Who’s got the power? As the new Coalition Government has settled into its seats, it has become clear that while National is the larger sibling, it has handed over significant chunks of power to NZ First and Act Party ministers.
The two most powerful of them have also become obvious: Act leader David Seymour and NZ First’s Shane Jones.
One of the notable things about the coalition agreements was that National had kept all of the major portfolios in its own stable: finance, health, education, agriculture, justice and so on.
However, Act and NZ First got their own influence partly by virtue of responsibilities allocated to them as associate ministers in those areas.
Both Jones and Seymour are Associate Finance Ministers, for example, and that gives them a seat at the Budget decision-making table, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Finance Minister Nicola Willis, and fellow associate Chris Bishop.
Seymour has also managed to rustle up a lot of headlines in his associate education, health, and justice roles.
The most obvious check on what they make of that power is each other: to get anything done, all three pretty much have to agree on the details.
That’s where soft power comes in.
Jones is full of hot air in public, but behind the scenes has quickly made himself useful to the new Government by virtue of his extensive contacts in various industries and institutional knowledge.
Luxon has a high regard for him, seeing him as intelligent and constructive. Jones’ more bombastic approach is also fairly useful for National when it comes to speaking to reforms that might affect Māori rights and interests.
Te Pāti Māori and the Green Party have questioned whether Jones can be trusted with his mix of portfolios, and Luxon replied that “he has my total backing.”
But Jones has a Caesar above him – NZ First leader Winston Peters.
One insider noted if Seymour told them something will or won’t happen, they know it’s the last word. “But if Jones says yes, we still have to wait to find out what the court of appeal [Peters] says.”
Luxon said the divvying up of the responsibilities was partly by design and partly as things settled down after the flurry to move into the Beehive.
He opted to hand over very specific and sometimes significant areas of responsibility for the sake of clear lines. “The key way I thought about delegations was I wanted a really clear, single point of accountability. There’s no point just creating willy-nilly associate roles that then become very frustrating for the minister and the associate.”
The associate responsibilities were touched on in coalition negotiations, but it was more driven by his own view things needed to be clear after noticing previous governments often had vague delegations.
“You don’t want endless sets of meetings and people going around the houses with three people. That happened [under National] with social housing in the past, and it was unclear as to who does what to who, and who’s in charge and what’s going on.”
“So the others will be consulted and informed, but let’s make sure they are clearly defined and they are responsible, they are accountable.”
He points to education, where both early childhood education and tertiary education had been given to associates, saying it freed Education Minister Erica Stanford up to focus on schools and the curriculum: key target areas for National.
In many cases, the divisions suit both National and the smaller party, especially where that policy area is controversial and National wants a bit of distance from it – but the smaller party wants the credit.
One example is the addition of work on the Treaty Principles Bill to Seymour’s stash of work.
In other cases, it is simply to take some workload off the primary minister.
There are also some other benefits to National. For example, around overseas investment rules (Seymour’s job), National will not be not lumped with trying to find a way through a potential impasse because of conflicting views of the parties.
National has also managed to spread out the blame for potential trouble points: each of the Finance Ministers is charged with assisting with work on “expenditure control” - spending cuts.
Act leader David Seymour: Minister of Regulation, Associate Minister of Finance, Education, Health and Justice.
If Seymour is in the headlines he’s a happy chappy, and he’s been in the news a lot lately courtesy of the newsworthy duties he secured for himself through his associate portfolios - from truancy and pseudoephedrine to Pharmac.
Seymour’s only full ministerial role is as Minister of Regulation. It is one of only four so-called central Crown agencies: meaning it doesn’t have front-line workers, but does have reach over the rest of the government sector in terms of its work programme.
The power here is whatever Seymour can make of it – his goal is to do a range of reviews of areas where there is a tranche of red tape to try and cut it back. He has already flagged that the early childhood sector will be first in line for a red-tape purge in the first review by his new ministry.
For now, his more visible roles are in the vast swathe of issues delegated to him as associate minister of finance, health, justice and education.
In finance, Seymour is responsible for overseas investment and a range of state-owned enterprises, Crown Research Institutes, and Crown-owned companies (including TVNZ, RNZ, Auckland Light Rail and Crown Irrigation Investments).
It is a limited delegation: Willis has kept for herself the powers around making major financial decisions, changes to the companies’ constitutions and key appointments.
In health, Seymour has Pharmac and the Medicines Strategy, as well as the law change to allow pseudoephedrine-based cold pills to be sold in pharmacies again (Act Party policy) which is set to pass into law this week.
In education, he is in charge of the early childhood education sector, as well as charter schools, independent schools, truancy, and the school lunches programme.
Seymour had Associate Justice Minister added to his tally in January, to allow Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith to hand him responsibility for the Treaty Principles Bill.
His work corralling the support of National and NZ First for some measures will not be easy.
Overseas investment is one of the areas of potential conflict for the three parties: Act and National are pro-foreign investment, NZ First is traditionally very cautious about it.
In coalition negotiations, NZ First forced National to drop its plans to ease the ban on foreign buyers by allowing them into the market for more expensive residential properties. That was to allow a foreign buyers’ tax to help pay for tax cuts.
On this front, NZ First has to swallow a dead rat in Act’s coalition agreement, which provides for a change to the Overseas Investment Act to limit ministerial decision-making to national security concerns only. That would take ministers out of the frame in decisions on issues such as environmental, employment or economic benefit grounds. Act also wants to expedite the process of applying.
Seymour has chalked up another early win – soon after Peters commented to Bloomberg that he was not totally opposed to foreign investment if it had economic benefits, Seymour and Bishop announced a streamlined process for foreign investors in “build-to-rent” property developments.
NZ First’s Shane Jones: Minister for Resources, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Associate Minister of Finance and Energy.
Big industry movers, councils and anyone with a dream is beating a path to Jones’ door and he is not shy about advertising the door is open.
He is both the holder of the upcoming $1.2 billion regional infrastructure fund and one of the three ministers who signs off on major projects that will get fast-track consenting – along with Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown.
Pro industry and pro-investment, he is clearly seen as a godsend for the extractive industries in particular.
As well as his main portfolios, as Associate Energy Minister, Jones has taken responsibility for engine fuel security, including infrastructure and the rules around it - using that to get up a review into whether the Marsden oil refinery should re-open.
While Luxon sets out a more moderate case for allowing more mining as a means to tide things over until New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is up to scratch, Jones is far more boisterous in his enthusiasm.
He set out his effective mission-statement in Parliament on Tuesday: “we will have a legislative framework that rewards risk-taking and rewards investment and restores the place of the extractive sector to a place of pride.”
He enjoys baiting his Labour, Green Party and Te Pāti Māori critics – warning about the imminent demise of frogs (“goodbye Freddy”), describing hapū who try to stymie his plans as “pixie-like,” and ending social media posts with “drill baby drill.”
The three fast track ministers have significant powers: the projects get assessed by an expert panel, which can put conditions on, including to protect the environment. However, that panel is picked by the ministers, and has a limited power to reject any project that the ministers have referred to it.
Act is staying well away from involvement – Seymour was critical of allowing too much ministerial decision making and the monitoring procedures in the last iterations of the Regional Infrastructure Fund - Jones’ Provincial Growth Fund.
National was also critical of that, accusing Jones of using it for pork barrelling by favouring his own Northland region.
The wariness of National and Act seems set to mean there are more belts and braces put on the $1.2 billion fund – but Jones will still be overseeing a fund that councils will want to benefit from.
NZ First leader Winston Peters: Peters’ influence comes from his position as leader of NZ First rather than his ministerial portfolios of racing and foreign affairs, or even deputy Prime Minister (for half the term). An experienced Foreign Minister, he has been overseas of late - and when he’s been home, he’s been in the headlines more for controversial comments and his ongoing railing against his foes than for major steps in his portfolios.
His international travel means he has to leave a lot to Jones to handle, but one eye is always open.
Act deputy leader Brooke van Velden: Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations. Both chunky portfolios, which van Velden is yet to show her full hand in. Her early tenure has seen her repeal Labour’s workplace reforms and restore 90-day trials, and she has started to tackle the thorny on-going issue of Holidays Act reforms. Trusted by Seymour, and very details-focused and safe.
Agriculture Associate Ministers Mark Patterson (NZ First) and Andrew Hoggard (Act): National’s Todd McClay holds the main agriculture portfolio, partly because of its significance for the National Party as well as the tie-ins with the trade portfolio.
It’s an important portfolio for National, which is traditionally seen as the “farmers’ party.” It would not have wanted to cede the main portfolio to Act and NZ First, who have vigorously contested for votes in rural areas.
However, McClay’s overseas agenda has meant both NZ First’s Mark Patterson and Act’s Andrew Hoggard have taken on significant chunks of the portfolio.
When it comes to real sway in this area, the coup for Hoggard (a former Federated Farmers president) was also managing to get the associate environment portfolio as well. The combination of the two portfolios has put him on the recent move to stop councils’ work mapping and protecting Significant Natural Areas – something unpopular with farmers.
In environment, he is also charged with responsibility for work on biodiversity credits and, critically, for farm-related freshwater policy. That includes freshwater farm plans, stock exclusion regulations, water storage, and policy on drinking water standards.
Act MP Nicole McKee: It is widely known that McKee is charged with coming up with the firearms reforms, something she campaigned on prior to entering Parliament. However, her associate justice portfolio also gives her responsibility for Three Strikes, Version 2. The resurrection of Three Strikes (under which serious offenders who commit three crimes lose any chance of parole) is down on the Government’s newly released plan for the next three months.
NZ First MP Casey Costello: Hit the headlines early as minister responsible for the smokefree reforms, partly because of the Coalition Government’s decision to scrap Labour’s planned gradual ban on tobacco sales and restrictions on the outlets that can sell them – but also because of her stumble around what advice she had sought.
She is also in charge of vaping regulations, and recently announced moves to ban disposable vapes, introduce plainer packaging rules, and to significantly boost penalties on sales of vaping products to under-18 year olds.
The new MP also holds responsibilities for many aspects of women’s health.
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