Jacinta Price or Kerrynne Liddle likely to take opposition portfolio for Indigenous Australians

Peter Dutton is likely to promote Jacinta Price or Kerrynne Liddle to take on portfolio responsibility for Indigenous Australians. However, the post may be relegated to a shadow assistant ministerial role.

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is considering how to replace Julian Leeser, who on Tuesday quit as shadow attorney general and shadow minister for Indigenous Australians.

But Price is understood to have told some colleagues she agreed it would be too soon in her federal political career to move into cabinet or carry sole responsibility for a ministry.

Sources say the elevation of either MP to shadow cabinet is unlikely because they are first-term senators who have not held shadow ministerial portfolios and premature promotion could spark professional jealousy among colleagues.

The alternative is to give Price or Liddle the shadow assistant ministry, with Indigenous Australians represented in shadow cabinet by an existing minister, such as Anne Ruston.

In order to minimise the impact of the reshuffle, the attorney general portfolio is expected to go to a lawyer already in cabinet, such as Michaelia Cash, Paul Fletcher or Michael Sukkar.

Cash, the shadow minister for employment and workplace relations, and Fletcher, the shadow minister for science, arts, government services and the digital economy are considered more likely due to their lighter load of existing portfolios.

Sukkar is responsible for social services, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, housing and homelessness, meaning allocating him the attorney general portfolio may only be possible if a wider reshuffle is envisaged.