 Following the party leadership change, McArdle remained in his position as Shadow Minister for Health.After the Liberal National Party's landslide win in the 2012 Queensland state election, McArdle was appointed as Minister for Energy and Water Supply by Premier Campbell Newman, overseeing long-awaited and modernising reforms in energy and water security, after a series of natural disasters and an historical drought.In 2013, he revealed that he had prostate cancer, and took time off from his portfolio to battle the disease.