David Cormack
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Pretty good start, Boris
🕑 Added 2020-11-08 02:05:31 +0000 UTCI must concede that this Cabinet is a good start.
I had caught word that Kelvin Davis definitely did not want to be Deputy PM and that it was being worked out how to get Grant Robertson into the role, and I thought that there would be no way the Māori Caucus - and Māori supporters of Labour - would be ok with that. Except it seems that in stepping down, Kelvin has gained a much, much stronger Māori presence around the Cabinet Table. And that can only be a good thing.
I am firmly of the belief that what is good for Māori is good for New Zealand.
There have been a lot of words already about the "surprise" selection of Nanaia Mahuta as Foreign Affairs Minister. I don't have an awful lot more to add other than I think it's a great choice. Everyone that I've spoken to who has worked with Minister Mahuta has had nothing but good things to say.
It's absurd that it's taken until 2020 for a woman MP to get the role full-time (Helen Clark was temporarily the Foreign Minister in 2008 after Winston Peters was stood down due to the Owen Glenn donations scandal).
However, the Minister I'm most "excited" about is Minister Poto Williams who is Minister of Police. Minister Williams has a community background having worked in and managed community health and community mental health services, residential disability services, she's worked with single parent families, youth services, and in the family violence and refuge areas.
I'm hopeful that someone with that background - and of being Cook Island Māori descent - will mean that we get a progressive, forward thinking Police Minister. Not just one who loves to celebrate about the latest "bust" of drug dealers on social media.
And with a Pasifika Justice Minister in Kris Faafoi, and a Māori Corrections Minister in Kelvin Davis this could mean great things for the whole justice sector. Hopefully.
I do feel for Andrew Little, he had some high hopes around justice Reform and was stymied by NZFirst on more than one occasion, but also some of his comments following the failed cannabis referendum suggested a more conservative approach than I'd like.
There have been a lot of comments about how "diverse" this cabinet is, and I think that "diverse" isn't the right word. It's representative. This Cabinet is what New Zealand looks like, there's Māori, Pasifika, Pākehā, Asian, queer, straight, male, and female. We are still sorely lacking representation from the disability community, but we can still be pleased and hopeful for the future with this group.
And someone said something to me that's made me slightly more hopeful of a progress, transformational government. Yes, the Prime Minister's comments on cannabis reform, and tax reform have been sorely centrist, and yes, the Labour policy manifesto was empty and banal but that last point might mean something.
I was having coffee with someone who knows quite a bit about politics, and they said to me that there's every chance we get progressive change precisely because Labour's policy platform was so empty. They won't be breaking any promises because they made so few. With their majority they can now do ... nearly anything (though not in tax or cannabis seemingly which is pretty shit).
I hope so. I really really hope so.
There are some other Ministers I'll be interested to follow. Grant Robertson is now incredibly powerful having infrastructure added to his list of warrants. This pretty much makes him the most powerful man in the country by quite some distance. There's a lot resting on his shoulders. In my podcast interview with him he said he'd lost a lot of sleep due to Covid; I hope he's feeling positive for the future and is able to get a full night's sleep.
Kelvin Davis as Minister for Children should be positive too. Kelvin's background as a teacher should mean he's got real-world experience of what Kiwi kids need, and it's absolutely crucial that someone Māori is in charge of the troubled Oranga Tamariki.
I'm also pumped to see what Kiritapu Allan does with Conservation. Kiri is a friend of mine and I'm just stoked with how far she's come; she deserves it all and is whip smart and hugely capable.
And finally, I'm a wee bit pleased to see David Clark back. He had a torrid time as Minister of Health, but I think his portfolios now of Commerce, SOEs and especially digital tech suit his skills more. Digital Tech is something I'm very passionate about and I believe it's got a crucial role to play in New Zealand's post-Covid economy. Hopefully, David can step up and deliver for New Zealand's tech sector - it's been a relatively under-served sector since the UFB was rolled out.
Overall, this cabinet gives me hope. Between that, the Bolivian election of Luis Arce, and the Biden victory being announced overnight, is there a dawn breaking over what's been a very long, dark night?
Comments
Ben
That one word, hope, encapsulates it. Feels like after a lot of tragedy we have an opportunity in the next few years to make some lasting change. I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but it feels a lot better than feeling like the whole world was falling over.
Kris D
Very good article, couldn't agree more.
