Minister of Agriculture (New Zealand)

The Minister of Agriculture is a ministerial portfolio in the government of New Zealand. It existed from 1889 until 2012, when the Ministry was merged into the larger Ministry of Primary Industries, and again from 2017 onwards as part of the Labour coalition government.

Minister of Agriculture of New Zealand
Coat of Arms of New Zealand
Incumbent
Damien O'Connor
since 26 October 2017
StyleThe Honourable
Member of
Reports toPrime Minister of New Zealand
AppointerGovernor-General of New Zealand
Term lengthAt Her Majesty's pleasure
Formation17 October 1889
First holderGeorge Richardson
Salary$288,900[1]
Websitewww.beehive.govt.nz
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George Richardson was the first holder of the office, and David Carter of the New Zealand National Party was the last before the merge. In the end, there was no Associate Minister of Agriculture, although the position had existed in the past. Carter became the first Minister of Primary Industries. During the Sixth Labour Government, the Primary Industries portfolio was again split into four – Agriculture, Fisheries, Biosecurity and Forestry. The current Minister of Agriculture is Damien O'Connor.

Responsibilities and powers

Since 1998, the Minister of Agriculture was the Responsible Minister for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, commonly known as MAF. Related portfolios included Minister for Biosecurity, Minister of Fisheries, Minister of Forestry, and in the past, Minister for Lands. Since 2017, the portfolio serves the Agriculture section within the Ministry for Primary Industries.

History

John McKenzie established the Department of Agriculture on 31 March 1892,[2][3] and the first minister was appointed on 17 October 1889.[4]

Between 1972 and 1977 the portfolio was titled "Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries"; it was changed on 1 September 1972 when Douglas Carter held the position, and it reverted when Duncan MacIntyre was in office.[5] It was also briefly titled "Minister of Food, Fibre and Biosecurity", but responding to farmers' demands Labour returned it to "Minister of Agriculture" after winning the 1999 election.[6]

Prior to Keith Holyoake receiving it in 1949, the portfolio "had become notorious as a political graveyard".[7]

List of Ministers of Agriculture
Key

  Independent   Liberal   Reform   United   Labour   National   Progressive

No. Name Portrait Term of Office Prime Minister
1 George Richardson 17 October 1889 24 January 1891 Atkinson
2 John McKenzie 24 January 1891 27 June 1900 Ballance
Seddon
3 Thomas Young Duncan 2 July 1900 6 August 1906
Hall-Jones
4 Robert McNab 6 August 1906 30 November 1908 Ward
5 Joseph Ward 1 December 1908 1 May 1909
6 Thomas Mackenzie 1 May 1909 10 July 1912
Mackenzie
7 William Massey 10 July 1912 12 August 1915 Massey
8 William MacDonald 12 August 1915 22 August 1919
9 William Nosworthy 4 September 1919 18 January 1926
Bell
Coates
10 Oswald Hawken 18 January 1926 24 August 1928
11 George Forbes 10 December 1928 28 May 1930 Ward
12 Alfred Murdoch 28 May 1930 22 September 1931 Forbes
13 David Jones 22 September 1931 8 January 1932
14 Charles MacMillan 8 January 1932 6 December 1935
15 Lee Martin 6 December 1935 21 January 1941 Savage
Fraser
16 Jim Barclay 21 January 1941 18 October 1943
17 Ben Roberts 29 October 1943 19 December 1946
18 Ted Cullen 19 December 1946 13 December 1949
19 Keith Holyoake 13 December 1949 26 September 1957 Holland
20 Sidney Walter Smith 26 September 1957 12 December 1957
Holyoake
21 Jerry Skinner 12 December 1957 12 December 1960 Nash
22 William Gillespie 12 December 1960 23 April 1961 Holyoake
23 Thomas Hayman 2 May 1961 2 January 1962
24 Brian Talboys 24 January 1962 22 December 1969
25 Douglas Carter 22 December 1969 8 December 1972
Marshall
26 Colin Moyle 8 December 1972 12 December 1975 Kirk
Rowling
27 Duncan MacIntyre 12 December 1975 26 July 1984 Muldoon
(26) Colin Moyle 26 July 1984 9 February 1990 Lange
Palmer
28 Jim Sutton 9 February 1990 2 November 1990
Moore
29 John Falloon 2 November 1990 29 February 1996 Bolger
30 Lockwood Smith 29 February 1996 26 August 1998
Shipley
31 John Luxton[nb 1] 26 August 1998 10 December 1999
(28) Jim Sutton 10 December 1999 19 October 2005 Clark
32 Jim Anderton 19 October 2005 19 November 2008
33 David Carter 19 November 2008 14 December 2011 Key
2011–2017: No separate appointments
34 Damien O'Connor[nb 2] 26 October 2017 present Ardern

Table footnotes:

  1. as Minister for Food, Fibre and Biosecurity
  2. as Minister of Agriculture, Minister for Biosecurity, Minister for Food Safety and Minister for Rural Communities
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See also
  • Minister for Primary Industries

Notes
  1. "Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances Determination 2016" (PDF). Parliament.nz. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  2. 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.
  3. "Historical Developments". Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  4. "Agriculture (J0004) – History & Notes". Archives New Zealand. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  5. Wilson 1985, pp. 91, 94.
  6. Stevenson, Philippa (29 November 1999). "Rural sector looking for more than cosmetics in new policy". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  7. Wood, G. A. "Holyoake, Keith Jacka". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 30 October 2012.

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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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