Cam Slater: Labour’s Talent Pool Rather Shallow

Chris Hipkins has announced his cabinet reshuffle. Non-performing ministers have been axed, but the real take away from the re-shuffle is that Labour’s talent pool has proven to be rather shallow.

Senior MP Andrew Little has been demoted and lost his health portfolio while Chris Hipkins has unveiled a new Minister for Auckland in his Cabinet reshuffle.

The Prime Minister fronted his post-Cabinet press conference, only his second in the job, hot off two polls published last night that showed a reversal in political fortunes for Labour under his leadership, now just ahead of National.

As well as naming first-term MP Ayesha Verrall as Minister of Health, Hipkins promoted Mt Roskill MP Michael Wood to Minister for Auckland.

”Having a senior minister with a focus on the city ensures Auckland has the attention it needs. That’s going to be even more important following the events of recent days,” Hipkins said.

”When Auckland succeeds the country succeeds.”

Hipkins said this would align with his transport portfolio, and the role had even greater importance given the events of the past few days.

”I want to have a Minister with a focus on the city.”

Hipkins said he wanted him to play a bigger role in the economic team and in Auckland he was the logical choice to lead that.

NZ Herald

I guess Michael Wood has got his “river of filth”. Hipkins however ignores all the demonstrable failures from Michael Wood’s ministries, most notably his unmitigated disasters in Transport with the failed bike bridge, the non-existent light rail project through his own electorate, roading carnage and mayhem with potholes and road failures, not to mention the expensive white elephant train to Hamilton.

Now Little Napoleon gets to screw over Auckland. I can’t wait to see his first meeting with Wayne Brown.

Meanwhile Nanaia Mahuta has been demoted, down from 9 to 16. She keeps Foreign Affairs though so we will still look rather primitive and backward from overseas. She has been removed from the contentious local government portfolio.

Nanaia Mahuta has lost the controversial Local Government Minister post to Kieran McAnulty, who moves into Cabinet.

Mahuta will remain as Foreign Minister and Hipkins said she had been unable to travel in the beginning in the early days of the role and that had changed now.

On Mahuta’s demotion and what it meant for Maori, Hipkins said she remained an integral part of the team and there were now more Maori MPs on the front bench than when he started the process.

Hipkins said the top team of himself, Sepuloni, Roberston, Davis and Woods is unchanged, adding 2023 would see ongoing costs to businesses.

Grant Roberston [sic] would stay Finance Minister, with Hipkins citing his steady hand on the economy shown in the country’s unemployment rate along with other factors.

Jan Tinetti becomes Education Minister, moving to number 6 and picking up the whole portfolio, and picking up child poverty reduction.

Long-term MP Phil Twyford last lost ministerial responsibility Hipkins said he understood the need to bring in fresh talent.

He was “philosophical” about it.

Little will take over Defence from Peeni Henare. Willie Jackson is ninth and Kiri Allan is 10th. Both retained their key portfolios, Broadcasting and Justice respectively.

Stuart Nash picks up police. When asked about Nash getting back the portfolio, Hipkins said he showed a “certain affinity” for the role.

He said he knew Nash would be “right in there on day one”.

Hipkins, who most recently held the portfolio, said there was a lot of work going on there, particularly around ram raids and gangs. He said he knew Nash would be able to pick that up and hit the ground running.

NZ Herald

Nash’s first job should be to haul empire-building liar Mike McIlraith into his office and tell him to pull his head in over firearms licence fees and to halt work on the albatross gun register.

I’m glad to see the back of Phil Twyford. He had tits for hands and screwed up every portfolio he was handed. He was clearly the special kid in the class.

Hipkins really does have a talent problem, and a more hands-off approach towards ministers is going to see some real clangers going on in a ministry that has gotten used to being micro-managed by Ardern’s helicopter parenting. I doubt Hipkins will be so forgiving of mistakes either.

There are just over eight months to go until the election. Let’s see how they go.

One thing is certain though, they are sticking, like poo to a blanket, to Three Waters.

The new Cabinet

* Chris Hipkins: Prime Minister, Minister for National Security and Intelligence Minister Responsible for Ministerial Services

* Carmel Sepuloni: Deputy Prime Minister Minister for Social Development and Employment, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs (Pacific Region)

* Kelvin Davis: Minister for Maori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister for Children, Minister of Corrections, Associate Minister of Education (Maori Education)

* Grant Robertson: Minister of Finance, Minister for Sport and Recreation, Leader of the House

* Jan Tinetti: Minister of Education, Minister for Women, Minister for Child Poverty Reduction

* Michael Wood: Minister of Immigration, Minister of Transport, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Minister for Auckland , Associate Minister of Finance

* Ayesha Verrall: Minister of Health, Minister of Research, Science and Innovation

* Willie Jackson: Minister for Broadcasting and Media, Minister for Maori Development, Associate Minister for ACC, Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (Maori Employment)

* Kiri Allan: Minister of Justice, Minister for Regional Development, Associate Minister of Transport

* Megan Woods: Minister of Housing, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister of Energy and Resources, Minister for Building and Construction, Associate Minister of Finance

* Stuart Nash: Minister for Economic Development, Minister of Forestry, Minister of Police, Minister for Oceans and Fisheries

* Damien O’Connor: Minister of Agriculture, Minister for Biosecurity, Minister for Land Information, Minister for Trade and Export Growth

* Peeni Henare: Minister for ACC Minister of Tourism Associate Minister for the Environment, Associate Minister of Health (Maori Health)

* Andrew Little: Minister of Defence, Minister Responsible for the GCSB, Minister Responsible for the NZSIS, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission’s Report into the Terrorist Attack on the Christchurch Mosques

* David Parker: Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Minister of Revenue, Associate Minister of Finance, Minister for Whanau Ora

* Nanaia Mahuta: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control, Associate Minister for Maori Development

* Priyanca Radhakrishnan: Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Minister for Disability Issues, Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment, Associate Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety

* Kieran McAnulty: Minister for Emergency Management, Minister of Local Government, Minister for Racing, Minister for Rural Communities, Deputy Leader of the House

* Ginny Andersen: Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications, Minister for Seniors, Minister for Small Business, Associate Minister of Immigration, Associate Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations

* Barbara Edmonds: Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister for Pacific Peoples, Associate Minister of Health (Pacific Peoples), Associate Minister of Housing

Cam Slater is a New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in Dirty Politics and publishing the Whale Oil Beef Hooked blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. This article was first published HERE