Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has defended his role in the dumping of former Labor cabinet ministers Mark Dreyfus and Ed Husic.

At a Canberra news conference prior to the swearing in of the new cabinet at Government House, Mr Marles spent a full 15 minutes giving a detailed response to attacks on him by Mr Husic.

The Bug, along with other media outlets present at Yarralumla, is waiting on a final version of a typed transcript from the Deputy Prime Minister’s office translating his comments.

An office spokesperson said the initial 347-page draft of Mr Marles’s remarks was being revised to eliminate hesitations, stutters, and extraneous verbal tics and a final draft should be a little more than one page long when completed.

“We’ve also been held up finalising the transcript because the initial draft produced by our voice-recognition software looked like an avalanche of Wingdings (main picture), but we’ve worked out that it’s actually correct, so it shouldn’t be too long now before we can distribute a final version.”

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Meanwhile an anonymous Labor Party MP has sprung to the defence of Mr Marles.

The MP who asked not to be identified said it was wrong for both Mr Dreyfus and Mr Husic to complain that neither had warning of the Deputy PM’s intention to work for their elimination from cabinet.

“I know for a fact that Richard spoke to both Mark and Ed and clearly told them that when it came to their ministerial positions he had a roll to play,” the MP said.

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Queensland LNP Senator Matt Canavan (below) says he has only one regret about challenging for his party leader David Littleproud’s job yesterday.

After yesterday’s leadership ballot that saw Mr Littleproud reinstalled as leader, Senator Canavan said he now regretted taking some of the advice offered by some political observers.

As a result, he admitted, he had drastically overestimated the level of his support.

“When I declared to many party members before the ballot that I’d be the new leader of the Nationals I wasn’t aware that SkyLNP News ‘after dark’ hosts couldn’t actually vote in our party room,” he said.

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