Shane Reti demoted in cabinet reshuffle as new health minister named

Sunday, 19 January 2025

Shane Reti has lost his job as health minister, Melissa Lee is no longer a minister, while rising star James Meager has been promoted into the ministry following Christopher Luxon’s first major cabinet reshuffle.

Simeon Brown will take on the troubled health role with his Transport portfolio being taken on by Chris Bishop while Simon Watts will be responsible for Energy and Local Government.

Lee’s Economic Development portfolio has been renamed “economic growth” and shifted to finance minister Nicola Willis - who hands responsibility for the Public Service over to Judith Collins.

Reti has been bumped five spots down the cabinet rankings and will now be in charge of Science and Innovation (previously held by Collins), Statistics and Universities, which has been separated out from a wider tertiary portfolio held by Penny Simmonds. Simmonds will now be in charge of Vocational Education.

“Last year, Dr Shane Reti worked hard to reset the culture and performance of Health NZ. It was critical to establish targets and refresh their leadership – and I am confident the organisation is heading in a much better direction that it was when we entered office,” Luxon said in a statement on Sunday.

“But I have also heard Kiwis’ concerns that they expect to see even more progress – ensuring they can access the care they need, when they need it. To deliver on that expectation, I have decided Simeon Brown will become Minister of Health.”

He labelled Brown an “outstanding and diligent” minister who’d done an excellent job.

Off the back of that performance, I have decided his skills are best placed to take leadership of our health system going forward.

“Dr Shane Reti will take on an important new role assuming responsibility for New Zealand’s universities and our science sector – both of which are expected to play a critical role in our economic growth plan.

Brown said he was “honoured” to take on the health portfolio and would focus on “improving outcomes for patients and supporting our hardworking health workforce”.

“My absolute priority in this role is ensuring access to timely, quality healthcare for all New Zealanders,” Brown said.

“I’m not from the sector, and I’m not a union organiser — I’m here as an advocate for everyday Kiwis who simply want timely, quality healthcare when they need it. My role is to ensure the health system delivers for them.

“New Zealanders rightfully expect access to timely, quality healthcare — whether it’s getting the surgeries they need, seeing a GP without long waits, or relying on a health system that meets their needs.”

Brown went on to thank his predecessor Reti for his “tireless work” in the role and vowed to build on the strong foundation he had left behind.

In his own statement on Sunday afternoon, Reti said it had been a “privilege to serve” as health minister and he respected the PM’s decision.

“The Prime Minister called me yesterday to outline his thinking, which I appreciated,” Reti said. “I will ensure a constructive transition to Minister Brown.”

Reti said he was proud of several of his achievements in the post, including “the game changing delivery of cancer drugs announced in June, confirming an extension of the breast cancer screening age, and prioritising action around Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder”.

“FASD affects the lives of so many young New Zealanders and their families and has not previously received the attention it deserves,” Reti said. “Progressing IMPBs will create real opportunities for Māori health and I am proud to have advanced this to the next stage.”

“I am also very pleased I was able to make progress on reporting the key health targets completely neglected by the previous government. These key health targets are already starting to show results, backed by the Government Policy Statement on Health.”

Reti added that he was looking forward to taking on his new portfolios and remained committed to continuing to make “meaningful improvement in the lives of all New Zealanders”.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell adds Ethnic Communities, formerly held by Lee, and Sport and Recreation to his responsibilities.

James Meager — a first term MP who has impressed many in the short time he has been in Parliament — will be a minister outside cabinet, becoming Minister for Hunting and Fishing, Youth and a newly created role - Minister for the South Island.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins, whose party was ahead of National in the first poll of the year, said the reshuffle was a futile attempt to turn around a failing government.

“This reshuffle is just rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic. The government is failing miserably at managing health, economy, race relations, climate – you name it. A reshuffle isn’t going to change that,” Hipkins said.

Hipkins also questioned why Willis had been given a new portfolio of ‘economic growth’, saying that should be the goal of every finance minister.

“National’s reshuffle demonstrates what New Zealanders already know – that Christopher Luxon’s inexperience and inept leadership are taking New Zealand backwards.”

Labour’s health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said Brown’s appointment as health minister in place of Reti after just one year “shows what a mess they’ve made of the health system”.

“Dr Reti is a decent man who never stood a chance because of the budget he was given. Recruitment freezes, cuts to frontlines services and other budget cuts have left New Zealanders with little trust that they will get the care they need,” Verrall said.

“It’s only going to get worse under Simeon Brown, who will have to demonstrate he cares about people and not just roads. He’ll have to prove to New Zealanders his purpose is to improve equitable access to health services for everyone, not to cut the health service back to bare bones.”