The prime minister elect, Tony Abbott, has revealed a cabinet heavy on experience – 15 of his senior ministers served under John Howard – but light on female representation, with the deputy prime minister elect, Julie Bishop, the only woman in the 19-strong cabinet.

Abbott said he was “disappointed” there were not “at least two” women in the cabinet, but said he expected women to be promoted over time, with “good and talented” women in the outer ministry “knocking on the door” of cabinet and more women “knocking on the door” of the outer ministry.

But of the 11 members of the outer ministry only four are women and the only woman among the 12 parliamentary secretaries is Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who has been demoted from the outer ministry.

Labor immediately targeted the absence of women in Abbott’s frontbench line-up, with acting leader Chris Bowen pointing out “the cabinet of Afghanistan now has more women in it than the cabinet of Australia” and that the outgoing Labor government had had six women in cabinet.

One of the biggest winners in Abbott’s new ministry – which is largely unchanged from his shadow ministry – is Senator Mathias Cormann, promoted from shadow assistant treasurer to the important cabinet portfolio of finance after dogged work pursuing Labor’s mining tax and explaining the Coalition’s election costings.

John Howard’s former chief of staff, Senator Arthur Sinodinos, had been tipped for the job but is instead in the outer ministry as assistant treasurer.

Abbott categorically denied this had anything to do with there being a “cloud over Arthur” because he may have to appear at a New South Wales corruption inquiry because of a directorship he once held. He said it was because he believed in stable and orderly succession. Cormann was previously shadow assistant treasurer and Sinodinos was shadow parliamentary secretary to Abbott.

The shadow finance minister, Andrew Robb, has been shifted to the new portfolio of trade and investment. The Nationals normally take the trade portfolio but in the Abbott ministry, the Nationals leader, Warren Truss, takes on infrastructure and regional development.

The Deputy Nationals leader, Barnaby Joyce, takes the agriculture portfolio, held in opposition by John Cobb, who has been dropped from the frontbench.

Abbott said he had been very determined to reduce the length of ministerial titles because under Labor, titles had become so long that ministers may have needed “oversize business cards”.

But he then had to spend much of his first press conference as prime minister elect explaining which ministers had responsibility for portfolios that no longer appear in any ministerial title.

For example Kevin Andrews, as minister for social services, also has overall responsibility for aged care, but both aged care and disability services will be primarily handled by his assistant minister, Senator Mitch Fifield.

Peter Dutton is minister for health and sport – the first time the sport portfolio has cabinet representation – and is also responsible for mental health.

And although science, energy and resources are not mentioned in any ministerial title, all three will be the responsibility of industry minister Ian MacFarlane. He will also preside over domestic tourism, with international tourism becoming the responsibility of Bishop as minister for foreign affairs. Science policy “as it pertains to universities” will be the responsibility of education minister Christopher Pyne, a spokesman for Abbott said.

Building on his “slow and steady” approach to assuming government, Abbott said he would not recall parliament until there was legislation for it to consider because he did not want to use it as “a giant and expensive photo opportunity”.

And he confirmed that despite the coalition’s dire pre-election warnings of a “budget emergency”, the mid-year budget review – traditionally released before the end of the year – could be deferred until January. Bowen accused the Coalition of trying to escape scrutiny by releasing the budget update during the Christmas holiday season.

But Abbott said “operation sovereign borders” – aimed at “stopping the boats” would start as soon as the new government was sworn in on Wednesday.

It was a “stand or fall issue” for his administration, Abbott said, and “interdiction operations will change and become more forthright” immediately.

He confirmed he was strongly backing long-serving MP Bronwyn Bishop as speaker – a position that is elected by the party room.

Winners in the new line-up include the Nationals senator Fiona Nash who is the new assistant health minister, the West Australian Liberal senator Michaelia Cash who becomes assistant immigration minister, and the South Australian MP Jamie Briggs who is the new assistant minister for regional development and infrastructure.

Capable female backbenchers, including the Victorian MP Kelly O’Dwyer, did not get a position.