Minister_of_Agriculture_(New_Zealand)

Minister of Agriculture (New Zealand)

Minister of Agriculture (New Zealand)

New Zealand minister of the Crown

The Minister of Agriculture is a minister in the New Zealand Government. It was re-created as a standalone portfolio in 2017 after previously existing continuously from 1889 to 1998, and again from 1999 to 2012. The current Minister is Todd McClay.

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Responsibilities and powers

The minister's responsibilities include protecting and promoting the productivity, sustainability and export performance of New Zealand's agricultural sector.[2] They are also the lead minister for the Ministry for Primary Industries, which is the government department that provides support to the portfolio. Previously the minister was responsible for smaller departments such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The minister is responsible for legislation related to the agricultural sector including the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001.

History

John McKenzie established the Department of Agriculture on 31 March 1892,[3][4] and the first minister, George Richardson, was appointed on 17 October 1889.[5] Prior to Keith Holyoake receiving it in 1949, the portfolio "had become notorious as a political graveyard".[6] The fisheries portfolio was briefly combined in the agriculture portfolio between 1972 and 1977.[7]

In the Shipley minority government, the position was disestablished and replaced with the new role of Minister of Food, Fibre, Biosecurity and Border Control, which consolidated ministerial responsibility for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Fisheries, Land Information New Zealand and the New Zealand Customs Service. The change was unpopular with the farming sector and was reverted by the incoming Labour government in 1999.[8]

In the second and third terms of the Fifth National Government, the portfolio was again disestablished and merged into the larger position of Minister for Primary Industries. A standalone agriculture ministerial position was restored in 2017.[9]

List of ministers of agriculture

Key

  Independent   Liberal   Reform   United   Labour   National   Progressive

More information No., Name ...

Table footnotes:

  1. [N 1]
    as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
  2. [N 2]
    as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries until 8 March 1977
  3. [N 3]
    as Minister of Food, Fibre and Biosecurity

See also

Notes

  1. [1]
    "Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances Determination 2016" (PDF). New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  2. [2]
    "Agriculture". Agriculture. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  3. [3]
    Stringleman, Hugh; Peden, Robert. "Sheep farming – The refrigerated meat trade". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  4. [4]
    "Historical Developments". Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  5. [5]
    "Agriculture (J0004) – History & Notes". Archives New Zealand. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  6. [6]
    Wood, G. A. "Holyoake, Keith Jacka". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  7. [7]
    Wilson 1985, pp. 91, 94.
  8. [8]
    Stevenson, Philippa (29 November 1999). "Rural sector looking for more than cosmetics in new policy". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  9. [9]
    "New government ministers revealed". RNZ. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2023.

References

  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
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