"Compared to her predecessors, Coonan is impressive," Argy said.

"She has a good rapport with industry and is a pleasure to deal with; it is hard to fault the outcome from an ACS point of view.

"Coonan has been outstanding in supporting policy objectives we have promoted; we want to encourage her."

Coonan was first appointed to Cabinet in July 2004 and has prepared the groundwork for the government's sale of its remaining 51.8 percent share in Telstra.

Minchin is due to make recommendations to Cabinet in March to proceed with the sale which is expected to generate about A$26 billion (US$19.6 billion) for the government.