Commerce portfolio for Hide?

Note: this post originally appeared on ‘Douglas to Dancing’, a blog I maintained from 2007-9 on the ACT New Zealand political party. The blog was an extension of the thesis I wrote about the Act Party in 2007, From Douglas to Dancing: explaining the lack of success of ACT New Zealand and evaluating its future prospects (PDF).

Dene Mackenzie suggests in today’s ODT that Rodney Hide may be made Minister of Commerce to conduct a review of legislation:

Mr Hide could become commerce minister, responsible for a review of regulation. He will not be given law and order or energy given Act’s “three strikes and you are out” policy and his call to dump the “dopey emissions trading scam [scheme]”.

This could also mean that ACT gets its Regulatory Responsibility Bill passed as one of its contributions to the new government.

The Herald reports that ACT is still keen to find a role for Douglas. But not at the price of stability – the newspaper quotes Hide as saying:

“The most important thing is to have a secure, stable government that provides security for New Zealand, and second, to have a good relationship between National and Act, as well as other parties.”

Mackenzie also reports that ACT will be supportive rather than extractive of National, in the interests of providing stability. This is to be expected, but ACT will not want to blend into the furniture either.