Coalition confirmed: Deputy PM job-share, Reti to be Minister For Pacific Peoples

The coalition details have been announced.

The next parliamentary cabinet will have 20 members, fourteen from National, and three each from ACT and New Zealand First.

The deputy prime minister role will be shared, with New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters taking the first eighteen months and ACT Party leader David Seymour taking over for the remainder of the term.

Prime Minister elect Christopher Luxon acknowledged negotiations had taken a while, but says they wanted to do things properly.

"New Zealanders want change that makes our lives easier, we want change that improves our opportunities, we want change that makes our great country even better and this coalition government is going to deliver that change," Luxon said, while speaking at Parliament.

"And we will do it through a common sense policy programme that we all share, while maintaining the core values that each of us believes in, and New Zealanders would expect us to uphold."

Peters will be Foreign Minister, while ACT Leader David Seymour takes on a new role as the Minister of Regulation.

Peters chided the media, saying negotiations for the coalition took less than three weeks.

"Please do not be mathematical morons and keep on saying it's 40 days. If we had started the coalition talks on election day, you would have been arguing, wait, wait until the special voters had been counted."

Nationals' Shane Reti will be the next Minister for Pacific Peoples, along with taking on the health portfolio, while Judith Collins has secured the hotly contested role of Attorney-General, which reportedly Peters had wanted.

One of the sticking points during negotiations was whether ACT would get hold to a referendum on the Treaty of Waitangi.

While National has not agreed to a Treaty referendum, it has agreed to substantial changes to the role Te Tiriti plays in law, as the coalition will review all legislation - apart from treaty settlement acts - to remove references to "the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi" from law.

The coalition has also agreed to support ACT's Treaty Principles Bill through the first of three readings in Parliament. This means a select committee would be asked to take submissions about the bill, which aims to redefine the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

As part of the deal, NZ First has convinced National to drop its Foreign Buyers Tax and the government will look to fund its tax relief package through other means.

National has also agreed to progress the regional infrastructure fund proposed by NZ First with $1.2 billion of capital funding and Shane Jones has been named as Minister for Regional Development.

The full cabinet line-up is as follows:

National Party Ministers

Christopher Luxon: Prime Minister, Minister for National Security and Intelligence and Minister responsible for Ministerial Services.

Nicola Willis: Minister of Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Social Investment and Associate Minister of Climate Change.

Chris Bishop: Minister of Housing, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Minister for Sport and Recreation, Leader of the House and Associate Minister of Finance.

Dr Shane Reti: Minister of Health and Minister for Pacific Peoples.

Simeon Brown: Minister for Energy, Minister of Local Government, Minister of Transport, Minister for Auckland and Deputy Leader of the House.

Erica Stanford: Minister of Education and Minister of Immigration.

Paul Goldsmith: Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Minister of Justice, Minister for State Owned Enterprises and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations.

Louise Upston: Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Minister for Social Development and Employment and Minister for Child Poverty Reduction.

Judith Collins: Minister of Defence, Minister for Digitising Government, Minister Responsible for the GCSB and NZSIS, Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Minister for Space and Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission’s Report into the Terrorist Attack on the Christchurch Mosques.

Mark Mitchell: Minister of Corrections, Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery and Minister of Police.

Todd McClay: Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Forestry, Minister for Hunting and Fishing, Minister for Trade and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Tama Potaka: Minister of Conservation, Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti, Minister for Māori Development, Minister for Whānau Ora and Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing).

Matt Doocey: Minister for ACC, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Minister for Youth, Associate Minister of Health and Associate Minister of Transport.

Melissa Lee: Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Ethnic Communities, Minister for Media and Communications and Associate Minister for ACC.

Simon Watts (outside Cabinet): Minister of Climate Change and Minister of Revenue.

Penny Simmonds (outside Cabinet): Minister for Disability Issues, Minister for the Environment, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment.

Chris Penk (outside Cabinet): Minister for Building and Construction, Minister for Land Information, Minister for Veterans and Associate Minister of Defence Associate Minister of Immigration.

Nicola Grigg (outside Cabinet): Minister of State for Trade, Minister for Women and Associate Minister of Agriculture (Horticulture).

Andrew Bayly (outside Cabinet): Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing and Minister of Statistics.

New Zealand First Ministers

Winston Peters: Deputy Prime Minister (until 31 May 2025), Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Racing.

Shane Jones: Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Resources, Associate Minister of Finance and Associate Minister for Energy.

Casey Costello: Minister of Customs, Minister for Seniors, Associate Minister of Health, Associate Minister of Immigration and Associate Minister of Police.

Mark Patterson (outside Cabinet): Minister for Rural Communities and Associate Minister of Agriculture.

Jenny Marcroft MP: Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister for Media and Communications.
Share

Act Party Ministers

David Seymour: Deputy Prime Minister (from 31 May 2025), Minister for Regulation, Associate Minister of Education (Partnership Schools), Associate Minister of Finance and Associate Minister of Health (Pharmac).

Brooke van Velden: Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety.

Nicola McKee: Minister for Courts and Associate Minister of Justice (Firearms).

Andrew Hoggard (outside Cabinet): Minister for Biosecurity, Minister for Food Safety, Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills) and Associate Minister for the Environment.

Karen Chhour (outside Cabinet): Minister for Children and Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence.

Simon Court MP: Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister for Infrastructure and Minister Responsible for RMA Reform.