Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has rejected claims by ACT leader David Seymour that the ministerial line-up has become "bloated" and riddled with "meaningless titles".
But former ministers from across the political spectrum have backed Seymour's assessment and his calls to slash the number of ministers, portfolios and departments.
In a speech on Thursday, Seymour proposed capping the executive at just 20 ministers - all inside Cabinet - and scrapping associate positions, except in finance.
As well, he suggested slashing the 41 government agencies down to 30, with each minister assigned a single department rather than multiple symbolic portfolios.
The size and make-up of the executive is ultimately determined by the prime minister - in this case, Luxon.
Speaking from Dunedin on Friday, Luxon brushed off Seymour's suggestions and pointed out that ACT had pushed for a new department in the Ministry for Regulation.
"What we are focused on is making sure the public service is as efficient as it possibly can be."
Luxon denied the executive had become bloated or that many portfolios were mere symbolism, and he pushed back on those - like Seymour - questioning the value of the new South Island portfolio created earlier this year.
"Absolutely disagree, completely. We want to focus on the South Island. We want to make sure the South Island is getting its fair share of infrastructure and delivery, and I want the voice of the South Island in the Cabinet as well."
The new Minister for the South Island James Meager sits outside Cabinet. The only Cabinet minister based in the South Island is Matt Doocey, with responsibility for Mental Health.
Asked about the looming Budget, Luxon told RNZ the government would find savings across all departments but would not disband any of them entirely.
Former ministers swing in behind Seymour
Speaking to RNZ, former National minister Christopher Finlayson said there were "far too many" ministers, associates and under-secretaries, mostly due to the nature of governing in a coalition.
"A few baubles have to be handed to otherwise unimpressive Members of Parliament who really shouldn't be there - or should be on a backbench."
Finlayson, now an independent barrister, served in Cabinet from 2008 to 2017 as Attorney-General and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations.
He said he never needed associates and preferred a streamlined approach where each minister had clear responsibility for a single department: "And if you don't measure up, it's fail and farewell."
Christopher Finlayson. Photo: Nicola Edmonds
Finlayson described New Zealand's approach as borderline embarrassing: "if you send out a letter to someone and you're the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then underneath it's got the Minister for Racing and the Minister for Railways... it looks kind of goofy to foreigners, I would have thought."
He said many portfolios could be eliminated, citing the recent South Island role as "pretty much a non-job". He also suggested a more coherent structure for government agencies.
"I've often sat down - and this will confirm that I'm a geek - and drawn up my list of government departments, and I think you could get it down to about 20.
"It's not just reducing the size of a bloated executive and jobs for the boys and the girls, but it's making a more effective administration."
Former United Future leader Peter Dunne - who was a minister outside Cabinet in both Labour and National governments - told RNZ future prime ministers should take a "much more rigorous" approach than their recent predecessors.
He suggested a structure of 15 ministers in Cabinet and six outside.
"There are a lot of portfolios which, as David Seymour says, are symbolic. The titles are there really to appease sector groups, rather than to deliver specific policy."
Former United Future leader Peter Dunne. Photo: RNZ
Dunne proposed consolidating certain portfolios - such as Internal Affairs, Local Government, and the Voluntary Sector - under a single umbrella.
However, he opposed a hard legislative limit on the number of ministers and questioned Seymour's comparison with Ireland.
Ireland's Constitution limits the size of its Cabinet to a maximum of 15 full ministers, but governments can also appoint junior Ministers of State - of which there are currently 23.
Of those, three are designated "super junior ministers" who attend Cabinet meetings - a practice currently being challenged in the courts.
Former Labour minister Stuart Nash said Seymour's argument had some merit, though considered it ironic coming from someone who had set up the new Ministry for Regulation.
Stuart Nash. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
"Do you really need a new agency to reduce red tape?" Nash said.
"There would never have been a Minister of Regulation - or whatever David Seymour's title is - if it wasn't for ACT. Now is that necessary?"
Nash - who held several Cabinet roles from 2017 through to 2023 - said portfolios were often invented to placate coalition partners or key stakeholders.
"Do we really need a Minister of Fishing and Hunting?" Nash said.
"Under this government, there is now a Minister for Space and a Minister for Manufacturing. When I was [in charge of] economic development, both those portfolios were included [there]."
Still, Nash acknowledged there was sometimes a case for such standalone portfolios to send a message that they were a priority area.
In his Thursday speech, Seymour anticipated accusations of hypocrisy over the Ministry for Regulation and said that was different as his agency was designed to cut bureaucratic bloat, not expand it.
Seymour also argued regulation was a core function of government and so deserved its own oversight.
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