Shadow Cabinet of Todd Muller

Last updated

Shadow Cabinet of Todd Muller
Flag of New Zealand.svg
Shadow Cabinet of New Zealand
22 May 2020 – 14 July 2020
Todd Muller.jpg
Date formed22 May 2020
Date dissolved14 July 2020
People and organisations
Monarch Elizabeth II
Leader of the Opposition Todd Muller
Deputy Leader of the New Zealand National Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Nikki Kaye
Member party
  •   New Zealand National Party
Status in legislature Official Opposition
History
Election 22 May 2020
Legislature term 52nd New Zealand Parliament
Predecessor Shadow Cabinet of Simon Bridges
Successor Shadow Cabinet of Judith Collins

The Shadow Cabinet of Todd Muller was the official Opposition of the 52nd New Zealand Parliament. It comprised the members of the New Zealand National Party, which was the largest party not a member of the Government.

Contents

The Shadow Cabinet was established on 22 May 2020, after Todd Muller was elected Leader of the National Party. Portfolio allocations were announced three days later. Two minor reshuffles were made during the Shadow Cabinet's duration, to reflect the decisions of two MPs not to seek re-election at the general election scheduled for September 2020.

The Muller Shadow Cabinet ceased to exist after Muller abruptly resigned the leadership on 14 July 2020 after only 53 days.

Formation

Muller was voted in as Leader of the National Party in an emergency caucus meeting on 22 May 2020, replacing Simon Bridges. Former Education Minister and Auckland Central representative Nikki Kaye was voted as his deputy. [1] At his first press conference, Muller confirmed that Paul Goldsmith would retain his position as National's Spokesperson for Finance. The following day, Muller announced that he would be taking on the Small Business portfolio. [2]

The remaining portfolio allocations and caucus rankings were announced on 25 May. [3] Notably, key supporters of Muller received promotions, including Transport Spokesperson Chris Bishop [4] and first-term list MP Nicola Willis, who succeeded Judith Collins as Housing Spokesperson. [5] Collins, a former Minister of Justice and two-time aspirant to the party leadership who did not contest the May 2020 vacancy, was appointed Shadow Attorney-General and Spokesperson for Economic Development. Selwyn MP Amy Adams, who, like Collins is also a former Justice Minister and 2018 leadership contender, rescinded her previously-announced decision to retire at the 2020 general election and was ranked third with the new position of Spokesperson for COVID-19 Recovery. [6]

Former leader Simon Bridges was not allocated a portfolio, with the National Party press release noting that Bridges would be taking time "reflect on his future" and that Muller would offer him a Shadow Cabinet position if he decides to remain in politics. [3] Bridges immediately issued a counter-statement that he was "not considering his future" and intended to remain in Parliament and seek re-election as MP for Tauranga. [7] The New Zealand Herald reported that Bridges had been offered the Justice portfolio, but rejected this and instead asked to be Foreign Affairs spokesperson. [8] These positions were filled by Mark Mitchell and Gerry Brownlee, respectively. It was also reported that Muller had intended not to assign portfolios or a rank to Bridges' former deputy Paula Bennett, [9] who had unsuccessfully attempted to retain this position under the new leader. [10] A year later, Bennett confirmed in an interview that Muller had told her he planned to rank her "really poorly," and "didn't see a role" for her. [11] Ultimately, Bennett was placed thirteenth and lost her social investment portfolio to Louise Upston and role as the party's election campaign chair to Brownlee. She remained spokesperson for women and for drug reform but, in June, announced that she would retire from Parliament at the election. [12] Anne Tolley, who had previously indicated her intention to be the party's nominee for Speaker but was demoted fifteen places in the Muller Shadow Cabinet, also announced her retirement. [13]

The six National Members of Parliament that had previously indicated they will not contest the general election (David Carter, Nicky Wagner, Nathan Guy, Maggie Barry, Sarah Dowie and Alastair Scott) were not ranked or assigned a portfolio. [3]

Criticism

The Shadow Cabinet received some criticism immediately after its formation for its lack of Māori representation within its top ranking MPs. [9] [14] [15] [16] The highest ranking Māori MP is Paula Bennett at 13; Shane Reti (17) is the only other Māori in the top 20. At its dissolution, the Bridges Shadow Cabinet also had two Māori in the top 20, although these were the leader and deputy leader. Muller and Kaye attracted further criticism when they claimed that Pākehā MP Paul Goldsmith has Ngāti Porou descent; Goldsmith later confirmed that he does not. [14] [17]

Subsequent changes

Todd Muller announced a shadow cabinet reshuffle on 2 July 2020, after the recent announcement of the retirement of Paula Bennett. [18] The changes were minor. Shane Reti was promoted to rank 13, replacing Bennett, and taking on the additional portfolio of Associate Drug Reform. Former leader Simon Bridges was returned to the Shadow Cabinet in Reti's former position of 17, and took over from Gerry Brownlee the Foreign Affairs portfolio that he had previously requested. Bennett's former portfolios were assigned to Nikki Kaye (Women) and Amy Adams (Drug Reform). Like other retiring MPs, Bennett was assigned no portfolio or ranking. [19] [20] Anne Tolley was also assigned no ranking after announcing her retirement, but retained her parliamentary role as Deputy Speaker. [21]

On 7 July 2020, Todd Muller removed the portfolios of Forestry, Land Information and Associate Tourism from Hamish Walker and transferred them to Ian McKelvie, initially as an interim measure while Walker was under investigation following his admission that he provided the personal details of COVID-19 patients to the media. [22] On 8 July, Muller told the media that he was seeking to have Walker removed from the party, [23] following which Walker announced that he would not seek re-election. [24] He was therefore added to the group of unranked retiring MPs, while his portfolios remained with Ian McKelvie. [21]

To the surprise of most commentators, Muller announced his resignation from the leadership on 14 July 2020 for health reasons, after 53 days in the leadership with only 67 days until the election on 19 September (later postponed to 17 October). [25] [26] [27] [28] In an emergency National Party caucus meeting over teleconference, Nikki Kaye was elected interim leader until an in-person meeting could be convened. [25]

List of spokespersons

At the point of its disestablishment, the Muller Shadow Cabinet consisted of the following spokespersons:

RankMPPortfolio
1 Todd Muller
2Hon Nikki Kaye
  • Deputy Leader of the Opposition
  • Spokesperson for Education
  • Spokesperson for Sports and Recreation
  • Spokesperson for Women
3Hon Amy Adams
  • Spokesperson for COVID-19 Recovery
  • Spokesperson for Drug Reform
4Hon Judith Collins
  • Shadow Attorney General
  • Spokesperson for Economic Development
  • Spokesperson for Regional Development
  • Spokesperson for the Pike River Re-entry
5Hon Paul Goldsmith
  • Spokesperson for Finance
  • Spokesperson for the Earthquake Commission
6Hon Gerry Brownlee
7Hon Michael Woodhouse
  • Shadow Deputy Leader of the House
  • Spokesperson for Health
  • Associate Spokesperson of Finance
8Hon Louise Upston
  • Spokesperson for Social Development
  • Spokesperson for Social Investment
9Hon Mark Mitchell
  • Spokesperson for Justice
  • Spokesperson of Defence
10Hon Scott Simpson
  • Spokesperson for the Environment
  • Spokesperson for Climate Change
  • Spokesperson for Planning (RMA Reform)
11Hon Todd McClay
  • Spokesperson for Trade
  • Spokesperson for Tourism
12 Chris Bishop
  • Spokesperson for Infrastructure
  • Spokesperson for Transport
13 Shane Reti
  • Spokesperson for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment
  • Spokesperson for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations
  • Associate Spokesperson for Health
  • Associate Spokesperson for Drug Reform
14 Nicola Willis
  • Spokesperson for Housing and Urban Development
  • Spokesperson for Early Childhood Education
15Hon Jacqui Dean
  • Spokesperson for Conservation
16Hon David Bennett
  • Spokesperson for Agriculture
17Hon Simon Bridges
  • Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs
18 Melissa Lee
  • Spokesperson for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media
  • Spokesperson for Data and Cyber-security
19 Andrew Bayly
  • Spokesperson for Revenue
  • Spokesperson for Commerce
  • Spokesperson for State-Owned Enterprises
  • Associate Spokesperson of Finance
20Hon Alfred Ngaro
  • Spokesperson for Pacific Peoples
  • Spokesperson for the Community and Voluntary Sector
  • Spokesperson for Children
  • Spokesperson for Disability Issues
21 Barbara Kuriger
  • Senior Whip
  • Spokesperson for Food Safety
  • Spokesperson for Rural Communities
22 Jonathan Young
  • Spokesperson for Energy & Resources
  • Spokesperson for Arts, Culture and Heritage
23Hon Tim Macindoe
  • Spokesperson for ACC
  • Spokesperson for Seniors
  • Spokesperson for Civil Defense
24Hon Nick Smith
  • Spokesperson for State Services
  • Spokesperson for Electoral Law Reform
  • Associate Spokesperson for COVID-19 Recovery
25 Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi
  • Spokesperson for Ethnic Communities
26 Matt Doocey
  • Junior Whip
  • Spokesperson for Mental Health
27 Jian Yang
  • Spokesperson for Statistics
  • Associate Spokesperson for Education
  • Associate Spokesperson for Ethnic Communities
28 Stuart Smith
  • Spokesperson for Immigration
  • Spokesperson for Viticulture
29 Simon O'Connor
  • Spokesperson for Customs
  • Associate Spokesperson for Social Development
  • Associate Spokesperson for Housing and Urban Development (Social Housing)
30 Lawrence Yule
  • Spokesperson for Local Government
31 Denise Lee
  • Spokesperson for Local Government (Auckland)
32 Parmjeet Parmar
  • Spokesperson for Research, Science and Innovation
33 Brett Hudson
  • Spokesperson for Police
  • Spokesperson for Government Digital Services
34 Simeon Brown
  • Spokesperson for Corrections
  • Spokesperson for Youth
  • Associate Spokesperson for Education
35 Ian McKelvie
  • Spokesperson for Racing
  • Spokesperson for Fisheries
  • Spokesperson for Land Information
  • Spokesperson for Forestry
  • Associate Spokesperson for Tourism
36 Jo Hayes
  • Spokesperson for Whanau Ora
  • Spokesperson for Māori Development
37 Andrew Falloon
  • Spokesperson for Biosecurity
  • Associate Spokesperson for Agriculture
  • Associate Spokesperson for Transport
38 Harete Hipango
  • Spokesperson for Crown-Māori Relations
  • Spokesperson for Māori Tourism
39 Matt King
  • Spokesperson for Regional Development (North Island)
  • Associate Spokesperson for Transport
40 Chris Penk
  • Spokesperson for Courts
  • Spokesperson for Veterans
41 Erica Stanford
  • Spokesperson for Internal Affairs
  • Associate Spokesperson for the Environment
  • Associate Spokesperson for Conservation
42 Tim van de Molen
  • Third Whip
  • Spokesperson for Building and Construction
43 Maureen Pugh
  • Spokesperson for Consumer Affairs
  • Spokesperson for Regional Development (South Island)
  • Spokesperson for West Coast Issues
44 Dan Bidois
  • Spokesperson for Workplace Relations and Safety
45 Agnes Loheni
  • Associate Spokesperson for Small Business
  • Associate Spokesperson for Pacific Peoples
46 Paulo Garcia
  • Associate Spokesperson for Justice

Unranked MPs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Bennett</span> Former New Zealand politician

Paula Lee Bennett is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 18th deputy prime minister of New Zealand between December 2016 and October 2017. She served as the deputy leader of the National Party from 2016 to 2020 and as MP for Upper Harbour from 2014 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd McClay</span> New Zealand politician (born 1968)

Todd Michael McClay is a New Zealand politician and former ambassador. He is the Member of Parliament for Rotorua. He was previously an ambassador for the Cook Islands and Niue to the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikki Kaye</span> New Zealand politician

Nicola Laura Kaye is a New Zealand politician who served as Deputy Leader of the New Zealand National Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 22 May 2020 to 14 July 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Woodhouse</span> New Zealand politician

Michael Allan Woodhouse is a New Zealand healthcare chief executive and former politician. He was a Member of Parliament for the National Party from 2008 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Bridges</span> New Zealand politician and lawyer

Simon Joseph Bridges is a former New Zealand politician and lawyer. He served as Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition between 2018 and 2020, and as the Member of Parliament for Tauranga from the 2008 election to May 2022, when he resigned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Adams (politician)</span> New Zealand politician

Amy Juliet Adams is a former New Zealand politician of the New Zealand National Party and the current chancellor of the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. She was the Member of Parliament for Selwyn from 2008 to 2020, when she retired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmel Sepuloni</span> New Zealand politician (born 1977)

Carmel Jean Sepuloni is a New Zealand politician who served as the 20th deputy prime minister of New Zealand. A member of the Labour Party, she was first elected to Parliament in 2008 for a three-year term as a list Member of Parliament (MP) and was re-elected as MP for Kelston in 2014. In 2023, she was elected as the deputy leader of the Labour Party, succeeding Kelvin Davis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Goldsmith (politician)</span> New Zealand politician

Paul Jonathan Goldsmith is a New Zealand historian and politician. The biographer of several leading right-wing political and business figures, he was first elected a list member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the National Party at the 2011 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Mitchell (New Zealand politician)</span> New Zealand politician

Mark Patrick Mitchell is a New Zealand politician, former police officer and security contractor, and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives since 2011. He is a member of the National Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Kuriger</span> New Zealand politician (born 1961)

Barbara Joan Kuriger is a New Zealand politician who was elected to the New Zealand parliament at the 2014 general election as a representative of the New Zealand National Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Muller</span> New Zealand politician

Todd Michael Muller is a New Zealand former politician who served as the Leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Leader of the Opposition from 22 May to 14 July 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Reti</span> New Zealand politician

Shane Raymond Reti is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, and a Cabinet Minister with the roles of Minister of Health and Minister for Pacific Peoples, since 27 November 2023. He was first elected at the 2014 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Whangārei electorate. He is a member of the New Zealand National Party and served as its deputy leader from 10 November 2020 to 30 November 2021 including a period of five days as interim leader following the ousting of Judith Collins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Bishop</span> New Zealand politician

Christopher Bishop is a New Zealand politician for the National Party. He was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 as a list MP. Bishop won the Hutt South electorate in 2017 but lost the seat in 2020. He returned to Parliament as a National list MP and served as National spokesperson for Housing and Infrastructure and was the Shadow Leader of the House. He is the Chairperson of National's 2023 Election Campaign. He is the current MP for Hutt South. He is a former lobbyist for tobacco company Phillip Morris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola Willis</span> New Zealand politician

Nicola Valentine Willis is a Centre-right New Zealand politician who is currently Deputy Leader of the National Party and Minister of Finance in a coalition government with ACT and New Zealand First. Willis entered the New Zealand Parliament in 2018, when she inherited Steven Joyce's seat in Parliament as the next on the party list after his retirement from politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 New Zealand National Party leadership election</span> 2018 election to determine the 12th leader of the National Party

The 2018 New Zealand National Party leadership election was held on 27 February 2018 to determine the 12th Leader of the National Party. On 13 February 2018, Bill English announced his resignation as leader of the National Party, effective on 27 February 2018. He left Parliament on 13 March 2018. On 20 February, Deputy Leader Paula Bennett announced that a concurrent deputy leadership election would take place, in which she would stand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Simon Bridges</span> Former Shadow Cabinet of New Zealand under Simon Bridges

The Shadow Cabinet of Simon Bridges was the official Opposition in the 52nd New Zealand Parliament between 11 March 2018 and 22 May 2020. It comprised all members of the New Zealand National Party, which was the largest party not a member of the Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May 2020 New Zealand National Party leadership election</span>

An election for the parliamentary leadership of the New Zealand National Party took place in the National Party parliamentary caucus on 22 May 2020. Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye stood against the existing leader Simon Bridges and his deputy leader Paula Bennett following poor polling results. Muller and Kaye won the votes and became the new leader and deputy leader respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">July 2020 New Zealand National Party leadership election</span>

An election for the parliamentary leadership of the New Zealand National Party by its caucus was held on 14 July 2020, after incumbent Todd Muller resigned earlier that day citing health reasons. Judith Collins became leader of the National Party and of the Opposition of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Judith Collins</span> Former Shadow Cabinet of New Zealand under Judith Collins

The Shadow Cabinet of Judith Collins formed the official Opposition in the 53rd New Zealand Parliament, and previously in the 52nd Parliament. It comprised the members of the New Zealand National Party, which is the largest party not a member of the Government. On Collins' dismissal as leader on 25 November 2021, the cabinet essentially ceased to exist, but what remained was de jure led on an interim basis by her deputy leader, Shane Reti, until the next leadership election. The cabinet was succeeded by that of Christopher Luxon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Christopher Luxon</span> Former Shadow Cabinet of New Zealand under Christopher Luxon

The Shadow Cabinet of Christopher Luxon formed the official Opposition in the 53rd New Zealand Parliament from December 2021 to November 2023, replacing the Shadow Cabinet of Judith Collins. Christopher Luxon was appointed Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition in a party leadership election on 30 November 2021.

References

  1. ↑ "Live: Simon Bridges loses National Party leadership to Todd Muller". RNZ. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 New Zealand National Party (23 May 2020). "Todd Muller Takes On Small Business Portfolio". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 New Zealand National Party (25 May 2020). "Todd Muller announces shape of next Government". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Cooke, Henry (25 May 2020). "National reshuffle: Todd Muller brings Amy Adams back up top, Simon Bridges does not have job". Stuff. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "National has a 'fresh start' and will run the ruler over all policies, Willis says". RNZ. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  6. ↑ Devlin, Collette (25 May 2020). "National MP Amy Adams rescinds retirement under leader Todd Muller". Stuff. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. ↑ O'Brien, Tova. "Defiant Simon Bridges smacks down Todd Muller's assertion he's 'considering his future', plans to stay on". Newshub. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. ↑ Trevett, Claire (24 May 2020). "National Party leader Todd Muller's reshuffle rebuff of Simon Bridges". NZ Herald. ISSN   1170-0777 . Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  9. 1 2 Trevett, Claire (27 May 2020). "Todd Muller's sink or swim introduction to Leader of Opposition". NZ Herald. ISSN   1170-0777 . Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  10. ↑ Harman, Richard (25 May 2020). "Adams' return signals what really lay behind Muller's campaign". Politik. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  11. ↑ "Series 2 - Episode 1: Paula Bennett - Matangireia". RNZ. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  12. ↑ Thomas, Jackson; Cooke, Henry (28 June 2020). "Paula Bennett stepping down from politics at election after National leadership changes". Stuff . Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  13. ↑ Chumko, Andre (27 June 2020). "Anne Tolley to retire from Parliament this year". Stuff . Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  14. 1 2 Roy, Eleanor Ainge (26 May 2020). "'I am not Māori': New Zealand MP corrects party deputy leader amid diversity criticism". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  15. ↑ "Māori pushed down National list". www.waateanews.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  16. ↑ "Todd Muller defends lack of Māori on National front bench". RNZ. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  17. ↑ Small, Zane (26 May 2020). "Nikki Kaye incorrectly describes Paul Goldsmith as Māori defending diversity of National's Shadow Cabinet". Newshub. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  18. ↑ "National reshuffle: Simon Bridges given foreign affairs role, Dr Shane Reti to replace Paula Bennett". RNZ. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  19. ↑ New Zealand National Party (2 July 2020). "Todd Muller Announces Caucus Reshuffle". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  20. ↑ New Zealand National Party (2 July 2020). "National Allocations" (PDF). Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  21. 1 2 "Our Team". New Zealand National Party. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  22. ↑ "Todd Muller - Statement On Hamish Walker" . Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  23. ↑ "Covid-19 privacy leak: Todd Muller on Hamish Walker - 'There needs to be consequences'". RNZ. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  24. ↑ "Covid-19 privacy leak: MP Hamish Walker announces he won't stand for re-election". RNZ. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  25. 1 2 "Live: Todd Muller's shock resignation as National Party leader". Stuff. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  26. ↑ Harman, Richard. "Why Muller failed | Politik" . Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  27. ↑ "Todd Muller quits as National Party leader for health reasons". NZ Herald. 13 July 2020. ISSN   1170-0777 . Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  28. ↑ "Todd Muller resigns as leader of National Party, Opposition in shock announcement". TVNZ. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.