Gillard has adopted a softly, softly approach

to filling vacancies left by her move to the

top job.

Yesterday, Ms Gillard appointed Simon Crean as

her successor in the Education, Employment,

Social Inclusion and Workplace Relations

portfolios, while Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen

Smith took on Mr Crean's trade portfolio.

If, as commentators are predicting, we could be

going to the polls as early as August, Ms Gillard

would have been foolish to engage in any wholesale

change to the front bench and leave new ministers

exposed as they familiarised themselves with their

new roles.

Stability is important for a government that is

trying to recover from a tumultuous period in the

polls.

The time for big moves, if Ms Gillard wants to

make them, will be after the election, regardless of

whether the government is re-elected or not.

Welcome change of

heart on disability

LOST in the turmoil of last week's Federal

Government leadership battle was a small policy

change, but a significant one for those it most

affects.

MP Bill Shorten is to be commended for

effectively turning around a budget shortfall for

disability services in Australia.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and

Children's Services, Mr Shorten was lobbied hard

by National Disabilities Services Australia (NDS),

including from here in Ballarat, after the budget

effectively reduced funding by ceasing indexation

on federally-funded operational costs.

After much angst within the sector, Mr Shorten

has been responsible for engineering a 3.25 per

cent increase, of which 2.25 per cent is in cash

funding and the remaining one per cent offset by

efficiencies.

Although not entirely what was sought,

McCallum Disability Services in Ballarat has said it

appreciates Mr Shorten's efforts.

The Courier welcomes this change of heart too.

This sector, hugely important to the community

that it is, does not have a lot of political clout but

argued its case strongly and the Government

deserves credit for listening.