We don’t need another portfolio!
The Greens announced:
Greens will establish a Minister for Manufacturing in Government
The Green Party announced today that it will establish a Minister for Manufacturing in Cabinet, to better represent the interests of manufacturers and ensure they thrive.
The Minister will be inside Cabinet and have responsibility for the long-term interests of the manufacturing sector.
The last thing we need is another portfolio created.
This is almost as bad as having a Minister for Racing.
Shall we also have a Minister for Retailers? A Minister for Wholesalers? A Minister for Importers? A Minister for Service Industries?
My view is we need fewer portfolios, not more. In April 2011 I blogged:
My future state sector would be:
- Ministry of Internal Security – Crown Law, Corrections, SIS, Justice, SFO, Police
- Ministry for Environment – Environment, EPA, Conservation, Biosecurity
- Dept of Administrative Affairs – DIA, LINZ, Building & Housing, Customs, Stats
- Ministry for Economic Development – Labour, MAF, MED, Fisheries, MORST, Transport
- DPMC – DPMC, SSC
- Education – Education, ERO, TEC
- Ministry of External Relations & Security – GCSB, Defence, MFAT, NZDF
- Treasury – Treasury
- Incomes – IRD, WINZ
- Culture – Culture & Heritage, Nat Lib, Archives, NZ on Air
- Health – Health
- Social Policy – Pacific Island Affairs, MSD, CYF, Youth Development, Community Sector, Senior Citizens, Families, Women’s Affairs, TPK
- Parliament – Parl Serv, Min Serv, Office of Clerk, PCO
This means you could have a cabinet of 12. The Speaker looks after Parliament, and one Minister per major agency.
Left politicians seem to think having a new ministerial portfolio is necessary to actually do stuff. Hence they think a Minister for Children will reduce child abuse etc.
The Government doesn’t (for example) have a Minister for Open Data, yet it has done some great things in opening up Government data, led by Bill English. Rather than create a portfolio, he’s just got on and done it.