Gray, a senior Labor party member in resource-rich Western Australia, needs to ensure that someone who supports the resources industry remains in a key position as investment in the sector slows. Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that the Climate Change Department, responsible for implementing the carbon tax, will be merged with the Industry Department and overseen by Climate Change Minister Greg Combet. However, there were no changes to the important Treasury or Finance Ministry roles held by Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan and Penny Wong. The reshuffle was necessary after a failed leadership challenge by supporters of former leader Kevin Rudd, resulting in several ministers resigning. Gillard has called for elections on September 14, which current polls suggest she is likely to lose, so the impact of the reshuffle may be limited. Former Resources Minister Martin Ferguson, a supporter of the mining industry, resigned along with others. Approximately A$400 billion has been invested in Australian resources projects in the last ten years, with an additional A$200 billion in liquefied natural gas projects. The mining employer group AMMA believes Gray, who has experience in the industry, will attract investment. Gray, who joined the Labor party in 1974, left in 2000 to work for Wesfarmers and later as a public relations adviser for Woodside Petroleum during a takeover battle with Royal Dutch Shell. Shell decided to pull out its offer after Treasurer Peter Costello deemed it detrimental to the country's interests, partially due to Gray's efforts to rally public opinion against Shell. ($1 = 0.9572 Australian dollars).