Jacinda Ardern announced her new ministry yesterday. The full list is here. The short version of my analysis is that Jacinda Ardern’s choices today were stunted mainly because she has a limited talent pool, she doesn’t like upsetting people — otherwise she would have sacked Davis from the deputy leader’s role and rinsed Phil Twyford completely — and she has pandered to Maori.
For the important portfolios she has kept the competent ministers in key roles. The critical ones for the next term are:
- Finance – Grant Robertson
- Housing – Megan Woods
- Education – Chris Hipkins
- Health – Andrew Little
- Attorney-General – David Parker
- Justice – Kris Faafoi
- Transport – Michael Wood
I’m not sure moving Andrew Little from Justice to Health is a positive step. Little is prone to bouts of anger and vindictiveness. Health can be a quagmire and there are bound to be some real cock-ups in that portfolio.
Kris Faafoi is very competent. In fact, he is the stand out minister from the last term.
Sadly, I don’t think Megan Woods will make any impact on Housing but at the very least the civil servants will benefit from A-grade catering at meetings.
Michael Wood has a make or break portfolio, so we will see if the little man who would will turn out to be the little man who could. I suspect that he too will fail at building light rail. After a lifetime of shining Phil Goff’s shoes, he’s now in a big job. Time will tell if the Brylcreem look is just a look or if he really is all that.
What I can’t fathom is why Phil Twyford still gets a ministerial portfolio. He’s the Minister for Disarmament, of all things. This is just a sinecure to buy his silence in an enlarged caucus. The man is tits at everything he does but is convinced of the inevitability of voters realising he’s the next Jesus. He’s the FIGJAM of the Labour party. I was kind of hoping they would make him Minister of Corrections. Nothing would have changed and nobody would get out.
I can’t wait to see Nanaia Mahuta, complete with scribble-face, turn up at an important meeting offshore. Her appointment to that role has to be some serious buying off of the Maori Caucus. She’s spent more of her life in parliament than out of it and achieved precisely nothing. Another salad dodger who will enjoy the sumptuous diplomatic canapes and function circuit. We know this is a bit of a gamble because Jacinda Ardern says she will work closely with Mahuta “in that space”. What space? There won’t be any left if Mahuta is in the room.
Liberal elite wankeratti Hamish Keith made a stupid observation about Mahuta being Foreign Minister.
Yeah, because mokos are common all over the world aren’t they? Dickhead.
Poto Williams as Police Minister seems, frankly, retarded. I predict she will be one of the first ministers to fail.
I think Peeni Henare will be diligent in Defence.
Jan Tinetti‘s appointment is a sop to the teachers union. She will be an easy scalp.
Overall I think the important ministries are in capable hands, but even capable ministers can be undone with scandals and failures.
The new ministers, however, provide a target-rich environment for the Opposition. I doubt very much that Ayesha Verrell, coming from the cloistered halls of academia, would have had any exposure to people actively wanting to cut your throat. The inexperienced ministers are in for a rough ride I suspect.
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