Labour has almost double the number of MPs as National after the election and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says there is "no question" her party will benefit from it.
National leader Judith Collins unveiled her new shadow Cabinet on Wednesday to match the Government's line-up after the election. But with 65 MPs compared to National's 33, Ardern recognises Labour has a big advantage.
"There is no question that we are going to benefit, and I hope therefore New Zealand will benefit from the fact that we have such a wide range of experience, talent and representation in our caucus," Ardern told reporters in Taranaki.
"We are covering rural areas, urban areas, Māori seats, general seats and we have a wide range of experience that's with us as well. Everything from teachers to doctors to midwives - all of that will matter to us as we make sure that we continue to work on behalf of New Zealand in this COVID recovery."
Ardern said Labour's "breadth of talent" meant she was able to draw from that and create her Cabinet. It's New Zealand's most diverse ever with the first female Māori Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and first gay Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson.
"It's a good, solid mix of experienced Cabinet members whilst also bringing in new energy and talent from our new team as well. I have every confidence in them - both in the parliamentary environment but actually doing the job out on the ground."
Labour flipped 14 National seats on election night and three more when the final results were announced last week. The only seat Labour lost was the Māori electorate Waiariki which was picked up by the Māori Party.
Among Labour's victories were seats that had long been held by National such as New Plymouth. Labour's Glen Bennett won it from National's Jonathan Young by a margin of 1519 votes. Young won it in 2017 by a much larger margin of 7733.
"It is fair to say when you've got a margin of several thousand as this seat did it does take significant work," Ardern said. "But I had an excellent candidate well-embedded in the community and a message that says the regions matter to us - we're going to keep up that investment and keep focusing on jobs.
The Government announced the establishment of a $27 million clean energy centre in Taranaki last year with the aim of creating new opportunities in the region and help lead the country's transition to a low-carbon economy following the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration.
Ardern also announced in July $48 million in infrastructure spending in Taranaki, including $20 million for the repair and upgrade of the quake-prone Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth.
"Ultimately, I think in this region in Taranaki, they saw the investment plans that we had already started and they wanted it to keep going."
Not all of the Government's investments in the region have been well-received.
The Government faced widespread dismay in August after it approved an $11.7 million funding grant for the privately-run Green School in Taranaki. Treasury has since confirmed that the funding is now a loan from the Government following backlash.
But it wasn't enough to deter 50 percent of New Zealanders from voting Labour.
And despite Labour having more than the 61 seats needed to govern alone, it chose to form a 'cooperation agreement' with the Greens, meaning the Labour-Greens block now holds a huge 75 seat majority in Parliament.
Collins has refreshed her Opposition line-up so the same mistakes aren't repeated on the election campaign. Paul Goldsmith has been stripped of the finance portfolio after several billion-dollar mistakes were uncovered in his economic plan during the election campaign.
Collins has basically split the finance role. Andrew Bayly, who is now National's third-ranked MP, will be the numbers man as Shadow Treasurer, while Michael Woodhouse will shadow Finance Minister Grant Robertson in Parliament.
"Andrew is a trained accountant who worked with merchant banks in New Zealand and London. His wealth of financial knowledge will be a real asset," Collins said, when explaining her decision.
"Andrew will work side-by-side with Michael Woodhouse who will take on the finance and transport portfolios. Prior to entering Parliament in 2008 and serving as a minister, Michael worked as an accountant in Dunedin."
Ardern says despite the challenge of managing a caucus of 65, the advantage is the huge diversity that comes with it - which National is now lacking. She says Labour will be ready to defend the new electorates it picked up from National come 2023.
"For us, it's actually about just continuing to roll out the plans that we presented to people that gave them confidence to support us."
