1. Grant Robertson has strongly promoted a Labour commitment to fiscal responsibility. Photo / Marty Melville
1. Grant Robertson has strongly promoted a Labour commitment to fiscal responsibility. Photo / Marty Melville
Jacinda Ardern has unveiled the Cabinet lineup for the incoming government and the ministers who will have a big impact on the performance of the economy and corporate NZ.
1. Grant Robertson
The new Finance Minister grew up in working class south Dunedin. Robertson was a prominent student politician at Otago University where he earned an honours degree in political science. Robertson worked for Ministry of Foreign Affairs before working for Helen Clarks office and became a Labour MP in 2008.
Hes described David Lange as a big influence and argues that economic reform was needed in the 1980s but that it eventually went too far. He favours reform of the Reserve Bank Act but has also strongly promoted a commitment to fiscal responsibility.
A former Energy Minister, veteran Labour MP David Parker has emerged as a linchpin in the new coalition Cabinet, taking the pivotal economic development, environment and trade portfolios that will connect him to key ministers in both the New Zealand First and Green parties.
Parker has emerged as a key confidant of the new Labour leader since she took over from Andrew Little in August, and has a long and cordial relationship with the new Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.
Parker, whose proposal for a levy on commercial water use did not survive the coalition negotiation process, is also Attorney-General and an Associate Minister of Finance.
Minister for Crown/Maori Relations, Corrections and of most interest to business Minister of Tourism. He's been a previous spokesman on tourism and the appointment of a high-ranking minister carries on where National left off. Tourism Industry Aotearoa said it was fitting that such a senior minister held the post.
4. Phil Twyford
Phil Twyford. Photo / Supplied
Minister for Housing and Urban Development. Twyford will oversee Labours new $2 billion KiwiBuild scheme that aims to build 100,000 new residences in the next decade.
5. Megan Woods
Megan Woods. Photo / Supplied
Minister for Energy and Resources, Research Science and Innovation, Earthquake Commission and as Wigram MP the hot local portfolio - Greater Christchurch Regeneration. Previously spokeswoman on climate change while in opposition.
6. Shane Jones
Shane Jones. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The former Labour MP will be responsible for delivering on one of Winston Peters big campaign promises - driving economic growth in the regions. Together with regional economic development and infrastructure, Jones will also take on the forestry portfolio - which will be responsible for planting 100 million trees a year.
7. Iain Lees-Galloway
Iain Lees-Galloway. Photo / Supplied
Leading the new governments policies to strengthen unions bargaining power and its intention to shrink total migration numbers will be Iain Lees-Galloway, who becomes Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety, along with holding the Immigration portfolio.
Farming is among the sectors he worked in before political life in 1993. More recently, O'Connor went in to bat for affected farmers during issues with interest rate swaps and is taking up the agriculture portfolio.
9. Stuart Nash
Stuart Nash. Photo / Warren Buckland
The great-grandson of a former PM, Nash will pick up fisheries as well as revenue and small business.
