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Barry Soper: Could old issues affect Cabinet reshuffle?

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Thu, 27 Jun 2019, 1:54PM
Will Karel Sroubek see the end of Iain Lees-Galloway? (Photo / NZ Herald)

Barry Soper: Could old issues affect Cabinet reshuffle?

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Thu, 27 Jun 2019, 1:54PM

Jacinda Ardern's mettle will be tested today as she unveils her first Cabinet reshuffle since becoming Prime Minister.

Newstalkzb's political editor Barry Soper says Ardern's been playing it down, as minor so significant change is unlikely.

He told Andrew Dickens that issues like KiwiBuild, Karel Sroubek and several DHB debacles could come back to haunt Ministers.

"The difficulty is will Phil Twyford keep his Housing portfolio. The other people who will be sweating will be Iain-Leses Galloway and his handling of the Karel Sroubek affair. David Clark, the Health Minister, will probably survive but the District Health Board's have gone through all sorts of problems."

Soper says that Ardern has defended Twyford's role in the KiwiBuild stuff-up, but says his role could still be tweaked. 

On the other hand, Soper predicts Kris Faafoi will be popping the champagne tonight.

"Faafoi is a Minister outside of Cabinet, so he will probably step up today." 

He says that Meka Whaitiri could be reinstated as there is some pressure from the party's Maori caucus. 

The announcement's expected at 3:15pm.

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