ACT Party leader David Seymour has unveiled a proposal to downsize New Zealand’s executive government, advocating for a leaner, more focused Cabinet structure that he says would increase efficiency and accountability. In a speech delivered to the Tauranga Business Chamber, Seymour called for a cap of 20 ministers — all within Cabinet — and the abolition of most associate roles, as part of a wider campaign to reduce what he describes as a “bloated” and overly symbolic government apparatus.
A Cabinet Cutback
Seymour’s plan proposes a hard limit on the number of ministers, eliminating the current structure where 28 ministers — including eight outside Cabinet — hold more than 80 portfolios. Associate minister roles, which he believes dilute responsibility, would be scrapped entirely, except in the finance portfolio.
“Portfolios shouldn’t be handed out like participation trophies,” Seymour said, targeting what he called “easy political gestures” that serve more to placate coalition partners than to improve governance. Among the portfolios Seymour labelled as “symbolic” or redundant were those for Racing, Hospitality, Hunting and Fishing, Auckland, the South Island, and the Voluntary Sector — all held by either National or New Zealand First ministers.
He pointed to the creation of the South Island portfolio as an example of political symbolism, established by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and assigned to first-term MP James Meager. “Creating a portfolio or a department named after the community is… not a substitute for good policy. It’s not proof of delivery,” Seymour argued.
Bureaucratic Streamlining and Portfolio Consolidation
At the heart of Seymour’s proposal is a restructuring of ministerial responsibilities to align each with a single, clearly defined department — a stark contrast to the current model, which often sees one department answering to several ministers. He cited the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), which currently reports to as many as 19 ministers, as emblematic of the inefficiency and blurred accountability plaguing the system.
“When you have 19 ministers responsible for one department, the department itself becomes the most powerful player in the room,” Seymour warned.
He also proposed cutting the number of government departments from 41 to 30, although he declined to specify which ones would be eliminated. “If I start talking about specific ministries, people will start talking about the examples and the politics of who survives and who is cancelled and so on,” he said.
To replace the associate minister system, Seymour suggested appointing up to eight parliamentary under-secretaries to serve as a training ground for future ministers — a move he pitched as meritocratic rather than politically expedient.
Backing From Policy Circles, But Coalition Tensions Simmer
The New Zealand Initiative, a Wellington-based think tank, welcomed Seymour’s proposals. Executive director Oliver Hartwich said the current system had “become quite absurd” and that New Zealand’s sprawling executive structure had turned into a “political football” under the mixed-member proportional (MMP) system.
“[For instance,] housing and building on construction have a lot to do with each other, so it would actually make sense to have this dealt with by one minister or another,” Hartwich said. He added that portfolios are often split or created to appease coalition partners and rarely abolished afterwards, resulting in “massive confusion and a massive problem with transparency.”
Despite the warm reception from think tanks and business groups, Seymour’s proposal has sparked unease. Labour leader Chris Hipkins accused Prime Minister Luxon of losing control over his partners, suggesting Seymour’s comments undermined the unity of the government. “Barely a week goes by without one of Christopher Luxon’s deputy prime ministers casting aspersions on their so-called partnership,” Hipkins remarked, as reported by RNZ.
Luxon, who has not publicly responded to Seymour’s remarks, has been described by Seymour as someone who “cut his teeth as a manager,” implying that the Prime Minister might privately be sympathetic to the need for reform, even if politically constrained from acting on it.
Looking Abroad for Leaner Models
Seymour compared New Zealand’s executive size unfavorably to international examples. Ireland, with a similar population, operates under a constitutional cap of 15 ministers managing just 18 portfolios. Even much larger nations like South Korea and the United Kingdom run leaner cabinets.
A Broader Ideological Blueprint
The Cabinet restructure proposal forms part of ACT’s wider vision for a smaller government. The party has also advocated for reducing the number of MPs to 100, abolishing Māori electorates and associated ministries, and disbanding the Human Rights Commission. Critics argue that such moves risk marginalising vulnerable communities and eroding public trust in government.
Seymour, who is set to assume the deputy prime ministership from NZ First’s Winston Peters in June, downplayed the possibility of near-term implementation, framing the proposal as a conversation-starter for future reforms.
“We all signed up to do it this way,” Seymour acknowledged. “I just raise the question: Could there be a better way, and should we start talking about it?”