She said her resurrection in the Cabinet frame reflects something she says she's never seen in her time in Parliament, a roles reshuffle that offers a pathway for everyone in the historic new Labour caucus of 64 members.
She said that last week the Prime Minister spoke with them all – "63 conversations, as well as the negotiations with the Green Party."
It was - "I think" – on Sunday that she was contacted by the PM and offered the roles, the 55-year-old Karamu High School old girl was confirmed today as Minister of Customs, Minister for Veterans, Associate Minister of Agriculture (with responsibility for Animal Welfare) and Associate Minister of Statistics.
Deputy Secretary in the Department of Labour, and Senior Adviser to the Minister of Māori Affairs, before entering Parliament in an election after the passing of Minister and Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP Parekura Horomia seven years ago, she became Minister of Customs first-time-around after Labour crept back into office as a Coalition Government leader after the 2017 General Election, and also served as Associate Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Local Government and Crown/Māori Relations, and co-chaired the Labour Māori Caucus.
In 2018, she had to "stand aside" from her ministerial roles during an investigation into an allegation that she assaulted a staff member in her ministerial office.
After the release of an investigation report, she said, she had accepted the stripping of her ministerial duties, and intended to work hard to regain the confidence of Ardern.
She had contested some of the allegations but said at that time: "However I am disappointed my behaviour led to a complaint. I am committed to my own development, including better managing employment relationships."
There's a change of roles for Napier MP Stuart Nash who, while still ranked No 12 in the traditional 20, has shed the ministries of Police, Fisheries and Revenue to become Minister of Economic and Regional Development, Minister of Tourism and Minister of Forestry, while training in the Small Business portfolio.
Hawke's Bay's most senior MP is now in his fourth term, having sat as a List MP from 2008 to 2011 and as Napier's constituency MP since 2014.
With master's degrees in Law, Forestry Science and Management, Nash was in Opposition in that first term. He was appointed Labour's spokesman for Revenue, and associate spokesman for Trade and Forestry, and later spokesman for Forestry, and in the second and third terms stepped-up to bigger roles in Police and Fisheries.
Nash was not immediately able to be contacted by Hawke's Bay Today, but Whaitiri was particularly pleased with his new role, saying his being made Minister of Economic and Regional Development was "huge" for Hawke's Bay, and New Zealand
There is no Cabinet role yet for Wairarapa MP Kieran McAnulty, who was tipped for elevation in the ranks after serving a first term as a List MP but who is expected to stay in the role of Junior Whip, or possibly take on the role of Senior Whip.
But fellow Junior Whip Kiritapu Allan, a former Napier courts judges' researcher, elected last month as East Coast MP after a term as a List MP, is in the Cabinet at No 18, as Minister of Conservation, and Minister for Emergency Management, and Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, and Associate Minister for the Environment.
New MP for Hastings-based Tukituki MP Anna Lorck, the Labour candidate who vanquished single-term National MP and former Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule in the election a fortnight ago, is expected to spend her first term learning the trade from the back benches.
