Cyber security Minister Angus Taylor resigns

Angus Taylor

Minister for law enforcement and cyber security Angus Taylor has handed his resignation to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, amid a round of leadership challenges.

Taylor's letter stated his resignation was on the basis of his support for Peter Dutton, who has challenged the Prime Minister as the Liberal party leader.

"I have previously relayed to you my concerns about the direction of this Government, and my views on the policies that should characterise a traditional centre-right Liberal Party," stated the letter. "I remain steadfast in my view that these changes are critical to the future of the Government and the nation.

"As I said in my letter on Tuesday, it has been my privilege to serve as a minister in this Government, including as your Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation."

Taylor also said he remains "deeply committed" to the values of the party - he came into the role in December 2017 following a major ministerial Cabinet reshuffle on 19 December.

When Taylor was the assistant minister for cities and digital transformation, he oversaw some of the most substantial changes to national public sector IT procurement in the past several years.

Under his watch, the Government’s Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) took over the responsibility of managing a host of major IT procurement panels from the Department of Finance, where they had resided for years.

Taylor also unveiled major procurement reforms that saw IT contracts capped at $100 million, among other measures, in a bid to give smaller suppliers a leg up when competing for lucrative public sector contracts.

Furthermore, the Minister assisting the Prime Minister for digital transformation Michael Keenan also resigned.

"It has been a great honour to serve, but it has become clear that he’s [the PM] lost the support of the Liberal Party room," Keenan wrote in his Twitter account. "In the best interests of all Australians, it’s important that the leadership is now resolved."

The announcement from Keenan comes less than 24 hours after the Digital Transformation Agency announced it had become the first Federal Government agency to adopt the certified Microsoft Office 365, expected to be used by more than 200 DTA staff.

Another major Government announcement made concerns news that both Huawei and ZTE have been banned from providing 5G technology in Australia.

"This is an extremely disappointing result for consumers," the company stated. "Huawei is a world leader in 5G. Has safely and securely delivered wireless technology in Australia for close to 15 years."