December 15, 2017 10:00am by David Farrar

Which Associate Ministers actually have a proper job?

DPMC has details of the delegations for the 28 Associate Ministers. I find these interesting as it tells you if they have been trusted to do significant work in the portfolio, or if they are there just to sound useful.

I’m rating the delegations from A to E. An A means a very heavy workload with significant decision making. An E means you don’t have to do anything but give speeches or attend events on behalf of the Minister

  • ACC, Clare Curran: A. Has to deal with all individual client issues which is a huge amount.
  • Agriculture, Meka Whaititi: D. Basically just has animal welfare and walking access
  • Arts etc, Grant Robertson and Carmel Sepuloni: E. No delegation at all.
  • Courts, William Sio C: Tribunals
  • Crown/Maori Relations, Meka Whaititi: E. No delegation.
  • Education, Tracey Martin: B. Mainly Special Needs (which is very challenging) but several small areas
  • Education, Kelvin Davis: C. Maori education.
  • Education, Jenny Salesa: C. Pasifika education. PBRF. Integrated and private schools. School transport.
  • Environment, Eugenie Sage: C. Waste, EPA, Marine protection
  • Environment, Nanaia Mahuta, B. Water, biosecurity, Air
  • Finance, Shane Jones, D-. No real delegations. Just assisting in some areas
  • Finance, James Shaw, E+. No real delegations. Assisting on Green Investment Fund and sustainable development indicators
  • Finance, David Clark, A. Assisting with Budget, expenditure control, OIO decisions, CRIs,
  • Finance, David Parker, B. OIO policy, SOEs, Public Trust, monetary policy
  • Health, Julie-Anne Genter, C. Has disability support services which is significant and a few minor areas such as population and women.
  • Health, Jenny Salesa: C. Maori and Pasifika health, tobacco, gambling, HPA
  • Housing, Jenny Salesa, B. Most operational issues delegated to her
  • Immigration, Kris Faafoi, A. Delegated all individual decisions and appeals. Huge workload and many sensitive cases.
  • Justice, William Sio, C. JPs and various small items
  • Local Government, Meka Whaitiri, D. Dogs and offshore islands
  • Maori Development, Willie Jackson, E. Cadetships
  • Pacific Peoples, Carmel Sepuloni, E. Pacific disability issues and Pacific Arts!
  • Social Development, Peeni Henare, E. Assist on Social Investment
  • State Services, Clare Curran, C. Open Government
  • Trade and Export Growth, Damien O’Connor. E. No delegation
  • Transport. Shane Jones, C. Regional roads, Upper NI Ports
  • Transport, Julie-Anne Genter, C. Walking, Cycling, electric vehicles, transport safety

The most interesting area is Finance. David Clark is obviously the de facto Deputy Minister of Finance. David Parker has some significant delegations also. But Shane Jones and James Shaw basically can’t order a coffee without the approval of Grant Robertson. They have basically no delegated authority except to assist in some areas.

So overall what are the level of authority delegated to each Minister who is an Associate. It is:

As: Clare Curran, ACC; David Clark, Finance; Kris Faafoi, Immigration

Bs: Tracey Martin, Education; Nanaia Mahuta, Environment; David Parker, Finance; Jenny Salesa, Housing

Cs: William Sio, Courts and Justice; Kelvin Davis, Education; Jenny Salesa, Education and Health; Eugenie Sage, Environment; Julie Anne Genter, Health and Transport; Clare Curran, State Services; Shane Jones, Transport

Ds: Meka Whaitiri, Agriculture and Local Government; Shane Jones, Finance

Es: Grant Robertson, Arts; Carmel Sepuloni, Arts and Pacific Peoples; Meka Whaitiri, Crown/Maori Relations; James Shaw, Finance, Willie Jackson, Maori Development; Peeni Henare, Social Development; Damien O’Connor, Trade and Export Growth