Ginny Andersen will be the new Police Minister, announced Prime Minister Chris Hipkins today, stating her key priorities will be continuing work to address retail crime and youth offending.

It comes after Stuart Nash resigned from the portfolio last week after inadvertently admitting to speaking to the Police Commissioner about appealing a case and then downplaying the seriousness of his actions.

Andersen, Labour MP for Hutt South, was only recently promoted into Cabinet by Hipkins.

Hipkins said Andersen was familiar with the portfolio, having spent 10 years working for police, and as current chair of the Justice Committee.

Andersen is the third-lowest ranking member of Cabinet. Hipkins said that did not reflect the importance Labour gave to tackling crime.

Hipkins said he had conversations with ministers over the weekend and thought carefully before making his decision.

Ginny Andersen is the new Minister for Police. Photo / Mark Mitchell

He said he wanted to see Andersen continue around retail crime, focus on youth offending targeting prolific offenders, and breaking the pattern of offending.

“I have absolute confidence in Ginny,” Hipkins said.

She will retain those portfolios for Small Business, Seniors and Digital Economy and Communications.

Barbara Edmonds will pick up Andersen’s associate immigration role.

On Nash, Hipkins said he would not recanvas ground from last week but that he made it very clear to all ministers today to be “very familiar” with the Cabinet manual.

Lobbying exposed “not appropriate” - Hipkins

Hipkins said he did not think the Government should be hiring lobbyists for communications work.

It comes after an RNZ investigation published today highlighting how firms are earning hundreds of thousands of dollars from contracts with government agencies for work including writing profiles on MPs and ministers and even advising communications staff on messaging and strategy.

Hipkins said there were some examples including in Covid-19 and recent extreme weather where it was appropriate for outside assistance, but he did not expect agencies, in general, to be doing paying companies for their “day-to-day” work.

One example revealed by RNZ was a senior communications advisor for Pharmac who contracted the services of a lobbying company to help write a single line for responses to media requests. It also included revelations around Pharmac seeking to improve the negative coverage it was receiving and avoid answering media queries.

Hipkins said the information revealed was “not appropriate”.

He said the openness of the Government and Parliament was a good thing and lobbyists could play a positive role in helping those who find navigating the political system difficult.

New Zealand is one of the only developed countries that does not have regulations around the lobbying industry.

Hipkins said he was not ruling out more work in the future about making lobbying work more transparent, but he was less interested in introducing a stand-down period for those who had worked in Government.

He said they needed to be careful not to interfere with somebody’s right to earn a living.

Cyclone recovery

Meanwhile, six new temporary bridges will be delivered to cyclone-impacted areas in Hawke’s Bay, East Coast and Manawatū as the Government pushes to repair the damaged transport network.

The announcement was made as Hipkins provided an update on how the Government is addressing damaged areas of the country’s transport network following Cyclone Gabrielle.

Transport Minister Michael Wood has also given an update on when three damaged State Highways will reopen after SH5 between Napier and Taupō opened for motorists today.

The bridge sites include four in Hawke’s Bay - Moeangiangi, Whanawhana, Ellis-Wallace, Mangatutu low level - one on the East Coast (Hollywood) and one in Manawatū (Makiekie Coal Creek).

Site investigation and the design process to build the Bailey bridges was currently underway. Another four sites were being considered.

State Highway 2 between Tangoio and Tūtira opens for restricted access for residents/essential services/stock movements from today during set times and with traffic management/speed limits.

SH1 over the Brynderwyns between Wellsford and Northland is expected to temporarily re-open in the coming weeks, with further works and closures still required.

SH38 from Tuai to Aniwaniwa Falls requires sluicing work to be completed first but could open in the next few weeks.

The timeframes provided by the Government were indicative but it was hoped it would allow communities to plan.

”Our immediate priority has been to reopen lifeline roads and reconnect isolated communities,” Wood said.

”So far 91 per cent of the 1346km of damaged state highways have been reopened to lifeline access.”

Waka Kotahi had been working with an Australian distributor to find more stock, Hipkins said. They were working with local authorities to appropriately distribute the $250m fund.

Hipkins noted some workers had been getting abused by motorists.

He said he understood why people were frustrated but it was “not OK” to take it out on those working to repair roads.

Waka Kotahi will also be releasing recovery dashboards for Northland, Gisborne, Waikato, and Hawkes Bay that outline which roads have been reopened, and indicative opened timeframes for roads still being worked on.

First visit to China since 2019

On Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s trip to China tomorrow, Hipkins said China was very important to New Zealand so it was important to re-establish country-to-country engagements and the in-person relationship after several years of not being able to do that.

Mahuta will meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang.

NZ’s position on human rights issues had not changed, he said. The opportunity to travel there and raise issues in person was significant.

Hipkins said he had not taken off the table to visit himself later this year.

The meeting will come at the same time as China’s President Xi Jinping is set to meet Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, in what could see deepening Chinese involvement in the war in Ukraine.

On the timing of the visit, Hipkins said New Zealand’s position on the war in Ukraine had not changed.

There were a lot of “moving parts” regarding Hipkins’ travel this year so it had not locked down yet. This was also given it was an election year.

Napier to Taupō road reopens

From today, State Highway 5 from Napier to Taupō was open between 7am-7pm with closure points at SH2 (Kaimata Rd), Glengarry Rd and Matea Rd overnight.

Temporary speed restrictions and other traffic management measures would be in place as contractors continued work on a number of damaged sites along the highway.

“State Highway 5 is a critical access point into Hawke’s Bay and the Government welcomes the news it is open to all traffic during daylight hours,” Associate Transport Minister Kiri Allan said.

“Restoring this connection is a milestone for the region following the devastating impact of Cyclone Gabrielle, and a critical step to provide resilient and safe connections for local businesses in the farming, horticulture and tourism industries.

Associate Transport Minister Kiri Allan. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Driving from Napier to Taupō traditionally took about two hours but with SH5 out of action, motorists were forced to travel south as far as Woodville near Palmerston North before turning north towards Taupō - a journey that lasted up to five hours.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Shaw and co-leader Marama Davidson delivered the Green Party’s State of the Planet address in Auckland, during which they sent a clear message to Labour ahead of this year’s election.

“To any political party that wants the Green Party’s support to form a government after the election, let us put it as simply as we can: the Green Party will not accept anything less than the strongest possible climate action,” Shaw said.

“The stakes are too high, the consequences of failure too great.”

Last week, Hipkins resumed his policy bonfire with a focus on transport policies, including some that were intended to reduce New Zealand’s emissions, such as the $568 million clean car upgrade scheme, the social leasing car scheme and some public transport goals.

Hipkins said his aim in scrapping the policies was to sharpen the Government’s focus on the high cost of living.

Shaw, however, believed this year’s election would be driven by climate issues.

“Only the Green Party will confront the climate emergency with the urgency it demands and take action to build an Aotearoa that works for everyone.

“Over the next seven months, the Green Party will set out a plan for Aotearoa to cut climate pollution and improve our communities.

“Our message will be simple: To get the government Aotearoa needs, we need more Green MPs in Parliament and Green ministers sitting around the decision-making table. That is how we can best influence the next government.”