Acting PM Kelvin Davis 'a little bit nervous'

Parliament is into just its second sitting day and third-ranked cabinet minister Kelvin Davis has found himself in charge.

He's acting prime minister because Jacinda Ardern and her deputy Winston Peters are both away at the APEC summit in Vietnam.

"It's an honour but I think my cousins up north will be giving me a bit of a ribbing," he told reporters on his way into the debating chamber.

"It's going to cost me a bit of a shout."

Davis had to face the first question, on Ms Ardern's behalf.

"I'm pretty confident... obviously a little bit nervous, everybody is a little bit nervous, there's a few new MPs who are going to be asking their first questions," he said.

"But we all know Jacinda is in charge."

Davis didn't do too badly with the question from opposition leader Bill English, who wanted to know what "specific measurable targets" the prime minister would use to hold her government to account.

"We will make decisions on appropriate targets in due course," Davis said.

English pressed him on whether that meant previously-announced targets would be revised.

"We are not revising targets," Davis said.