THE PRESS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1981. Shuffle, cut, and deal

Press, 11 February 1981, Page 18

THE PRESS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1981. Shuffle, cut, and deal

The Prime Minister has made changes in his Cabinet with one eye on the leadership and deputy leadership manoeuvrings and one eye on the General Election. Conceivably, he could have made no changes at all. In fact, he has made very minor changes: partly to point the way to the kind of Cabinet that he would be choosing if the Government is returned to office and partly to make the point that he does not like' challenges to his leadership and direction.

On the election count he has thrust some of the younger members of the team higher in the formal order of the Cabinet; on the leadership count he has relieved Mr Quigley of his portfolio as Associate Minister of Finance and replaced him, in a thoroughly unpredictable move, by Mr Cooper. As an aside to this exchange, he has taken the not-very-onerous portfolio of broadcasting from Mr Templeton, perhaps an indication that he expects that Mr Templeton will inherit a somewhat heavier job as the other Associate Minister of Finance. Since he has gained in the ranking, Mr Quigley may'not be suffering the set-back of PrimeMinisterial disapproval that the change suggests at first sight, but the Prime Minister may have made 'it clear that he does not wish to work closely with Mr Quigley. His job with the finance portfolio has been essentially concerned with Government expenditure and. more particularly, with moderating or cutting expenditure. Mr Muldoon probably considers ■ that the job has been done, and that neither in an election year nor when the economy is in need of some boosting is the time ripe for more cuts in expenditure. ' Opportunities in the housing portfolio,,are .not very promising when the general trend in building is static or downward: Mr Quigley will not have much chance of distinguishing himself by retaining this job. In the ordinary course, of events the tourism portfolio that he has acquired would not count

for much. In this job, however, Mr Quigley is likely to make the most of the fact that tourism is capable of being one of New Zealand’s strongest and most productive industries. By bringing a lively hand to this desk, Mr Quigley may well repeat the performance of other Ministers who have been given, for political or personal reasons, an unpromising task.

Appointing associates for two retiring Ministers is a fairly obvious device. It is surprising that Mr AdamsSchneider, who will retire at the end of this year, has not been given an associate as has Mr McLachlan for his transport portfolio. Nevertheless, a Cabinet of 20 is quite sufficient in size, and appointing another associate Minister would mean juggling with names already on the list. Probably by far the most important changes are the concentration of Mr Bolger’s efforts on the labour portfolio alone and the introduction of Dr Shearer to the Cabinet as Minister for the Environment and Minister of Science and Technology. His introduction will please many people, not just because of his special interest and knowledge, but because Mr V. S. Young will yield the environment job and thereby separate it from his role as Minister of Lands and Minister of Forests. Many people, perhaps unfairly, have seen a conflict of interests in the former grouping. Since the Government has given employment issues priority, the shedding of immigration responsibilies. by Mr Bolger makes good sense; his concentration on labour affairs in an election, year might be sharpened a little by his being relieved of immigration matters. It is not a major change, though his elevation in the ranking of Ministers can be taken as a sign of approval by Mr Muldoon. All in all, the Cabinet changes do little more than restore the- Cabinet to its previous strength and entail minimal adjustments to responsibilities.