Labour cabinet – the who, not the what
Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern stopped short of revealing what MPs got what portfolios, saying that's coming next week.
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Prime minister-elect Jacinda Ardern's cabinet will have 28 members and she will take on the security and intelligence portfolio.
She also intends to hold a portfolio involving children as well as possibly arts, culture and heritage as well.
Ms Ardern said 16 members of the cabinet were elected by the Labour caucus: Jacinda Ardern, David Clark, Clare Curran, Kelvin Davis, Chris Hipkins, Iain Lees-Galloway, Andrew Little, Nanaia Mahuta, Stuart Nash, Damien O’Connor, David Parker, Grant Robertson, Jenny Salesa, Carmel Sepuloni, Phil Twyford and Megan Woods
She says Labour will have five ministers outside of cabinet (appointed by the leader): Kris Faafoi, Peeni Henare, Willie Jackson, Aupito William Sio and Meka Whaitiri.
That leaves four NZ First cabinet members yet to be named and three Green Party ministers outside of cabinet yet to be named.
Ms Ardern would not reveal who is getting which portfolio, saying only that would be revealed next week.
But she did confirm she would take on the security and intelligence portfolio.
Ms Ardern says she will be taking the time over the weekend to allocate portfolios.
“That will include working through with NZ First the final allocation of portfolios for their ministers inside the cabinet.”
The Greens have already had a discussion and a process that has been signed off over the allocation of their members, she says.
But Ms Ardern will not reveal that allocation until next week, when she announces the rest of the portfolios and who has received them.
Asked if she will be splitting any roles, for example making a separate minister for forestry instead of it being under MPI, she says that is something she will be giving “some consideration to.”
“There is, of course, an extraordinary amount of interest in beefing up the amount of work we do in the forestry portfolio. Labour has a position that we would locate the forestry service in Rotorua, so those are some elements of the portfolios that I need to work through.”
She says this was not done to woo NZ First and has always been a Labour party policy.
Ms Ardern says she received a congratulatory phone call from Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull this morning and is expecting to speak to UK Prime Minister Theresa May tonight.
Jason Walls
Fri, 20 Oct 2017
Fri, 20 Oct 2017
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Labour cabinet – the who, not the what
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