The Green MPs who'll be ministers

James Shaw has announced the four Green MPs who will be receiving ministerial positions in the next Government.

Jacinda Ardern announced the 16 Labour MPs who would receive ministerial posts on Friday.

The Greens will take the conservation, climate change and women and land information portfolios, and associate roles in finance, environment, transport and health - all outside of Cabinet.

On The Nation on Saturday morning, Mr Shaw told Lisa Owen the four to hold those positions would be himself, Julie Anne-Genter, Eugenie Sage and Jan Logie.

Owen made a prediction about how those positions would be divvied out - guessing conservation and women's affairs would go to Ms Sage, and land information as well as associate transport, health, and environment would go to Ms Genter.

She also predicted the Undersecretary to the Minister of Justice with a special focus on sexual and domestic violence would be Ms Logie - and Marama Davidson would possibly chair the social services select committee.

Mr Shaw, Owen predicted, would receive climate change and associate finance ministerial positions.

"Did we get 100 percent on that test?"

"Not 100 percent," Mr Shaw replied, smiling.

Quizzed on why the Climate Change Minister role would lie outside Cabinet if it's considered a priority, Mr Shaw said that detail wouldn't make much material difference.

"I do know that climate change... will be at the heart of this Government's agenda. That was our whole point during the course of the campaign, and I have to say, one of the areas of alignment with NZ First.

"It requires all three parties to have a high degree of consensus about our direction in order to be able to get these things done."

Mr Shaw also said he doubted a referendum on the personal use of cannabis would be binding, saying "we're actually giving the public of New Zealand the choice about where they want to go with that".

"But if the public of New Zealand says that they either want to maintain the status quo or to change, then Parliament will be cognisant of that."

Mr Shaw says he's not bothered that they're no longer in coalition - saying it better fits the party's direction anyway.

"To the public's mind, we are the Government. The distinction between being in a confidence and supply and a coalition, is to the vast majority of people, is immaterial.

"It actually does give us the leeway to give us a more distinctive voice.

"But it is something that we need to be very mindful of, that we do actually need to make sure that we let people know where our wins have been."

Newshub.