The Ministerial roles for the new Government have been announced and three Rainbow MPs will hold portfolios.
Labour’s Grant Robertson and Meka Whaitiri and the Green Party’s Jan Logie have all been given ministerial roles in the new administration, with Whaitiri serving outside Cabinet.
Grant Robertson is the MP for Wellington Central and is the Labour spokesperson for Finance, Employment, Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage.
Robertson has managed the New Zealand Overseas Aid Programme to Samoa, been posted to the United Nations in New York, where he worked on environment and development and during the first term of the Fifth Labour Government was the advisor for Minister of the Environment, Marian Hobbs.
Whaitiri is the Labour spokesperson for Local Government, Associate Primary Industries, Associate Food Safety, Economic Development (including Regional Development) and Trade and Export Growth.
She has a strong Māori governance background and was promoted to senior manager with the Community Employment Group of the Department of Labour. She has also been a senior adviser to the Minister of Māori Affairs and is the MP for Ikaroa-Rawhiti.
Logie is the Greens’ spokesperson for rainbow issues, social development and Local Government.
In Parliament, Logie advocates for people and families affected by domestic and sexual violence, initiated a select committee inquiry into funding for specialist sexual abuse and social services and her Workplace Protection Bill is designed to protect victims and reduce the significant economic impact of domestic violence.
The portfolio responsibilities of the new Ministers are yet to be announced, with an official swearing-in ceremony expected on Thursday.
