PM says Act bust-up won't affect Govt

John Boscawen and Rodney Hide announce Heather Roy's resignation of her ministerial portfolios today. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Prime Minister John Key says a "bust-up" within the ACT Party will not destabilise its support arrangement or affect the Government.

Act MP Heather Roy was rolled as deputy leader today, losing out to first-term MP John Boscawen.

With the job go her ministerial responsibilities - and the ministerial part of her pay package.

Mr Key was confident the Government would retain all five ACT Party votes.

"I can't see them voting for anyone else... I am not concerned about our ability to govern in a stable way."

Mr Key was not told the reasons Mrs Roy lost the role but accepted her resignation.

"In a practical sense, if you think about the way the relationships work between the National Party and our associate parties, is that we've offered those warrants really with an implied concept that they apply to the leadership and, in the case of ACT, the deputy leadership," he told reporters.

"I think it was the right thing for Heather Roy to offer her resignation and it's a logical thing for us to extend the new warrant to the new deputy leader."

He had no complaints about her performance and was intending to ring her this evening to thank her for her efforts.

"I think she acted professionally as a minister and did a good job as a minister."

Asked whether the public should be told the reasons when ministers lost their roles, Mr Key said in this case he genuinely did not know those.

He previously sacked one of his ministers, Richard Worth, without saying why but sexual allegations had been swirling around him. Mr Key said the public generally knew the issues there and it was up to them to decide if they accepted his judgement over how Dr Worth was treated.

Under today's reshuffle, Mr Boscawen takes Mrs Roy's consumer minister role and picks up Mr Hide's associate commerce portfolio. Mr Hide takes on associate education and the associate defence role is dropped altogether.

Mr Key said the main work in defence that Mrs Roy had been involved in was largely completed and Defence Minister Wayne Mapp was confident he could handle the portfolio on his own.

Mr Key said the Government was happy to have Mr Boscawen as a minister; he has ruled out ever having Sir Roger Douglas in his Cabinet. Mr Boscawen's strident opposition to the Government's emissions trading scheme was not a problem and he could express views against it, as long as he did not do it in his ministerial capacity, Mr Key said.

"Rodney Hide would do the same, he believes strongly that there shouldn't be an emissions trading scheme and that we are on the wrong track when it comes to climate change ... that didn't stop us having Rodney Hide (as a minister)."

A referendum is to be held alongside next year's election on whether to retain MMP or not and Mr Key said today's events may nudge some people towards supporting the old first past the post model.

However "it may just be seen as an internal turmoil within a small party, they are not the first small party in Parliament to have a bust-up and they may not be the last".

- NZPA




















\NZP