what's that smell?

The cabinet reshuffle announced today was hardly dramatic. The leader of a party most people have not heard of got a portfolio most people thought didn't exist: Jim Anderton is the Minister for Forestry. Michael Cullen is the Attorney General as no one else in cabinet will do.

Parekura Horomia becomes associate Minister of Youth Affairs. That portfolio will go downhill now that Mahaarey has got hold of it. He`ll blame John Tamihere for everything wrong about his portfolio and praise himself for everything positive that JT has done.

But Marion Hobbs as the Associate Minister of Justice! Sure, Hobbs is queer friendly ( she was at the after party of the Civil Union Act), but that’s a bit like having Don Brash as the Minister of Destiny Church. Odd. Very odd. She`ll miss out on fronting the Relationships Statutory References bill though, as Benson Pope is to do that. She's also the Minister responsible for the Law Commission. What does boo-boo know about law?

Ruth Dyson has relinquished her Associate Minister of Health, she won't like that, but perhaps she should have relinquished ACC as well. David Benson -Pope gets a promotion, they`re grooming him up to be the next Mallard, with Benson-Pope getting some education portfolios. He`ll make sure those sexually active 12-year-old "women" get a good education - he`ll probably throw a bit of sex education in the mix.

I'd like to know this: Why is it that more than a quarter of cabinet are ministers or associate ministers of health? We have four associate ministers of health! They are Jim Anderton, new entry Pete Hodgson, Damien O'Connor and new minister Mita Ririnui. Health Minister Annette King has only got two ministerial portfolios, she doesn’t need four associates, even if she does make hash of the portfolio (which is why she won't be Health Minister after the election).

If we have five ministers handling health, why are people dying at A&E, why are health boards making a loss, and why is the general health of people in this country going down hill, and why are so many people overweight? And why do Maori's and Pacific Islanders get free taxis to the doctors when everyone else has to pay. Do Maori and Pacific Islanders need the taxis more than the rest of us?

ACT leader Rodney Hide summed up the reshuffle best:

We have the same sheep grazing off the same pasture and producing the same dung."