New Zealand has one of the most complex systems of executive government in the developed world. With 81 ministerial portfolios, 28 ministers and 43 departments, we have three times as many portfolios and nearly twice as many departments as comparable countries.

Unscrambling Government: Less Confusion, More Efficiency argues that this sprawling Cabinet structure makes accountability unclear, drives up costs, and slows solutions to challenges like housing, welfare and climate change.

The scale of the problem is evident in ministries such as the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), which reports to 20 different ministers.

Co-author Roger Partridge said this proliferation undermines effective government. He noted that New Zealand’s “ministerial maze means everyone is responsible, but no one is accountable,” and argued that reform is essential for greater accountability, faster decision-making and stronger fiscal discipline.

Key Findings

• International models show it can be done: Comparable countries such as Ireland, Norway and Singapore govern effectively with 15–20 ministers. And Australia’s 1987 reforms show that even a sprawling cabinet can be decisively streamlined – reducing 28 portfolios to 16, creating durable ‘consolidated ministries’.
• Consolidation is essential: New Zealand could reduce its Cabinet sprawl by consolidating portfolios into 15-20 natural policy domains and cutting departments from 43 to around 20.
• Junior ministers, not more portfolios: The report proposes a second tier of junior ministers as in Ireland, Australia and the UK to take on delegated ministerial responsibilities, with ultimate authority remaining with fewer senior, budget-holding Cabinet ministers.
   

The report concludes that reform is not just about tidiness. A smaller, more focused Cabinet would mean clearer accountability, fewer veto points, and more coherent leadership on complex issues that currently span multiple ministers.

In his foreword, former Treasury Secretary Dr Murray Horn CNZM warns that the current Cabinet structure “makes almost every aspect of good government harder than it needs to be.”

Roger Partridge discusses his report with our Executive Director Dr Oliver Hartwich on our latest podcast episode. Listen below.

Roger Partridge discussed his report with Dr Murray Horn CNZM and Dr Oliver Hartwich on our webinar launch of the report. Watch below.