A Little excited about coming home
Stepping down as Labour’s leader was the right move for Andrew Little, he says.
Another move that Little hopes will pay off is continuing to maintain an electorate office in his home town of New Plymouth and being actively involved in the district during the next three years.
‘‘My heart is here, it’s my tu¯ rangawaewae,’’ Little said.
‘‘A big thing for this government is going to be regional economic development and so I want to be able to bring the Taranaki insights and the Taranaki needs to that debate, so we are making good decisions.’’
Little announced his resignation from the party’s top job in August, about seven weeks out from the general election, but it paid off last week when a Labour, New Zealand First and Greens coalition formed the country’s next government.
The move resulted in Labour’s golden girl Jacinda Ardern becoming Prime Minister but has also secured Little, who was back in New Plymouth on Tuesday, a role as a cabinet minister.
Little, who is in parliament as a Labour list MP, was warmly welcomed back on to his home patch and congratulated by members of the public as he strolled along Devon St.
While some questioned the timing of his announcement to step aside, Little said he stood by his decision and believed it was the right one.
‘‘At a personal level I can feel some personal disappointment but in the end you are in politics because you want to make change and I have now got the opportunity to be in a senior role in a government that’s about making good change, so I feel very honoured and privileged to be in that position.’’
Yesterday Ardern released the list of portfolios and details of her coalition deal with NZ First ahead of a swearing in ceremony on Thursday when the Labour-NZ First Cabinet would meet for the first time.
The actual ministerial allocation would be announced today and while Little remained tight lipped about what his responsibilities could include he was excited about the challenge ahead.
‘‘How could I not be, it has a bit like your first day at school feeling about it.
‘‘I’m very pleased with the number of roles that I’ve got because there’s a fair amount of work to do in a couple of them, so I’m looking forward to those challenges.’’
Ardern’s deal with NZ First reflected Peters’ big policy push on regional development with a $1 billion per annum Regional Development Fund.
Little said Peters was absolutely genuine about his ambitions for regional New Zealand but it would require things to be done differently.
‘‘Having an economy that’s run to benefit people not just to be a profit centre for people who are already doing well.
‘‘We want a real focus on the next generation of opportunities.
"I’m very pleased with the number of roles that I’ve got because there’s a fair amount of work to do in a couple of them, so I’m looking forward to those challenges."
Andrew Little
‘‘What happens in the regions is so important because as we know, and Taranaki is a classic example, as economic drivers change, opportunities change.’’
Little said the government also wanted to get the social foundations of housing, education and health right.
‘‘We want to make sure that people have job opportunities to get into as well so that will very much drive what we do.’’
Since it was announced a three party coalition would form the government there has been dissatisfaction expressed about the MMP system it stemmed from but Little said he was confident the deal was a good mix for the country.
‘‘The fact that Jacinda and her team were able to bring together an agreement with Winston and the Greens without any acrimony, without any kind of stumbles, at all, tells you that there are the foundations for a good strong, long term relationship there.
‘‘I’m feeling very comfortable and very pleased and I think we have a huge opportunity ahead of us and I think great things will happen.’’
Little said by the end of the week the newly formed government would have hit the ground running.
‘‘We’ve got a heap of work to do and the people committed and dedicated to doing it.’’