NZ Government: Steven Joyce’s Influence Keeps Getting Bigger
February 25th, 2010
Steven Joyce might rank at 14th in the Cabinet room, but he’s rapidly assuming a critical role in trouble-shooting in the Beehive, rather in the manner of Michael Cullen in the last Cabinet. In Transport, he has got several contentious projects funded and under way. Trans-Tasman has noted how he has come to be regarded as John Key’s “go-to” man, after he was slotted into the Tertiary Education portfolio in late January. This week on TVNZ’s Close Up he showed how quickly he has grasped the political nuances of student loan funding issues which he has been tasked with sorting out.
Joyce appeared in a new role when he was asked by Key to attend a meeting of Ministers considering the review of NZ overseas posts by Foreign Minister and Trade Minister Tim Groser. As Trans-Tasman reported last week, McCully says solid progress is being made, although his confidence doesn’t appear to be shared by some other Ministers and agencies. Key can defend Joyce’s intervention at this point as the Govt sees selling tertiary education to overseas students as a lucrative source of income, possibly matching tourism in the longer term. But, Beehive insiders say it also points to Key’s increasing use of Joyce to resolve potential tensions within the Cabinet.
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Duncan Cotterill