The Cabinet of New Zealand ()Translated as: "The Rūnanga (literally 'Council') of the Government of New Zealand" is the

New Zealand Government The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...

's body of senior ministers, accountable to the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his Governor-General of New Zeal ...

. Cabinet meetings, chaired by the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, occur once a week; in them, vital issues are discussed and

government policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. T ...

is formulated. Cabinet is also composed of a number of

committees A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

focused on specific areas of governance and policy. Though not established by any

statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

, Cabinet wields significant power within the New Zealand political system, with nearly all government bills it introduces in Parliament being enacted. The New Zealand Cabinet follows the traditions of the British cabinet system. Members of Cabinet are collectively responsible to Parliament for its actions and policies. Cabinet discussions are confidential and are not disclosed to the public apart from the announcement of decisions. All ministers in Cabinet also serve as members of the Executive Council, the body tasked with advising the

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

in the exercise of his or her formal constitutional functions. Outside Cabinet, there are a number of non-Cabinet ministers, responsible for a specific policy area and reporting directly to a senior Cabinet minister. Ministers outside Cabinet are also part of Cabinet committees and will regularly attend Cabinet meetings which concern their s. Therefore, although operating outside of Cabinet directly, these ministers do not lack power and influence as they are still very much part of the decision making process.

Constitutional basis

Cabinet is not established by any statute or constitutional document but exists purely by long-established constitutional convention. This convention carries sufficient weight for many official declarations and regulations to refer to Cabinet; a

government department Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate) are designations used by first-level Executive (government), executive bodies in the Machinery of government, machinery of governments that manage a specific se ...

—the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet—is responsible for supporting it. Although Cabinet lacks any direct legislative framework for its existence, the '' Cabinet Manual'' has become the official document which governs its functions, as well as on which its convention rests. The structure of Cabinet has as its basis the formal institution known as the Executive Council, the body tasked with advising the

in the exercise of their formal constitutional functions (the " Governor-General in Council"). Most ministers hold membership of both bodies, but some executive councillors, known as "ministers outside Cabinet", are not ranked as Cabinet members and do not normally attend. The convention of a cabinet meeting separately from the Executive Council began during Edward Stafford's first tenure as

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

(1856–1861). Stafford, a long-time advocate of

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

in New Zealand, believed the colonial government should have full control over all its affairs, without the intervention of the governor. Because the governor chaired the Executive Council, Stafford intentionally met with his ministers without the governor present, thus reducing the Council to its formal role.

Powers and functions

The lack of formal legislation establishing Cabinet leaves the powers of its members only loosely defined. Cabinet generally directs and controls policy (releasing government policy statements), and is responsible to the House of Representatives, the elected component of Parliament. It also has significant influence over law-making, and all draft government bills must be submitted to the Cabinet Legislation Committee before they can be introduced to the House. Convention regarding Cabinet's authority has considerable force, and generally proves strong enough to bind its participants. Theoretically, each minister operates independently, having received a ministerial warrant over a certain field from

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

. But the governor-general can dismiss a minister at any time, conventionally on the advice of the prime minister, so ministers are largely obliged to work within a certain framework.

Collective responsibility

Cabinet itself acts as the accepted forum for establishing this framework. Ministers will jointly discuss the policy which the government as a whole will pursue, and ministers who do not exercise their respective powers in a manner compatible with Cabinet's decision risk losing those powers. This has become known as the doctrine of Cabinet collective responsibility. Collective responsibility is grounded in three key principles. The first principle is

unanimity Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or imp ...

, where members of Cabinet must publicly support decisions and defend them in public, regardless of any personal views on the matter. Secondly, the confidentiality limb means that all Cabinet discussions are to be kept confidential. This allows for open and explicit conversation, discussion and debate on the issues Cabinet chooses to look at. The final principle is

confidence Confidence is the feeling of belief or trust that a person or thing is reliable. * * * Self-confidence is trust in oneself. Self-confidence involves a positive belief that one can generally accomplish what one wishes to do in the future. Sel ...

, where Cabinet and executive government must have the confidence of the House of Representatives. If there is no government, the governor-general has the ability to intervene to find a government that does have confidence. Formally all ministers are equals and may not command or be commanded by a fellow minister. Constitutional practice does, however, dictate that the prime minister is ''

primus inter pares is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their seniority in office. H ...

'', meaning 'first among equals'. Problems arise when the prime minister breaches collective responsibility. Since ministerial appointments and dismissals are in practice in the hands of the prime minister, Cabinet can not directly initiate any action against a prime minister who openly disagrees with their government's policy. On the other hand, a prime minister who tries to act against concerted opposition from their Cabinet risks losing the confidence of their party colleagues. An example is former Prime Minister

David Lange David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. A member of the New Zealand Labour Party, Lange was also the Minister of Education ...

, who publicly spoke against a tax reform package which was sponsored by then-

Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

Roger Douglas Sir Roger Owen Douglas (born 5 December 1937) is a retired New Zealand politician, economist and accountant who served as a minister in two Labour governments. He is most recognised for his key involvement in New Zealand's radical economic rest ...

and supported by Cabinet. Douglas was forced to resign, but when the Cabinet supported Douglas against Lange, the Prime Minister interpreted this as a vote of no-confidence in his leadership and stepped down.

Collective responsibility after MMP

Some political commentators, such as Professor Philip Joseph, have argued that it is a misnomer to deem the unanimity principle of collective responsibility a constitutional convention as such. Joseph views unanimity as merely a "rule of pragmatic politics", lacking a sufficient constitutional nature to be deemed a constitutional convention. He states that, unlike a convention, governments may waive, suspend or abandon political rules, as has happened since the introduction of the

mixed-member proportional Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a type of representation provided by some mixed electoral systems which combine local winner-take-all elections with a compensatory tier with party lists, in a way that produces pr ...

system (MMP) in 1993 (''see ''). One reform following the introduction of MMP allowed for junior parties in a coalition the ability to ' agree to disagree' with the majority in order to manage policy differences. Following the 2011 general election the National-led government released the following statement in regards to the role of minor parties in the context of collective responsibility:

Collective responsibility applies differently in the case of support party Ministers. Support party Ministers are only bound by collective responsibility in relation to their own respective portfolios (including any specific delegated responsibilities). When support party Ministers speak about the issues in their portfolios, they speak for the government and as part of the government. When the government takes decisions within their portfolios, they must support those decisions, regardless of their personal views and whether or not they were at the meeting concerned. When support party Ministers speak about matters outside their portfolios, they may speak as political party leaders or members of Parliament rather than as Ministers, and do not necessarily support the government position.

Ministers outside Cabinet retain

individual ministerial responsibility In Westminster-style governments, individual ministerial responsibility is a constitutional convention that a cabinet minister bears the ultimate responsibility for the actions of their ministry or department. Individual ministerial responsi ...

for the actions of their department (in common with Cabinet ministers).

Electoral reform and Cabinet structure

The 1993 electoral referendum in New Zealand resulted in a number of structural changes to Cabinet. The change to the MMP system ultimately led to a larger number of political parties in Parliament, as under the proportional representation system any political party can enter Parliament if they received five percent of the party vote or won one electorate seat. The increased representation resulted in the need to form coalitions between parties, as no single party received a majority of votes and seats under MMP until 2020. In order to govern in a coalition under MMP, it is likely that a major party will have to relinquish and offer Cabinet positions to members of a minority party. The aftermath of the first MMP election in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

highlighted the changes resulting from the new proportional parliament.

New Zealand First New Zealand First (), commonly abbreviated to NZ First or NZF, is a political party in New Zealand, founded and led by Winston Peters, who has served three times as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, deputy prime minister. The party has form ...

received 13.4% of the party vote, giving them 17 total seats in the House of Representatives (in contrast to 8.5% in the 1993 general election, conducted under the

plurality voting system Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which the candidates in an electoral district who poll more than any other (that is, receive a plurality) are elected. Under single-winner plurality voting, and in systems based on single-member ...

). This ultimately resulted in the as the National Party, who received 33.8% of the party vote, translating to 44 seats in the House, could not govern alone. Negotiations forming the new government took nearly two months however the ultimate result being that New Zealand First were to have five ministers inside Cabinet and four outside. This translated to having 36.4% of representation in the new government. The Prime Minister following the 1996 election, Jim Bolger, was forced to tell his

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

during negotiations with New Zealand First, that he would not be able to satisfy all ambitions of the caucus, due to the forced inclusion of the minority party into the governmental framework, thus highlighting one of the challenges that came with MMP. The result of MMP on Cabinet structure in New Zealand is also highlighted below under the heading. In the coalition deal following the election New Zealand First leader

Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...

was given the position of deputy prime minister, and New Zealand First were given a number of ministerial portfolios including foreign affairs, infrastructure, regional economic development, and internal affairs.

Meetings

Members of Cabinet meet on a regular basis, usually weekly on a Monday, to discuss the most important issues of government policy. Matters that must be submitted to Cabinet include new legislation, involving draft government bills; financial proposals and

budget A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...

decisions; constitutional arrangements;

public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

changes; government responses to select committee recommendations; portfolio interests of ministers; appointments to government bodies; and international treaties. The meetings are chaired by the prime minister or, in the prime minister's absence, the next most senior minister in attendance, usually the deputy prime minister. Ministers outside Cabinet may occasionally be invited for the discussion of particular items with which they have been closely involved. All Cabinet meetings are held behind closed doors, and the

minutes Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting, protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a statement of the activit ...

are taken by the

Cabinet secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

and kept confidential. However, usually shortly after the weekly meeting the prime minister holds a press conference to discuss important national issues. The Cabinet secretary and their deputy are the only non-ministers who attend Cabinet meetings. They are not political appointments and their role at Cabinet meetings is to formulate and record the Cabinet's decisions and advise on procedure, not to offer policy advice. The secretary has a dual role as the clerk of the Executive Council where they provide a channel of communication and liaison between the Cabinet and the governor-general. The Cabinet room, where the weekly meetings are normally held, and related offices are located at the top of the

Beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure which houses honey bees, subgenus '' Apis.'' Honey bees live in the beehive, raising their young and producing honey as part of their seasonal cycle. Though the word ''beehive'' is used to describe the nest of ...

(the Executive Wing of Parliament Buildings).

Members

The prime minister assigns roles to ministers and ranks them in order to determine seniority. A minister's rank depends on factors such as "their length of service, the importance of their portfolio and their personal standing with the prime minister". The

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

is the second-highest ranked, after the prime minister. Under MMP, there are typically three categories of minister: ministers within the 'core' Cabinet, ministers outside Cabinet, and ministers from support parties (i.e. minor parties which have agreed to support a government party during

confidence and supply In parliamentary system, parliamentary democracies based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply is an arrangement under which a minority government (one which does not control a majority in the legislature) receives the support of one ...

votes). The size of Cabinet has grown over time. In the 1890s, for example, there were seven Cabinet ministers. The number of ministers within Cabinet increased in the period up until the 1970s, but has plateaued at 20 since ; this despite increases in the number of members of parliament. By contrast, the numbers of ministers outside Cabinet has grown, especially since the introduction of MMP. Ministers are formally styled "The Honourable" (abbreviated to "The Hon."), except for the prime minister who is accorded the style "

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

" ("The Rt. Hon."). Previously, several senior ministers used "The Right Honourable" by virtue of

membership Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the Privy Council before appointments were discontinued in 2000. Currently,

retains this style due to his appointment as a member of the Privy Council in 1998.

Current ministers

The current ministry has a Cabinet of 20 ministers: 14 from the National Party, three from ACT, and three from

. There are eight ministers outside Cabinet: five from National, two from ACT, and one from New Zealand First. Additionally, two parliamentary under-secretaries assist ministers from a parliamentary standpoint.

The table below lists all ministers, . {, class="wikitable" , Party key , - ! Portfolios ! Image ! colspan="2", Incumbent ! style=width:20em, Additional responsibilities ! Electorate , - ! colspan="7" , , - , style="text-align: center;" colspan="7" , National Party Ministers , - ,
, style="text-align:center", , bgcolor= , , Christopher Luxon , Minister Responsible for Ministerial Services , , - ,

, style="text-align:center", , bgcolor= , , Nicola Willis , , List , - ,

, style="text-align:center", , bgcolor= , ,

Chris Bishop Christopher Bishop (born 4 September 1983) is a New Zealand politician for the National Party. He was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 as a list MP. Bishop won the Hutt South electorate in 2017 but lost the ...

, Leader of the House
Associate Minister of Finance
Associate Minister for Sport and Recreation , , - ,
, style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="" , ,

Simeon Brown Simeon Peter Brown (born 8 April 1991) is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party. Early life and career Brown was born in Rotorua in 1991. His family moved to Clendon Park, Au ...

, Minister for Auckland , , - ,
, style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="" , ,

Erica Stanford Erica Louise Stanford (née Poppelbaum; born 1978) is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party. She currently serves as the 49th Minister of Education and the 60th Minister of Im ...

, Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission’s Report into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions , , - ,

, style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="" , ,

Paul Goldsmith Paul Edward Goldsmith (October 2, 1925 – September 6, 2024) was an American racing driver. During his career he raced A.M.A. Grand National Championship, motorcycles, Stock car racing, stock cars, and American open-wheel car racing, Indianapol ...

, , List , - ,

, style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="" , , Louise Upston , Minister for Child Poverty Reduction
Deputy Leader of the House , , - ,

, style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="" , , Judith Collins , , , - ,

, style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="" , , Shane Reti , , , - ,

, style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="" , , Mark Mitchell , , , - ,

, style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="" , , Todd McClay , Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs , , - ,

, style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="" , , Tama Potaka , Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) , , - , , style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="" , , Matt Doocey , Associate Minister of Health , , - , Minister of Climate Change

Minister of Revenue , style="text-align:center", , bgcolor= , , Simon Watts , , , - , style="text-align: center;" colspan="7" , ACT Ministers , - ,
, style="text-align:center", David Seymour 2023 cropped headshot

, bgcolor= , , David Seymour , Associate Minister of Education (Partnership Schools)
Associate Minister of Finance
Associate Minister of Health (Pharmac)
Associate Minister of Justice (Treaty Principles Bill) , , - ,
, style="text-align:center" ,

, bgcolor="" , , Brooke van Velden , , , - , , style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="" , , Nicole McKee , Associate Minister of Justice (Firearms) , List , - , style="text-align: center;" colspan="7" , New Zealand First Ministers , - , {{nowrap,

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

{{nowrap, Minister for Racing
{{nowrap, Minister for Rail , style="text-align:center", , bgcolor={{party color, New Zealand First , ,

, ,

List A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...

, - , {{nowrap,

Minister for Oceans and Fisheries The Minister for Oceans and Fisheries is a Ministers in the New Zealand Government, minister in the New Zealand Government responsible for the management of New Zealand's fisheries, including aquaculture, and for oceans policy. The present min ...

{{nowrap, Minister for Regional Development
{{nowrap, Minister for Resources , style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="{{party color, New Zealand First" , , Shane Jones , Associate Minister of Finance
Associate Minister for Energy , List , - , {{nowrap, Minister of Customs
{{nowrap,

Minister for Seniors The Minister for Seniors is a Ministers in the New Zealand Government, minister in the New Zealand Government with responsibility for the rights and interests of senior citizens. The post was established by the Fourth Labour Government of New ...

, style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="{{party color, New Zealand First" , , Casey Costello , Associate Minister of Health
Associate Minister for Immigration
Associate Minister for Police , List , - ! colspan="7" , {{Allcaps, Ministers outside CabinetOnly members regularly attend Cabinet meetings, although ministers outside Cabinet and support party ministers can be invited to attend if an area of their portfolio is on the agenda. Thus all ministers listed below have a role in Cabinet's decision-making. , - , {{nowrap, Minister for Building and Construction
{{nowrap, Minister for Land Information
{{nowrap, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing
{{nowrap, Minister for Veterans , style="text-align:center", , bgcolor={{party color, New Zealand National Party , , Chris Penk , Associate Minister of Defence
Associate Minister of Immigration , {{NZ electorate link, Kaipara ki Mahurangi , - , {{nowrap, Minister for the Environment
{{nowrap, Minister for Vocational Education , style="text-align:center", , bgcolor={{party color, New Zealand National Party , , Penny Simmonds , Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment , {{NZ electorate link, Invercargill , - , {{nowrap, Minister of State for Trade
{{nowrap, Minister for Women , style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="{{party color, New Zealand National Party" , , Nicola Grigg , Associate Minister of Agriculture (Horticulture)
Associate Minister for ACC , {{NZ electorate link, Selwyn , - , {{nowrap, Minister for Hunting and Fishing
{{nowrap, Minister for Youth , style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="{{party color, New Zealand National Party" , , James Meager , Minister for the South Island
Associate Minister of Transport , {{NZ electorate link, Rangitata , - , {{nowrap, Minister for ACC
{{nowrap, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs , style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="{{party color, New Zealand National Party" , , Scott Simpson , , {{NZ electorate link, Coromandel , - , {{nowrap, Minister for Biosecurity
{{nowrap, Minister for Food Safety , style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="{{party color, ACT New Zealand" , ,

Andrew Hoggard Andrew John Hoggard (born ) is a New Zealand dairy farmer and politician. Hoggard held leadership roles with the farmers' advocacy group Federated Farmers from 2014 to 2023, including as president for the final three years. He stepped down ahe ...

, Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills)
Associate Minister for the Environment , List , - , {{nowrap, Minister for Children
{{nowrap, Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence , style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="{{party color, ACT New Zealand" , , Karen Chhour , , List , - , {{nowrap, Minister for Rural Communities , style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor="{{party color, New Zealand First" , , Mark Patterson , Associate Minister of Agriculture
Associate Minister for Regional Development , List , - ! colspan="7" , {{Allcaps, Parliamentary Under-Secretaries , - , Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the
{{nowrap, Minister for Infrastructure and {{nowrap, Minister for RMA Reform , style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor={{party color, ACT New Zealand , , Simon Court , , List , - , Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the
{{nowrap, Minister for Media and Communications and {{nowrap, Minister for Oceans and Fisheries , style="text-align:center" , , bgcolor={{party color, New Zealand First , , Jenny Marcroft , , List , -

Committees

A Cabinet committee comprises a subset of the larger Cabinet, consisting of a number of ministers who have responsibility in related areas of policy. Cabinet committees go into considerably more detail than can be achieved at regular Cabinet meetings, discussing issues which do not need the input of ministers holding unrelated portfolios. Committee terms of reference and membership are determined by the prime minister and the exact number and makeup of committees changes with the government. {{As of, 2025, 2, there were 8 Cabinet committees: * Cabinet Appointments and Honours Committee (APH) * Cabinet Business Committee (CBC) * Cabinet Economic Policy Committee (ECO) * Cabinet Expenditure and Regulatory Review Committee (EXP) *Cabinet Foreign Policy and National Security Committee (FPS) * Cabinet Legislation Committee (LEG) * Cabinet Social Outcomes Committee (SOU) * Cabinet Strategy Committee (STR) * * Cabinet committees will often discuss matters under delegated authority or directly referred to them by Cabinet, and then report back the results of their deliberation. This can sometimes become a powerful tool for advancing certain policies, as was demonstrated in the Lange government.

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

and his allies succeeded in dominating the finance committee, enabling them to determine what it recommended to Cabinet. The official recommendation of the finance committee was much harder for his opponents to fight than his individual claims in Cabinet would be. Douglas was able to pass measures that, had Cabinet deliberated on them itself rather than pass them to committee, would have been defeated.{{cite journal , last1=Mitchell , first1=Austin , title=Roger's Revolution: Blitzkrieg in Kiwiland , journal=The Journal of Legislative Studies , date=1 March 2005 , volume=11 , issue=1 , pages=1–15 , doi=10.1080/13572330500158219, s2cid=153653062

Notes

{{reflist, group="n"

References

{{Reflist

External links

Cabinet Manual 2017
– DPMC {{New Zealand topics {{Oceania topic, Cabinet of , title=National cabinets of Oceania Government of New Zealand Politics of New Zealand Constitution of New Zealand New Zealand, Cabinet Of