Watch: PM and governor-general walk past new ministers, apparently mistaking them for ushers

Tuesday, 7 April 2026

Mike Butterick and Cameron Brewer were sworn in as ministers, at a ceremony at Government House.

Governor-general Dame Cindy Kiro and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon walked past two incoming ministers on Tuesday, apparently mistaking them for Government House ushers.

Mike Butterick and Cameron Brewer were given ministerial roles as part of Luxon’s reshuffle, announced on Thursday.

Butterick scored the role of Minister for Land Information, while Brewer was named Minister of Commerce, Consumer Affairs, Small Business and Manufacturing.

They officially started those new jobs on Tuesday afternoon, at a swearing in ceremony at Government House in Wellington.

But as the ceremony kicked off, it appeared that Luxon and Kiro didn’t know where the two ministers were.

Mike Butterick and Cameron Brewer were sworn in as ministers on Tuesday, April 7.

Kiro and Luxon walked into the room together, and turned their heads right - away from Butterick and Brewer, who were standing in the corner to their left.

They walked to the table in the centre of the room, and then Kiro turned to speak to a staffer. After the staff member spoke to both the governor-general and the prime minister, they turned around, laughing, looking back at Butterick and Brewer who were still standing in the corner.

Walking back to the two soon-to-be ministers, Luxon said: “Oh sorry you guys”.

Luxon then introduced Kiro to “the famous Mike Butterick and Cam Brewer”.

Explaining the confusion, he told the MPs: “I didn’t mean to pass you by. I thought it was more ushers and other people. It’s a pretty special day!”

In the room were Kiro’s staff, family and friends of the new ministers, and also Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Hunting Minister James Meager.

Earlier this morning, Luxon also appeared to mix up Meager and another one of his ministers, Tama Potaka. Asked how many National Party Māori ministers were in his Cabinet, Luxon named Meager as one of them.

Mike Butterick and Cameron Brewer waited in the corner after being mistaken as ushers during their signing in ceremony.

Meager is not in Cabinet, but Potaka is.

After they were sworn in, Luxon passed on some advice to his two newest ministers.

“I just encourage you to bring your full self to the job. Enjoy it. Work hard at it, as I know you both will. Really, it is an awesome responsibility that we have as ministers, making sure that we actually lift this country forward and take it forward and do the right thing by New Zealanders, at all times,” he said.

With that, their ceremony was over - and two new ministers were formally given their warrants. Both would sit outside of Cabinet.