Ministry for the Environment (New Zealand)
The Ministry for the Environment (MfE; Māori: Manatū Mō Te Taiao) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the New Zealand Government on policies and issues affecting the environment, in addition to the relevant environmental laws and standards. The Environment Act 1986 is the statute that establishes the Ministry.
Manatū Mō Te Taiao | |
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Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1986 |
Jurisdiction | New Zealand |
Headquarters | Environment House, 23 Kate Sheppard Place, Thorndon Wellington 6011 |
Annual budget | Vote Environment Total budget for 2019/20 ![]() |
Ministers responsible |
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Agency executive |
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Website | www |
Description
Functions assigned by Section 31 of the Environment Act 1986 include advising the Minister for the Environment on all aspects of environmental administration, obtaining and disseminating information, and generally providing advice on environmental matters. Since 1988, the Ministry of the Environment has coordinated New Zealand's interdepartmental policy response to climate change.[3]
The Environmental Protection Authority was set up in 2011 to carry out some of the environmental regulatory functions of the MfE as well as other government departments.
The Ministry for the Environment administer a number of environmental funds:[4]
- Waste Minimisation Fund
- Environmental Legal Assistance Fund
- Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund
It runs the Green Ribbon Awards, which have been given out by the Minister for the Environment since 1990.[5]
The Ministry owns the Environmental Choice New Zealand ecolabel,[6] but it is administered independently by the New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust.[7]
In 1997 the Ministry released New Zealand's first State of the Environment report.[8] This was followed up in 2008 by a second report titled Environment New Zealand 2007.[9] Chapter 13 of this report was removed before final publication but was leaked to the Green Party. After news media reported the existence of the omitted chapter, the Ministry placed the contents on its website.[10]
Ministers
The Ministry serves 2 portfolios and 4 ministers.
OFFICEHOLDER | PORTFOLIO(S) | OTHER RESPONSIBILITY(IES) |
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Hon David Parker | Lead Minister (Ministry for the Environment) Minister for the Environment | |
Hon Nanaia Mahuta | Associate Minister for the Environment | |
Hon James Shaw | Minister for Climate Change | |
Hon Eugenie Sage | Associate Minister for the Environment |
List of Ministers for the Environment
- Key
No. | Name | Portrait | Term of Office | Prime Minister | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Duncan MacIntyre | ![]() |
9 February 1972 | 8 December 1972 | Marshall | ||
2 | Joe Walding | ![]() |
8 December 1972 | 10 September 1974 | Kirk | ||
3 | Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan | ![]() |
10 September 1974 | 12 December 1975 | Rowling | ||
4 | Venn Young | ![]() |
12 December 1975 | 12 February 1981 | Muldoon | ||
5 | David Thomson | ![]() |
12 February 1981 | 26 July 1984 | |||
6 | Russell Marshall | ![]() |
26 July 1984 | 17 February 1986 | Lange | ||
7 | Phil Goff | ![]() |
17 February 1986 | 24 August 1987 | |||
8 | Geoffrey Palmer | ![]() |
24 August 1987 | 2 November 1990 | |||
Palmer | |||||||
Moore | |||||||
9 | Simon Upton | ![]() |
2 November 1990 | 10 December 1999 | Bolger | ||
Shipley | |||||||
10 | Marian Hobbs | ![]() |
10 December 1999 | 19 October 2005 | Clark | ||
11 | David Benson-Pope | ![]() |
19 October 2005 | 27 July 2007 | |||
- | David Parker (acting) |
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27 July 2007 | 31 October 2007 | |||
12 | Trevor Mallard | ![]() |
31 October 2007 | 19 November 2008 | |||
13 | Nick Smith | ![]() |
19 November 2008 | 21 March 2012 | Key | ||
- | Chris Finlayson (acting) |
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21 March 2012 | 2 April 2012 | |||
14 | Amy Adams | ![]() |
3 April 2012 | 6 October 2014 | |||
(13) | Nick Smith | ![]() |
8 October 2014 | 26 October 2017 | |||
English | |||||||
15 | David Parker | ![]() |
26 October 2017 | present | Ardern | ||
See also
- Climate change in New Zealand
- Environment Court of New Zealand
- Govt3, a discontinued sustainability programme
- List of environmental laws by country: New Zealand
- Resource Management Act 1991, a major statute for environmental protection
Notes
- "Total Appropriations for Each Vote". Budget 2019. The Treasury.
- "Ministerial List". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- Ratnasiri; et al. (12 June 1996). "Report on the in-depth review of the national communication of New Zealand". UNFCCC. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
- "Sources of funding for projects and participation". Ministry for the Environment. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
- "The Green Ribbon Awards". Ministry for the Environment. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
- "About Environmental Choice New Zealand". Environmental Choice New Zealand. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- "The New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust". Sustainable Business Council. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- The State of New Zealand’s Environment 1997 Archived 9 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Report Ref. ME612, Ministry for the Environment, Wellington, New Zealand.
- "State of Environment New Zealand report welcomed". New Zealand Government. 31 January 2008. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
- "Ministry stands by decision to drop conclusion chapter Media release: 11 February 2008". Ministry for the Environment. 11 February 2008. Archived from the original on 2 April 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
References
- Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)