Prime Minister John Key has promoted Simon Bridges to the position of Minister outside Cabinet:
Napier MP Chris Tremain, who is currently a Minister outside Cabinet, will move up to become a Minister in Cabinet at number 20 on the Ministerial list.
Mr Key also announced a minor reshuffle of portfolios with the departure of Dr Nick Smith.
David Carter will assume the role of Local Government Minister in addition to his current portfolio of Primary Industries.
“The local government reforms announced recently remain an important part of the Government’s agenda. Mr Carter is an experienced Minister and I’m confident he will drive these reforms along,” Mr Key says.
Amy Adams will take over as Environment Minister and hand the Internal Affairs portfolio to Mr Tremain.
Tim Groser will also become the new Minister for Climate Change Issues.
“Mr Bridges will be the new Consumer Affairs Minister and Associate Minister of Transport, taking over from Mr Tremain. Mr Bridges will also be Associate Minister for Climate Change Issues,” Mr Key says.
The National caucus had strong intakes in 2005 and 2008 which means there are several candidates for any vacancy.
Simon had a promising career in law before he entered parliament and is a popular MP.
Tim was already Minister for Climate Change negotiations and a logical choice for the Climate Change Issues portfolio.
The NBR says:
Mr Groser is believed to be less supportive of the emissions trading scheme (ETS) than his predecessor Nick Smith. As Climate Change Negotiations Minister, he is more aware than most that the while Kyoto system, on which the ETS is based, is likely to collapse at the end of this year. His record is of favouring more direct initiatives on the matter, such as the Global Research Alliance on agriculture that he set up, which has been the only real outcome from recent UN climate change summits and now boasts more than 30 countries as members.
Working on an initiative which could make a difference is far better than wasting time on an agreement which is the result of bureaucracy and politics triumphing over common sense.
