It’s Black Friday and the new government coalition parties have signed up for a mixed bunch of bargains.
New Zealand First and ACT leaders Winston Peters and David Seymour will take turns as Deputy Prime Minister and Nicola Willis will be Finance Minister.
Peters will be Minister of Foreign Affairs and Seymour Minister for Regulation.
The next cabinet will have 20 members; 14 National ministers, three ACT ministers and three New Zealand First ministers.
The most notable rise will be of Tama Potaka who was elected to Hamilton West only last year in a byelection . He will jump ahead of many more experienced MPs to become Minister of Conservation, Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti, Minister for Māori Development, Minister for Whānau Ora, Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing)
In terms of ministers outside Cabinet, there will be five from National, two from ACT and one from New Zealand First.
ACT and New Zealand First will each have one parliamentary under-secretary.
National’s foreign buyers tax will not go ahead, NZ First has secured a $1.2 billion regional infrastructure fund, and David Seymour’s Treaty referendum is out v with the new government instead to support a Treaty principles bill to select committee stage. Charter schools are back, light rail and Let’s Get Wellington Moving is gone.
ACT’s policy for a Minister for Regulation will be accompanied by the disestablishment of the current Productivity Commission. Firearms laws will also be reformed.
The three parties have unveiled the details of their coalition agreements this morning, with National making separate coalition agreements with each of its partner parties.
New Prime Minister Chris Luxon thanked New Zealanders for their “patience and understanding in the wait for this government to be formed over the last 20 days”.
“The new government is looking forward to working with you and to delivering the government’s programme and to getting things done for Kiwis.”
“The negotiation process has been diligent; it’s been focused, and it’s been purposeful. Our aim has simply been not to form a government but to form a strong and stable government that gets thing done for Kiwis.
The two coalition agreements and ministerial appointments can be found on the National Party’s news page here.
Developments in te ao Māori from the National- NZ First deal include:
- • Remove co-governance from the delivery of public services.
- •As a matter of urgency, issue a Cabinet Office circular to all central government organisations that it is the government’s expectation that public services should be prioritised on the basis of need, not race.
- • Restore the right to local referendum on the establishment or ongoing use of Māori wards, including requiring a referendum on any wards established without referendum at the next Local Body elections.
- •Stop all work on He Puapua.
- •Confirm that the Coalition Government does not recognise the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as having any binding legal effect on New Zealand.
- •Amend section 58 of the Marine and Coastal Area Act to make clear Parliament’s original intent, in light of the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Whakatohea Kotahitanga Waka (Edwards) & Ors v Te Kahui and Whakatohea Maori Trust Board & Ors [2023] NZCA 504.
- •Amend the Waitangi Tribunal legislation to refocus the scope, purpose, and nature of its inquiries back to the original intent of that legislation.
- • Conduct a comprehensive review of all legislation (except when it is related to, or substantive to, existing full and final Treaty settlements) that includes “The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi” and replace all such references with specific words relating to the relevance and application of the Treaty, or repeal the references
- •Legislate to make English an official language of New Zealand.
- • Ensure all public service departments have their primary name in English, except for those specifically related to Māori.
- • Require the public service departments and Crown entities to communicate primarily in English - except those entities specifically related to Māori.
- • Protect freedom of speech by ruling out the introduction of hate speech legislation and stop the Law Commission’s work on hate speech legislation.
- •Abolish the Māori Health Authority
- •The Government will not change the official name of New Zealand.
Developments in the te ao Māori from the National- ACT deal will include:
- • Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989.
- • Create a truly independent monitoring and oversight agency for Oranga Tamariki.
- • Improve the rights and responsibilities of caregivers to give them more autonomy.
- • Increase devolution of care decisions to relevant community organisations.
- • Remove co-governance from the delivery of public services.
- • Ensure government contracts are awarded based on value, without racial discrimination.
- • Issue a Cabinet Office circular to all central government organisations that it is the Government’s expectation that public services should be prioritised on the basis of need, not race, within the first six months of Government.
- • Repeal the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Act 2022.
- • Restore the right to local referendum on the establishment or ongoing use of Māori wards, including requiring a referendum on any wards established without referendum at the next local body elections.
- •Pass the Constitution (Enabling a 4-Year Term) Amendment Bill through first reading in the first 15 months of the term.
- • Introduce a Treaty Principles Bill based on existing ACT polcy and support it to a Select Committee as soon as practicable.
- •No Three Waters (with assets returned to council ownership).
- •Pro-democracy – upholding the principles of liberal democracy, including equal citizenship, parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law and property rights, especially with respect to interpreting the Treaty of Waitangi
- With some reportage from RNZ