Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, November 11th, 2008 - 58 comments
Categories: national -
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Will it be the same tired old faces, the fresh noobs or a mixture of both? Will it be an all National cabinet or will Peter “marginal seat” Dunne secure himself a place at the grown-ups table? Here’s a few off the top of my head:
Bill English – Deputy leader and Finance
Obvious really but given his position on Kiwibank, Kiwisaver and his general predilection toward “window dressing” he’ll be hard for Key to keep under control. The last time he was cabinet we saw benefits, pensions and social services cut. Let’s hope he’s calmed down a bit, eh?
Tony Ryall – Health
The man who let slip that GP fee-caps would be removed and who described bowel cancer-screening as “an election bribe”. He’s likely to be the man driving increased Heceptin funding despite Pharmac advising against it. He’s an accountant.
Gerry Brownlee – Energy
Let’s hope he’s not got anymore Contact shares hiding under the rug. I have heard rumours of a scoping exercise for a nuclear power station in Northland. Seriously.
Nick Smith – Environment
I’ve got a soft spot for Nick Smith. He wasn’t happy about National’s promise to halt the $1bn insulation retrofit policy and he’s been a good electorate MP but the biggie will be the ETS. What people forget is that this scheme is designed to make polluters pay for their pollution and if it doesn’t then it’s the taxpayer that has to. I suspect he’s going to be a fall guy.
Murry McCully – Foreign Affairs
McCully is the patron saint of the Kiwiblog Right. He’s described various Labour policies as “Stalinist”, “Feminazi” and was a frequent user of the term “Helengrad”. Let’s hope for NZ’s international reputation that he doesn’t really believe this sort of nonsense or that if he does he keeps it to himself while overseas.
Wayne Mapp – Labour
Despite Kate Wilkinson being the shadow for Labour, Mapp is the one with a personal dislike for unions and the strongest interest in employment law. He’ll be happy to front the removal of workers’ rights. My fear is that National will take their “fire at will” policy and extend it to all new workers (not just those in small businesses) and a six month no-rights period as both ACT and Peter Dunne have argued for this.
Tim Groser – Trade
This would be a good move. If free trade is your thing.
Rodney Hide – Minister outside of cabinet – Racing.
I don’t have time for the rest but feel free to make your picks in the comments.
Update: Stuff is reporting the Nat’s may have their cabinet decided by Sunday.
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Scoopit!
“Rodney to get Anderton’s old job, Ministry of Economic Development”
It’s name will be changed to Ministry for Creative Destruction.
“[lprent: I'm sure there is a cruel canary coloured joke in there somewhere]”
Never crossed my mind
Just call me John hahaha
Do you really think any Government would even think about having a Nuclear Power station?
By the way, what are these strong rumours you are talking about?
Any source?
Brett, the rumour comes from one of my sources in the energy industry. I haven’t seen any documents yet but the information I’ve had from this source in the past has been accurate.
I don’t want to drag this into a discussion about racing … but …
The Minister of Racing has been around since the year dot.
Racing as an industry turns over in excess of $1.5 bill, employs thousands both directly and indirectly and adds considerably to the Govt through taxation. It is both a significant export earner now and has considerable potential in the future.
Agreed it is a fringe industry but the numbers stack up in anyone’s books.
Unfortunately for racing, by getting married to Winston, the industry risks going down in flames with him. The biggest and immediate problems are within the industry which is why it struggles to project any sense of outward momentum.
Lampie – of course “Winston did a good job (anyone in the racing industry would agree) as Minister of Racing.”
If I cut you a fat cheque, increased subsidies to you, and gave you higher depreciation rates for your tools of trade, you, as my beneficiary would also think I had done a “good job.”
Have some intellectual honesty please. Look fopeople oustide the vested interests to determine whether a job is well done or not.
gomanga
In fairness to Winston, he addressed the unfair tax treatment. From my understanding, racing paid a higher rate of turnover tax – the rate was reduced from 20% to 4% (which is what other forms of gambling were being charged).
It was a black mark against Labour that they were happy to continue with this when any fairness would ensure racing and casinos etc were on the same footing, on top of this, the other contributions racing makes to communities and the economy in general.
The breeding benefits were less beneficial to the wider industry while this year’s $3m injection to the big races was a blatant election bribe that Cullen should have over-ruled. The stakes are not sustainable within the industry if the govt pulls out and the industry almost turned down the money because the concept was so poorly thought out .. but that’s Winston for you.
Irish
No disrespect to your source, but there is no need for nuclear in NZ. It’s too big, too expensive and we have no resources to support it (in terms of engineering and science resources). It sounds like wishful thinking or perhaps someone doing a minor study with no actual intent. The thinking around it is not that complex to quickly write it off as a longish term option, and no-one in the industry or govt is seriously thinking about it.
This would be a good move. If free trade is your thing.
^ well it’s most certainly Labour’s ‘thing’.
It’s good the two main parties agree on the fundamentals.
Is suspect there will be a lot more agreement now that Labour has shifted to the right with Goff & King.
Nx, yes Goff is a worrying thought actually, i wonder if Labour is preparing to position themselves on the center right for the next election.
While all of the esteemed commentators here argue over the Racing portfolio (it’ll be Tisch or it’ll be gone), I am much more concerned over who will get Education. And I can’t think of a single National MP who I feel would be good for that portfolio. Pita Sharples would be a GREAT Education Minister but I can’t see that happening either.
Well PP if you think rail is such a good deal, you could have invested in it. If it is going to be a good idea to own it in the future, why not wait till then to buy it? Why wear the cost of it now when it is not required?
When I hear about politicians with grand visions I want to reach for my gun…
The greatest scandal in racing is that huge sums of pokie money are given to racing clubs for stakes instead of to Regional Sports Organisations to help to develop youth sport, fight obesity etc.
Labour and Winston have known about this and have done nothing about it.
Hopefully that will change now. Sporting clubs all survive on the bones of their arse.
In fairness to Winston, he addressed the unfair tax treatment. From my understanding, racing paid a higher rate of turnover tax – the rate was reduced from 20% to 4% (which is what other forms of gambling were being charged).
Think you would find that is the answer I’m looking for gomanga. Think you will find old Winston has done a good job overall.
In fairness to Winston, he addressed the unfair tax treatment. From my understanding, racing paid a higher rate of turnover tax – the rate was reduced from 20% to 4% (which is what other forms of gambling were being charged).
Think you would find that is the answer I’m looking for gomanga. Think you will find old Winston has done a good job overall.
I’m sorry – I just have a blind spot whenever the words “Winston” and “good job” inhabit the same sentence…….. I’ll try to cure myself.
Does anyone get the impression John Key’s in a rush to get to APEC so he can poach some ideas on how to run a country from the leaders attending?
No worries gomango, I know where you are coming from. It sure didn’t help us
leftrightout,
“Does anyone get the impression John Key’s in a rush to get to APEC so he can poach some ideas on how to run a country from the leaders attending?”
No, I get the impression that rather than fart round avoiding the issue of a global recession, like the previous govt did, he will try to do something, and given that its a ‘global’ recession, some global activity and relationships will be required.
Whether he can do anything or not is another question.
But if I were him, I would be doing the same thing. Either that or pull up the drawbridge and cut the southern cross cable and hope for a miracle.
Would be interested in hearing what posters would do if they were in that position, with the current situation?
“Does anyone get the impression John Key’s in a rush to get to APEC so he can poach some ideas on how to run a country from the leaders attending?”
Nope, more a teenager about to get his first beer at the pub and make a prick of himself in front of adults
Nat and Lab both aim to be insipid. As the main parties they simply provide a variation on a theme. The theme is essentially to look after business. We know that. Beyond this, they both simply want to be the ones in that position and colour parliamentary possibilities (red or blue as it were)
It’s my perception ( I could be wrong), that most of the last government’s policies came from coalition partners. Kiwi Bank, WFF, 4 weeks etc. Labour gave the colour that determined what type of policy would be allowable…then claimed credit for a lot of stuff that wasn’t actually theirs, but that’s an aside. They didn’t seem so much to drive things as act as navigator.
Had they apologised to the Maori Party and brought in the Greens last time, policies would have been more left than we got from NZF and UF. The change, I suspect, that most of NZ actually wants but is unable to identify as existing anywhere in the parliamentary make-up.
If the Nats want to be there for a while (and JK says he does), then they’ll play the same game. Yes, more right wing policies will go through than under Labour….but they will be policies that come from their partners….modified and shaped by Nat. Navigators, not drivers.
Ah shite. Hope I’m kinda right ’cause the last thing we need when the Capitalist shit hits the fan next year is some bunch of crazies trying to break our fucking legs as we try to hobble on through.
a whole lot of chimps at a zoo tea party
Key will, as he has been known to do in the past, hire and fire ruthlessly – it sounds decisive on paper but will make for bad blood in his party and it will be the reason he will (a) not inspire loyalty (he’ll leave you out to bleed rather than take a bullet for you) and (b) will be rolled for English within 2 years. In trying to hold this government together his management style will ultimately push partners away. Should be fun to watch.
White males everywhere. Yes, they’ll throw some diverse faces in spots with no power…that’s called tokenism – expect a lot more of it from the Nats…
Captcha – Zeeland Negro…?