Huge tasks for new Cabinet
New governments aim high. The single most important part of the coalition’s new ministry is Jacinda Ardern’s decision to be ‘‘minister for child poverty reduction.’’ So the PM puts poverty at the very centre of her government’s project, and binds herself to making measurable progress in it. That suggests she’s serious and not merely ‘‘aspirational.’’
Goals are one thing, however, and outcomes another. Labour leader David Lange took the education portfolio and his root-and-branch reforms were and remain wildly controversial.
Helen Clark put reducing inequality at the centre of her government’s plan. But ‘‘closing the gaps’’ got mired in irrelevant but politically damaging arguments about race.
Cutting child poverty will be expensive and controversial, because while everyone agrees with the goal there will be deep disagreements about how to reach it.
Kelvin Davis’s surprise portfolio of Maori-Crown relations signals a move beyond the (vital but historical) work of treaty settlements. Building a more futurefocussed partnership between the treaty partners is in theory a sound idea, although the scope of the new project remains unclear. Davis is a capable politician who might do useful work here.
Winston Peters takes foreign affairs at a time of maximum tension and uncertainty caused by Donald Trump. His experience and his innate caution will be valuable.
Likewise Peters and the new Trade minister, David Parker, one of the very few ministers with Cabinet experience, will bring a welcome new pragmatism to the issue of ‘‘free trade deals’’. The purist and uncritical attitudes of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade are overdue for correction.
Phil Twyford becomes in effect Minister for Auckland. As housing and transport minister he must deal with the housing crisis, which is most acute in that city, and with Auckland’s intractable transport problems. Twyford showed he was an effective opposition politician, but he knows that fixing the housing problem will take years and that progress won’t be instant.
He will have to get used to Opposition accusations of slowness and failure: he will have to prove that the taunts are not justified.
Green leader James Shaw gains the vital portfolio of climate change while not even being inside Cabinet. His job is political dynamite, but so far he has made a good job of managing the difficult relationship with Winston Peters.
Shane Jones has the equally vital role of regional development, with a large budget.
The demands will always exceed the supply of money, but Jones is an experienced politician with real policy strengths, and he has served both Labour and NZ First. He could play an important role in glueing the coalition together.
All Cabinets revolve around a small band of effective ministers; there is always a long tail of the less gifted. What’s more, this Cabinet is terribly short of ministerial experience while overflowing with big ideas for reform.
That could be a recipe for trouble. Jacinda Ardern and the other major players in her ministry will need all the personal and political skills they can muster.