New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is confirmed to be the next Deputy Prime Minister - appointed to this role for the first half of the three-year Parliamentary term.
ACT leader David Seymour will be Deputy Prime Minister for the second half of the term.
Mr Peters will be Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mr Seymour Minister for Regulation.
The next Cabinet will have 20 members; 14 National Ministers, three ACT Ministers and three New Zealand First Ministers.
I mostly feel for Maori. What has been released so far is a clear indication that the new government wants to roll back the progress that has been made integrating and normalising Te Ao Maori and Te Reo Maori into New Zealand society.
I fear this government will turn back the clock on the progress that has been made towards improving health and living standards of Maori, Pacifika and other minority groups. They will either do nothing to improve, or actively reduce the historical and structural inequalities that exist in NZ towards these groups.
I’m genuinely saddened by this, and I really hope I’m wrong.
I feel the same, it doesn’t help that Peters & Seymour are running rings around Luxon to get policies few of us actually want
I think it’s horrible. And not just for race relations, but for worker’s rights, environmental protections, and sick and disabled people struggling to get by on a benefit… I suspect that the public health system and Pharmac are going to get absolutely fucked. And as someone who cares a lot about conservation and the environment, I’m worried that the few gains that have been made in those areas over the past few years are just going to be obliterated (and those gains were minimal too, compared to what we’re up against re. climate change, pollution, and people generally just not giving a fuck).
A whole lot of people voted for ‘change’ just for the sake of it. We’re going to get change all right, and we’ll probably be paying for it for decades. I’m feeling very doomy about it all, so maybe I’m only seeing the negative, but I really don’t like the look of things.