Minister of Finance (New Zealand)

The Minister of Finance, originally known as Colonial Treasurer, is a senior figure within the government of New Zealand. The position is often considered to be the most important Cabinet role after that of the Prime Minister.^[1]

The current Minister of Finance is Bill English. There are also two Associate Minister roles. They are currently held by Steven Joyce and Paula Bennett.

Responsibilities and powers

The Minister of Finance is responsible for producing an annual New Zealand budget outlining the government's proposed expenditure. According to Parliament's Standing Orders, the Minister of Finance may veto any parliamentary bill which would have a significant impact on the government's budget plans. The Minister of Finance also supervises the Treasury, which is the government's primary advisor on matters of economic and financial policy. As such, the Minister of Finance has broad control of the government's spending, making the position quite powerful.

Some analysts, such as Jonathan Boston, claim that the Minister of Finance can sometimes hold more influence than the Prime Minister, if the conditions are right. Gordon Coates, Finance Minister in the early 1930s, was sometimes such a figure. Some political scientists, such as Boston, believe that in the government of David Lange, Minister of Finance Roger Douglas held more power than was proper, and that the Treasury was using its control of government finances to take a supervisory role across the whole administration. It was probably for this reason that Lange's successor, Geoffrey Palmer, established the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which could offer the Prime Minister advice independent of that given by individual ministers.

History

The office of Minister of Finance has existed since 1841.^[2] Apart from the office of Prime Minister itself, the only other cabinet posts to have existed since the first cabinet are those of Attorney-General and Minister of Internal Affairs. Originally, the holder of the post was designated "Colonial Treasurer", but this term was replaced with "Minister of Finance" shortly after New Zealand ceased to be a Colony and became a Dominion. This occurred in 1907, during the cabinet of Joseph Ward.

In the past, several Prime Ministers took on the post of Minister of Finance themselves, though in recent times this practice has declined. Robert Muldoon, the last person to concurrently serve as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, created considerable controversy by doing so. It is more common, however, for a Deputy Prime Minister to serve as Minister of Finance. The present Minister of Finance, Bill English, is also the Deputy Prime Minister.

Traditionally Ministers of Finance rank second or third in seniority lists within Westminster-style Cabinets, although initially Harry Lake was ranked at sixth and his successor Robert Muldoon was ranked at eighth; both because of their short service to date in Parliament, and because Keith Holyoake saw Muldoon as too arrogant and ambitious for his own good.

After the 1996 elections, the role of the Minister of Finance was split between two portfolios – that of Minister of Finance and that of Treasurer. The position of Treasurer was senior to that of the Minister of Finance, and was created as part of the coalition agreement between the National Party and New Zealand First. It was established especially for Winston Peters, leader of New Zealand First, who demanded it as part of the deal. When Peters ended the coalition, the position reverted to the National Party, and after the change of government in 1999, it was reincorporated into the old Minister of Finance portfolio by Labour in 2002.

List of Finance Ministers

Colour key (for political parties)
Independent     Liberal     Reform     United     Labour     National

No.		Name	Portrait	Term of Office		Prime Minister
	1	George Cooper		3 May 1841	9 May 1842		none
	2	Alexander Shepherd		9 May 1842	7 May 1856
	3	Dillon Bell		7 May 1856	20 May 1856		Sewell
	4	Charles Brown		20 May 1856	2 June 1856		Fox
	5	Henry Sewell		2 June 1856	4 November 1856		Stafford
	6	William Richmond		4 November 1856	25 February 1859
	(5)	Henry Sewell		25 February 1859	26 April 1859
	(6)	William Richmond		26 April 1859	12 July 1861
	7	Reader Wood		12 July 1861	6 August 1862		Fox
	(3)	Dillon Bell		6 August 1862	21 August 1862		Domett
	(7)	Reader Wood		21 August 1862	24 November 1864
							Whitaker
	8	William Fitzherbert		24 November 1864	16 October 1865		Weld
	9	Edward Stafford		31 October 1865	12 June 1866		Stafford
	10	Francis Jollie		12 June 1866	24 August 1866
	(8)	William Fitzherbert		24 August 1866	28 June 1869
	11	Julius Vogel		28 June 1869	10 September 1872		Fox
	12	Thomas Gillies		10 September 1872	11 October 1872		Stafford
	(11)	Julius Vogel		11 October 1872	6 July 1875		Waterhouse
							Fox
							Vogel
	13	Harry Atkinson		6 July 1875	15 February 1876		Pollen
	(11)	Julius Vogel		15 February 1876	1 September 1876		Vogel
	(13)	Harry Atkinson		1 September 1876	13 October 1877		Atkinson
	14	William Larnach		15 October 1877	5 March 1878		Grey
	15	John Ballance		12 March 1878	1 July 1879
	16	George Grey		10 July 1879	8 October 1879
	(13)	Harry Atkinson		8 October 1879	16 August 1884		Hall
							Whitaker
							Atkinson
	(11)	Julius Vogel		16 August 1884 3 September 1884	28 August 1884 8 October 1887		Stout
	(13)	Harry Atkinson		8 October 1887	24 January 1891		Atkinson
	(15)	John Ballance		24 January 1891	27 April 1893		Ballance
	17	Joseph Ward		1 May 1893	16 June 1896		Seddon
	18	Richard Seddon		16 June 1896	10 June 1906
	19	William Hall-Jones		21 June 1906	6 August 1906		Hall-Jones
	(17)	Joseph Ward		6 August 1906	28 March 1912		Ward
	20	Arthur Myers		28 March 1912	10 July 1912		Mackenzie
	21	James Allen		10 July 1912	12 August 1915		Massey
	(17)	Joseph Ward		12 August 1915	21 August 1919
	(21)	James Allen		4 September 1919	28 April 1920
	22	William Massey†		12 May 1920	10 May 1925
	23	William Nosworthy		14 May 1925	24 May 1926		Bell
							Coates
	24	William Downie Stewart, Jr.		24 May 1926	10 December 1928
	(17)	Joseph Ward		10 December 1928	28 May 1930		Ward
	25	George Forbes		28 May 1930	22 September 1931		Forbes
	(24)	William Downie Stewart, Jr.		22 September 1931	28 January 1933
	26	Gordon Coates		28 January 1933	6 December 1935
	27	Walter Nash		6 December 1935	13 December 1949		Savage
							Fraser
	28	Sidney Holland		13 December 1949	Nov 1954		Holland
	29	Jack Watts		Nov 1954	12 December 1957
							Holyoake
	30	Arnold Nordmeyer		12 December 1957	12 December 1960		Nash
	31	Harry Lake		12 December 1960	March 1967		Holyoake
	32	Robert Muldoon		March 1967	8 December 1972
							Marshall
	33	Bill Rowling		8 December 1972	6 September 1974		Kirk
	34	Bob Tizard		6 September 1974	12 December 1975		Rowling
	(32)	Robert Muldoon		12 December 1975	26 July 1984		Muldoon
	35	Roger Douglas		26 July 1984	14 December 1988		Lange
	36	David Caygill		14 December 1988	2 November 1990
							Palmer
							Moore
	37	Ruth Richardson		2 November 1990	November 1993		Bolger
	38	Bill Birch		Nov 1993	Jan 1999
							Shipley
	39	Bill English		Jan 1999	Jun 1999
	(38)	Bill Birch		Jun 1999	5 December 1999
	40	Michael Cullen		5 December 1999	19 November 2008		Clark
	(39)	Bill English		19 November 2008	incumbent		Key

List of Treasurers

Colour key (for political parties)
NZ First     National     Labour

No.		Name	Portrait	Term of Office		Prime Minister
	1	Winston Peters		16 December 1996	14 August 1998		Bolger
							Shipley
	2	Bill Birch		14 August 1998	Jun 1999
	3	Bill English		Jun 1999	5 December 1999
	4	Michael Cullen		5 December 1999	15 August 2002		Clark

References

1. Clifton, Jane (19 September 2013). "Influentials: Politics". New Zealand Listener. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
2. Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Mr. George Cooper". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington. Retrieved 12 June 2010.

External links

• New Zealand Treasury