Shadow Cabinet of 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.
Simon Bridges was elected Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition on 27 February 2020 and announced his first shadow cabinet two weeks later.[1] The portfolio allocations were amended six times during the term as a number of National members of Parliament either resigned or announced their intention not to contest the 2020 general election.
Following Bridges' defeat by Todd Muller in the May 2020 National Party leadership election and the formation of Muller's shadow Cabinet,[2] the Bridges shadow Cabinet ceased to exist.
Formation
Bridges followed his predecessor Bill English's lead by naming each of National's 56 members of Parliament to at least one spokesperson or associate spokesperson role. Like English, Bridges took no portfolios other than national security and intelligence, which is traditionally held by the Leader of the Opposition. His deputy, Paula Bennett, was given responsibility for social investment and social services; tertiary education, skills and employment; and women.
Commentators noticed that the initial portfolio allocations and caucus rankings rewarded Bridges' rivals for the leadership.[3] Former justice minister Amy Adams, who had placed second in the leadership election, was named finance spokesperson and was ranked third. Judith Collins, who finished third, was placed at fourth rank, and received the housing portfolio, which she had asked for.[3] Previous aspirants to the leadership, Jonathan Coleman and Mark Mitchell were also ranked highly, in sixth and seventh position respectively. Bridges' allies Todd McClay and Jami-Lee Ross were placed fifth and eighth respectively. Ross was the highest-ranked National MP who did not serve as a minister in the previous National-led government. The front bench was completed economic and regional development spokesperson Paul Goldsmith and education spokesperson Nikki Kaye. Melissa Lee and Sarah Dowie were the other two non-ministers to gain promotion to the top twenty.
Bridges had promised "generational change" on his ascension to the leadership.[4] The front bench line up in particular was praised for including a high proportion of women MPs.[3][5] Bridges and Bennett were, notably, the first National leadership team both to be of Māori descent.[6] Bridges also placed several former ministers in lower positions than they had held in the English shadow Cabinet. Former senior minister Gerry Brownlee lost the foreign affairs portfolio to McClay,[3] while former finance minister Steven Joyce resigned from Parliament when he was not offered the finance portfolio.[7] Former conservation minister Maggie Barry (who had openly supported Amy Adams' leadership bid) and customs minister Nicky Wagner were also demoted. The twelve new MPs elected in the 2017 general election were listed last, alphabetically by surname. Whānau Ora spokesperson Jo Hayes was the lowest ranked returning MP.
Amendments
Portfolio allocations were amended six times throughout Bridges' tenure as leader to accommodate the departures or planned retirements of members. The first change was made two weeks after the formation of the shadow Cabinet, on 26 March, with the resignation of Jonathan Coleman. Coleman had been the spokesperson for health and sport and recreation, portfolios he had held ministerial warrants for in the previous government. Michael Woodhouse, a former hospital chief executive, gained health. Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye picked up sport and recreation. Woodhouse's portfolio of workplace relations and safety was added to the responsibilities of environment spokesperson Scott Simpson.[8]
In October 2018, a series of events that involved the leaking of Bridges' travel expenses saw transport and infrastructure spokesperson Jami-Lee Ross stand down from his portfolios while undertaking personal leave before resigning from the National Party. Judith Collins and Paul Goldsmith picked up Ross's portfolios.[9] The third resignation, in January 2019, was of former Attorney-General Chris Finlayson.[10][11] His shadow Attorney-General portfolio went to Amy Adams and a new drug reform portfolio, responding to the Government's decision to hold a referendum on legalising the sale, use, possession and production of cannabis in 2020, was assigned to Paula Bennett.
In June 2019, finance spokesperson Amy Adams and Wairarapa MP Alastair Scott announced they would not seek re-election to Parliament at the 2020 general election. Along with the retirement of list MP and Māori development spokesperson Nuk Korako in mid-May, this triggered a broad reshuffle.[12] Paul Goldsmith was promoted to be the third-ranked MP, holding the finance portfolio. Goldsmith's economic and regional development portfolios were split between Todd McClay and Chris Bishop, who was promoted to the second bench and also gained the transport portfolio. Jo Hayes was promoted to be spokesperson for Māori development and Treaty of Waitangi negotiations, but retained a low ranking. Tim Macindoe became Shadow Attorney-General and Gerry Brownlee returned as foreign affairs spokesperson.
Agriculture spokesperson Nathan Guy announced his intention to retire at the next election in July 2019. He was replaced by Bridges' eventual successor to the leadership, Todd Muller, whose climate change portfolio was passed to Simpson.[13] The sixth and final reshuffle, in February 2020, featured minor redistributions of portfolios following announcements that Maggie Barry (on 5 November 2019), Nicky Wagner, Sarah Dowie and David Carter (all on 11 February 2020, although Carter had previously indicated his intentions on 17 October 2018[14]) would retire at the next election.[15]
List of spokespersons
Original membership
| Rank | MP | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hon Simon Bridges |
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| 2 | Hon Paula Bennett |
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| 3 | Hon Amy Adams |
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| 4 | Hon Judith Collins |
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| 5 | Hon Todd McClay |
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| 6 | Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman |
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| 7 | Hon Mark Mitchell |
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| 8 | Jami-Lee Ross |
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| 9 | Hon Paul Goldsmith |
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| 10 | Hon Nikki Kaye |
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| 11 | Hon Gerry Brownlee |
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| 12 | Hon Nathan Guy |
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| 13 | Hon Michael Woodhouse |
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| 14 | Hon Louise Upston |
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| 15 | Hon Alfred Ngaro |
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| 16 | Hon Christopher Finlayson |
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| 17 | Hon Scott Simpson |
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| 18 | Hon Jacqui Dean |
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| 19 | Melissa Lee |
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| 20 | Sarah Dowie |
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| 21 | Hon Anne Tolley |
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| 22 | Rt Hon David Carter |
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| 23 | Hon David Bennett |
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| 24 | Jonathan Young |
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| 25 | Hon Maggie Barry |
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| 26 | Hon Dr Nick Smith |
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| 27 | Barbara Kuriger |
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| 28 | Matt Doocey |
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| 29 | Simon O'Connor |
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| 30 | Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi |
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| 31 | Hon. Tim Macindoe |
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| 32 | Brett Hudson |
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| 33 | Stuart Smith |
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| 34 | Todd Muller |
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| 35 | Dr. Jian Yang |
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| 36 | Dr. Parmjeet Parmar |
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| 37 | Nuk Korako |
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| 38 | Chris Bishop |
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| 39 | Ian McKelvie |
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| 40 | Hon. Nicky Wagner |
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| 41 | Andrew Bayly |
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| 42 | Dr. Shane Reti |
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| 43 | Alastair Scott |
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| 44 | Jo Hayes |
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| 45 | Simeon Brown |
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| 46 | Andrew Falloon |
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| 47 | Harete Hipango |
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| 48 | Matt King |
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| 49 | Denise Lee |
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| 50 | Chris Penk |
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| 51 | Erica Stanford |
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| 52 | Tim van de Molen |
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| 53 | Hamish Walker |
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| 54 | Lawrence Yule |
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| 55 | Maureen Pugh |
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| 56 | Nicola Willis |
| |
Final iteration
At the point of its disestablishment, the Bridges Shadow Cabinet consisted of the following spokespersons.[15]
| Rank | MP | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hon Simon Bridges |
| |
| 2 | Hon Paula Bennett |
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| 3 | Hon Paul Goldsmith |
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| 4 | Hon Judith Collins |
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| 5 | Hon Todd McClay |
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| 6 | Hon Mark Mitchell |
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| 7 | Hon Nikki Kaye |
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| 8 | Hon Gerry Brownlee |
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| 9 | Hon Michael Woodhouse |
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| 10 | Hon Louise Upston |
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| 11 | Hon Alfred Ngaro |
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| 12 | Hon Scott Simpson |
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| 13 | Hon Jacqui Dean |
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| 14 | Melissa Lee |
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| 15 | Chris Bishop |
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| 16 | Todd Muller |
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| 17 | Hon Anne Tolley |
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| 18 | Hon David Bennett |
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| 19 | Jonathan Young |
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| 20 | Hon Dr Nick Smith |
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| 21 | Barbara Kuriger | ||
| 22 | Matt Doocey |
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| 23 | Simon O'Connor |
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| 24 | Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi |
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| 25 | Hon Tim Macindoe |
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| 26 | Brett Hudson |
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| 27 | Stuart Smith |
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| 28 | Dr Shane Reti |
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| 29 | Dr Jian Yang |
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| 30 | Dr Parmjeet Parmar |
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| 31 | Ian McKelvie |
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| 32 | Andrew Bayly |
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| 33 | Jo Hayes |
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| 34 | Simeon Brown |
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| 35 | Andrew Falloon |
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| 36 | Harete Hipango |
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| 37 | Matt King |
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| 38 | Denise Lee |
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| 39 | Chris Penk |
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| 40 | Erica Stanford |
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| 41 | Tim van de Molen |
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| 42 | Hamish Walker |
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| 43 | Lawrence Yule |
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| 44 | Maureen Pugh |
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| 45 | Nicola Willis |
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| 46 | Dan Bidois |
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| 47 | Agnes Loheni |
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| 48 | Paulo Garcia |
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| 49 | Hon Amy Adams | ||
| 50 | Hon Nathan Guy | ||
| 51 | Rt Hon David Carter | ||
| 52 | Sarah Dowie | ||
| 53 | Hon Nicky Wagner | ||
| 54 | Hon Maggie Barry | ||
| 55 | Alastair Scott | ||
References
- ^ "New National leader Simon Bridges sets out first priorities". The New Zealand Herald. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
- ^ New Zealand National Party (25 May 2020). "Todd Muller announces shape of next Government". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d Cooke, Henry (11 March 2018). "National Party reshuffle sees former ministers demoted, Judith Collins up". Stuff. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ "National leader vote: Bridges touts 'generational change'". RNZ. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ Trevett, Claire (8 March 2018). "Women expected to be front and centre of National party". ZB. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ Roy, Eleanor Ainge (27 February 2018). "New Zealand: National party elects Maori leader and deputy to take on Jacindamania". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ Smellie, Patrick (6 March 2018). "Joyce quits; deadline passes for NBR apology". Newsroom. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ Bennett, Lucy (26 March 2018). "Woodhouse named National's health spokesman following Coleman's departure". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
- ^ Watkins, Tracy (2 October 2018). "National MP Jami-Lee Ross taking leave for 'personal health issues'". Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- ^ "Bennett named drug reform spokesperson in shadow cabinet reshuffle". Radio New Zealand. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ Coughlan, Thomas (22 January 2019). "Bridges begins year with a reshuffle". Newsroom. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ New Zealand National Party (25 June 2019). "National Party Caucus reshuffle announced". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ "National party reshuffle after Nathan Guy announces retirement from politics". Newshub. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ "Chris Finlayson and David Carter to leave Parliament by next election". Stuff.co.nz. 17 October 2018. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^ a b New Zealand National Party (11 February 2020). "Bridges Thanks Outgoing MPs, Announces Reshuffle". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
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Shadow Cabinets of New Zealand- Kirk (1965–1972)
- Marshall (1972–74)
- Muldoon (1974–75)
- Rowling (1975–83)
- Lange (1983–84)
- Muldoon (1984)
- McLay (1984–86)
- Bolger (1986–90)
- Moore (1990–93)
- Clark (1993–99)
- Shipley (1999–2001)
- English (2001–03)
- Brash (2003–06)
- Key (2006–08)
- Goff (2008–11)
- Shearer (2011–13)
- Cunliffe (2013–14)
- Little (2014–17)
- Ardern (2017)
- English (2017–18)
- Bridges (2018–20)
- Muller (2020)
- Collins (2020–2021)
- Luxon (2021–2023)
- Hipkins (2023–present)
1965–present
