Keith Pitt says he is disappointed at being dumped from Cabinet but denies there are tensions between him and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce.
Mr Joyce has announced a suite of changes to the front bench following his return as Deputy Prime Minister, including dropping the Water and Resources portfolio from Cabinet.
Mr Pitt retained ministerial responsibilities for water resources but lost the portfolio of Northern Australia along with his seat in Cabinet.
"Obviously I'm disappointed, but these are decisions for the leader," he said.
Mr Pitt said there were no grievances between him and Mr Joyce.
"Not at all — he's the leader and he makes his own decisions," he said.
The reshuffle followed the National party's leadership spill last week, when Michael McCormack lost the leadership.
"The Nationals are a democratic party that elect their leader based on the majority of the room," Mr Pitt said.
Industry decries move
But Ian Macfarlane, a cabinet minister in the Howard government who is now chief executive of the Queensland Resources Council (QRC), said the industry was dismayed by the reshuffle.
"The QRC believes the resources industry, as Australia's number one export industry, should be a cabinet portfolio, and Resources Minister Keith Pitt has been doing an outstanding job," he said.
Mr Pitt said he remained committed to the sector and denied Labor's suggestions the reshuffle was a sign of a diminished focus on water and resources by Mr Joyce and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
"They're committed to what is an incredibly important piece of the economy," Mr Pitt said.
"More than 50 per cent of our exports come from energy and resources.
"In fact … we estimate that it will grow again in the next financial year up to around $334 billion.
Bridget McKenzie, who backed Mr Joyce in the leadership spill, returns to Cabinet at the expense of Mr Pitt.
Her portfolios include Regionalisation, Regional Education and Regional Communications, as well as drought and emergency management.
