Luxon's Cabinet 2.0: Here’s what you need to know

Monday, 20 January 2025

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s new Cabinet reflects his Government’s priorities ‒ but also its problems ‒ as it enters its second year in power.

A new minister for “economic growth”, Nicola Willis, a new minister for health, Simeon Brown, and a new minister for the South Island, James Meager. Each area where the Government has to sharpen its focus due to voters’ concerns.

But there have been plenty of other smaller moves made by Luxon in his surprise Cabinet reshuffle of National Party ministers, announced on Sunday afternoon.

Here’s a list of Luxon’s renewed National Party Cabinet.

Nicola Willis

National Party deputy Willis remains minister for finance and social investment, a hallmark National Party policy, but she has now been given the new title of minister for “economic growth”.

The economic growth portfolio is a souped-up replacement of the former “economic development” portfolio, typically held by lowly ranked ministers. What it now allows Willis is control of the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment, a mega-ministry responsible for a vast range of economic activity.

Twined with control of the Government’s books and the Treasury, Willis will now have control over Government spending and economic reform in ways big and small.

“We have very smart people, and so our job is to cook with gas, to unlock the barriers that have been there, in some cases, for decades,” she said.

“And I know that New Zealand's up for it, so I'm going to work with New Zealand to deliver that agenda across many portfolios, across many ministers.”

For this job, she has handed the public service portfolio to Judith Collins.

Chris Bishop

Minister for Infrastructure, Housing, and RMA reform Chris Bishop takes the task of transport minister from Brown, who is moving into health. There was already considerable cross-over between his existing portfolios and the transport job.

Bishop remains Leader of the House, running the Government’s affairs within the legislature. Though he has relinquished the sport and recreation job to Mark Mitchell, he has retained an associate ministerial position in this portfolio.

Simeon Brown

Brown has been tasked with getting health in order for the Government, after Reti was removed from the job. But in making Brown minister for health, Luxon has decided he will no longer be minister for transport, local government, energy, and deputy leader of the House.

“I am honoured to be appointed as New Zealand’s Health Minister. My absolute priority in this role is ensuring access to timely, quality healthcare for all New Zealanders. Every decision I make will focus on improving outcomes for patients and supporting our hard working health workforce,” he 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.”

Brown remains minister for Auckland and will now be minister for state owned enterprises, a role previously held by Paul Goldsmith.

Erica Stanford

Erica Stanford remains minister for education, immigration and the Government’s response to the royal commission into abuse in state care.

Paul Goldsmith

Paul Goldsmith remains minister for justice, media and communications, Treaty of Waitangi negotiations, and arts, culture and heritage. He is no longer minister for state-owned enterprises.

Louise Upston

Louise Upston remains minister for social development and employment, disability issues, community and voluntary sector, and child poverty reduction.

She also picks up tourism and hospitality from Mat Doocey, and deputy leader of the House from Brown.

Judith Collins

Collins retains many of her list of portfolios: Attorney-General, defence, digitising government, GCSB and SIS, and space. But she hands her loved science, innovation and technology portfolio to Reti.

She also takes minister of public service from Willis. In a statement, she said she would continue Willis’ work to “ensure that public services are completely focused on better and more timely results for New Zealanders”.

“The public service must, as a minimum be competent, politically neutral, corruption free, efficient and focused on delivering better results for the public it serves.”

Shane Reti

No longer health minister, Reti becomes minister for science, innovation, and technology, minister for statistics, and the newly-created minister for universities. He remains minister for Pacific peoples.

“It has been my privilege to serve as Minister of Health,” Reti said, in a statement.

“The prime minister called me yesterday to outline his thinking, which I appreciated. I absolutely respect his decision and I will ensure a constructive transition to Minister Brown.

“In an often-challenging environment over the past 12 months, key achievements I am particularly proud of include 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.”

Mark Mitchell

Mark Mitchell remains minister for corrections, police, and emergency management.

He becomes minister for sport and recreation, a role previously held by Bishop, and minister for ethnic communities, a role previously held by Melissa Lee ‒ who has been removed as a minister.

Todd McClay

Todd McClay keeps his portfolios of agriculture, forestry, trade, and associate foreign affairs. However, the trade portfolio has been rebranded “trade and investment”, to reflect the Government’s desire to attract foreign capital to New Zealand.

He has also given up the hunting and fishing portfolio to a newly-appointed minister, James Meager.

Tama Potaka

Tama Potaka’s portfolios are unchanged by the reshuffle: conservation, Māori-Crown relations, Māori development, Whānau Ora, and associate housing minister.

Matt Doocey

Matt Doocey has relinquished all but one of his portfolios: mental health. He retains an associate health portfolio.

Previously he was minister for ACC, youth, tourism and hospitality, and associate transport (for South Island transport matters).

Luxon said he wanted Doocey to have “ruthless focus on execution” for improving mental health.

“I believe mental health is a major challenge for New Zealanders. All of us have people in our lives and ourselves that get impacted by it.

“And I want to make sure that healthcare, in the macro sense, and also in mental health, that we're actually delivering great focus.”

Simon Watts

Watts, the climate change and revenue minister, takes on the local government and energy portfolios previously held by Brown.

Ministers outside Cabinet

Chris Penk

Chris Penk takes on small business and manufacturing from Andrew Bayly, who notoriously apologised in 2024 for offending a worker during a business visit.

Penk retains his other portfolios: land information, building and construction, veterans, and associate defence and immigration.

Penny Simmonds

Penny Simmonds’ tertiary education portfolio has been amended to “vocational education” as responsibility for universities has been given to Reti. She remains minister for environment and has an associate minister for social development job.

Nicola Grigg

Nicola Grigg remains minister for women, associate minister of agriculture, and minister of state for trade ‒ a title given to ministers tasked with meeting foreign officials that don’t meet the threshold for the trade minister.

Andrew Bayly

Removed from small business and manufacturing, Bayly remains minister for commerce and consumer affairs. He also hands his statistics portfolio over to Reti, but he gains the ACC portfolio from Doocey.

James Meager

A first-term MP and current chair of Parliament’s justice select committee, Meager has been appointed minister for hunting and fishing, youth, and minister for the South Island (along with an associate transport portfolio, for this).

'We have a minister for Auckland issues, and I want to have the same voice in the ministerial committee meetings … challenging and advocating for the South Island,“ Luxon said.

“Coming from South Canterbury, [Meager’s] got the right profile. He's done a great job as a new MP coming in. My job is to identify talent, spot it, and to get it developed in the right way.”

Meager would remain chair of the justice select committee until the end of its consideration of the Treaty Principles Bill.