David Seymour: ACT Party leader proposes cutting minister numbers and abolishing some portfolios

ACT's leader says now is a good time for the Government to think about its organisation.

David Seymour wants a limit on Cabinet Minister numbers - with none outside Cabinet, and only one associate minister for finance.

Seymour says there are currently ministers with seven different departments, and departments answering to 19 ministers. 

He says he doesn't expect change pre-election - but believes Chris Luxon gets his viewpoint.

"Chris cut his teeth as a manager - and I'm sure that it's something that, without speaking for him, he will intuitively get."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Ever do for z Ellens.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Act Party leader David Seymour has announced he wants to
slash the number of ministers and ministries. He's pointed out
that we have more ministers than Ireland, which is a
country about the similar population, and even more than the UK,
which is a country with a much larger population. And
he's with us right now.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
David, Hello, good a, Heather.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Were you listening to the show yesterday.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Well, I was going to ask if you were reading
the ACT Party's excellent publication Free Press about eight weeks ago,
because I saw a similar idea there too, and that's
what I thought when I was listening to your show yesterday.
As I am from four to seven.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Every day, i'll listen to you. Well, now I have
to say yes, I read it absolutely every week. Wouldn't
go a week without missing it. Now, David, tell me
how this is going to work. Forty one government department.
You want to get it down to thirty. So what
do you cut?

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Well, people are going to go straight to that, and
I'm not going to I've got a list and it
only has thirty on it. And that's what you need
to do. The things that most people would expect a
government to do. But I know as soon as I
start naming them, people are saying I'm trying to attack
their department, and it's all politically. I think we just
need to get this idea right because right now there
are ministers that have seven different departments. There are departments

(01:10):
such as MB that answer to nineteen different ministers. There
are portfolios. Just give you one example, not to pick
on it, but the minister for Auckland that Labor created
that there's no Auckland department, there's no Auckland vote in
the budget. It's just a made up thing, frankly, and

(01:31):
I think that really we should be moving to a
world where each department has only one minister, No portfolios
exist unless they have an actual department with a budget
and a thing to do, and there should be no
ministers outside of the cabinet. Everyone should be sitting around
at the same table. That's going to take a lot

(01:52):
of people making a concession, But if we could get there,
I think the whole thing would just get stuff done faster.
And a lot of people that say, look, you know,
why doesn't stuff happen quicker? It might be a little happier.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Right, Well, I mean I obviously love this, but how
realistic is it?

Speaker 1 (02:08):
Well, I don't believe it will happen before the election.
You know, Chris is the Prime Minister and he's set
the table and we agreed to that, so we're partner
to him about it. I an't passing, sure, but I
go into all our conversations. But I mean, I think you've.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Got from him, David. Has he thought it was a
brilliant idea or was he poop pooed it?

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Well, Chris codis teeth as a manager, and I'm sure
that it's something that, without speaking for intuit if we get. However,
I don't believe it will change before the election. I'd
love it too, I don't think it will. This is
the kind of thing where at a halftime point between
two elections we need to have a bit of a

(02:51):
team talk, say what's so on well and ask what
will we do differently in the future.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
Brilliant Love it, David, Thanks very much, David Seymour as
Party leader.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
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