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.
Responsibilities and powers The minister's responsibilities include protecting and promoting the productivity, sustainability and export performance of New Zealand's agricultural sector. 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, and the first minister, George Richardson, was appointed on 17 October 1889. Prior to Keith Holyoake receiving it in 1949, the portfolio "had become notorious as a political graveyard". The fisheries portfolio was briefly combined in the agriculture portfolio between 1972 and 1977.
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.
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.
List of ministers of agriculture
Key
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 Tom 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 1915Massey 8 William MacDonald 12 August 1915 22 August 1919 9William Nosworthy 4 September 191918 January 1926 BellCoates 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 1931Forbes 13 David Jones 22 September 1931 8 January 1932 14 Charles Macmillan 8 January 1932 6 December 193515Lee Martin6 December 193521 January 1941 SavageFraser 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 Sid 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 1961Holyoake 23 Thomas Hayman 2 May 1961 2 January 1962 24 Brian Talboys 24 January 1962 22 December 196925Douglas Carter 22 December 19698 December 1972 Marshall26Colin Moyle8 December 197212 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 26 August 1998 10 December 1999 (28) Jim Sutton 10 December 1999 19 October 2005Clark 32 Jim Anderton 19 October 2005 19 November 2008 33 David Carter 19 November 2008 14 December 2011 Key2011–2017: No separate appointments34Damien O'Connor26 October 201727 November 2023 Ardern Hipkins 35 Todd McClay 27 November 2023 present Luxon
Table footnotes:
See also Minister for Primary Industries
Notes
References
External links Agriculture portfolio at the New Zealand Government website Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry