Analysis: Chris Bishop hit hard in PM's reshuffle

Chris Bishop (file image).

Analysis: It was the reshuffle that had been coming for some time, and while there were no major moves in the rankings, one minister suffered more blows than anyone else, writes Tom Day.

Chris Bishop has lost Leader of the House and his role as campaign chair.

Both roles hold significant power.

The Leader of the House manages the business and legislative agenda of the house.

In short what that means is, they decide when bills come to the floor. They can schedule debates and decide to bring parliament into urgency - as we saw this week.

Bishop has now lost that power to Louise Upston.

He also could feel aggrieved to lose his role as campaign chair.

When National suffered one of its worst results in 2020 under Judith Collins, Bishop was tasked with leading the campaign to get National back in to government in 2023.

By all measures he succeeded.

Losing the opportunity to run the campaign to secure a second term in office will feel like not getting to finish the job that he started.

Brown the big winner

Simeon Brown, arguably the greatest winner of the reshuffle, will take it on.

Brown is Auckland based, which National will hope is the key to success on election night.

Chris Penk's rise was widely expected.

While Brown sits in a safe blue seat in Pakuranga, Bishop is in the very marginal seat of Hutt South. Bishop knows what it means to pull in centrist voters who could go to Labour across the aisle.

Brown is a more conservative figure and may face a tougher challenge.

But Bishop's final loss could be the most personal.

He held the role of Associate Minister for Sport and Recreation, not a major portfolio by any stretch.

However it gave him the responsibility of cricket, a sport well loved by Bishop.

Just three weeks ago he led a sports diplomacy delegation to India, where he watched the T20 World Cup final at Narendra Modi stadium.

Unfortunately the Black Caps were pummelled, and Bishop would cop his own pummelling weeks later.

The Prime Minister today didn't mince his words about the role.

"Yeah, I didn't think we needed it," he said dismissively.

Adding: "Chris Bishop, we'll be able to get cricket tickets, it'll be all right."

Bishop has picked up Attorney General a very coveted role.

But that appears to be overshadowed by his losses.

Rumoured coup attempt

The moves come after Bishop was rumoured to be behind a failed coup late last year.

Luxon today denied that had anything to do with his minister losing several of his portfolios, saying he rejected the characterisation of the question completely.

The Prime Minister said the two had a "great conversation", but it's hard to imagine how anyone facing some kind of demotion could describe the conversation they had as "great".

Elsewhere, the rest of the reshuffle was fairly predictable.

Judith Collins' departure at the end of the parliamentary term was one of the drivers behind the reshuffle.

Chris Penk, who has been highly praised, got his expected spot in Cabinet, picking up Defence and GCSB and NZSIS.

Penny Simmonds was promoted into Cabinet picking up Tertiary Education.

She was one of the first ministerial casualties losing disability issues, early on in the government's term.

It appears she's been given a second chance to redeem herself.

But there was no room at the table for James Meager.

Considered a high prospect, Meager still finds himself outside of Cabinet.

New ministers are Cameron Brewer the chair of the prestigious finance and expenditure select committee, while Mike Butterick was an unexpected inclusion as the Minister for Land Information.

While Paul Goldsmith becomes the Minister for the Public Service and potentially a surprise Pacific Peoples.

But it's Bishop's name that will remain at the centre of discussion about this reshuffle.

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