Barbara Edmonds and Simeon Brown emerge as contenders for New Zealand finance minister

With New Zealand’s finance portfolio vacant after Nicola Willis lost her place in Parliament, labour-market figures have named Labour’s Barbara Edmonds and National’s Simeon Brown as possible successors. Their comments highlight how the choice may depend on which parties form the next government. New Zealand Council of Trade Unions president Sandra Grey backed Edmonds, saying her approach would prioritise economic stability and workers’ ability to manage the cost-of-living pressures she linked to Willis’s economic plan. Grey argued that the next finance minister should be an experienced politician from the largest party in a coalition government. The Employers and Manufacturers Association’s head of advocacy and strategy, Alan McDonald, said he expected a National-led coalition and suggested Brown as a likely choice. He described the National MP as a familiar, steady option and anticipated that ACT and New Zealand First could hold associate finance roles, as they do now. McDonald also said businesses could be comfortable with Edmonds if Labour were to lead a coalition, adding that she might be a more reassuring option than some other possible candidates. Grey, meanwhile, urged National leader Christopher Luxon to keep the workplace relations portfolio with National if his party forms the government. The comments come as parties face provisional election results showing a large Parliament, with 131 seats expected because of overhangs. The finance appointment remains part of the wider negotiations over government formation, and no decision on the role is reported in the article.