that.’

Mr Husic said the Prime Minister should have intervened but did not. Mr Husic said he would meet with him on Monday.

Mr Husic believed his readiness to speak on global issues had factored into his demotion.

He particularly believed his stance on the war in Gaza was to blame.

‘To be able to take part in a cabinet meant a great deal. You can’t celebrate diversity and expect it to sit in a corner silent,’ Mr Husic said.

‘I certainly took the view you need to speak up for the communities you care about. 

‘I certainly tried to help us navigate wretchedly difficult issues, such as Gaza post the horrors of October 7.

‘You can’t celebrate diversity and then expect it to sit in a corner. I certainly took the view you need to speak up for the communities that you care about.’

He said the party had been ‘shackled’ by timidity regarding policy and warned the party can not afford to be any less tolerant of debate.

Mr Husic, the son of Bosnian immigrants, was the first Muslim to be sworn into the Australian Parliament.

Leaders in Australia’s science and technology industry were disheartened by Mr Husic’s dumping. 

‘Minister Husic’s knowledge, commitment and enthusiasm for science and technology was rare,’ Australian Academy of Science president Chennupati Jagadish said.

‘He understood its role in the re-invigoration of the Australian economy and in global diplomacy.

‘His commitment to the portfolio was clear and unwavering, achieving significant impact in three years.’