Budget documents show Finance Minister Bill English had "serious concerns" about his cabinet colleague Steven Joyce's planning for his new "super ministry", Labour's economic development spokesman David Cunliffe says.
The documents released this morning by Treasury include a letter from Mr English to Mr Joyce which suggests the Finance minister was not entirely satisfied with the four-year Budget plan Mr Joyce submitted for the Ministry of Economic Development, the Department of Labour, the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Department of Building and Housing.
But a spokesman for Mr English said there were no serious concerns about the ministry conveyed to Mr Joyce.
The merger of the ministries and departments into a new Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) was announced before the Budget and comes into effect next week.
Opposition parties and public sector union the PSA have attacked the merger saying it has been done without adequate planning or analysis of how it will operate.