6 December 2011

TID-BIT: Cabinet Collective Responsibility and Ministers Outside Cabinet


So, the Dominion Post reports ("Banks, Dunne strike a deal with National"):

"Dunne  - a strong 1080 opponent - will also keep his Associate Minister of Health post. He will be a minister outside cabinet, which means he is not bound by collective responsibility."

No. Not quite.

The position on this has been settled for a number of years now,* and is more nuanced than that.