Minister of Finance (New Zealand)
| Minister of Finance of New Zealand | |
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| The Treasury | |
| Style | The Honourable |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | Prime Minister of New Zealand |
| Appointer | Governor-General of New Zealand |
| Term length | At Her Majesty's pleasure |
| Formation | 3 May 1841 |
| First holder | George Cooper as Colonial Treasurer |
| Salary | $288,900 |
| Website | www.beehive.govt.nz |
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 post after that of the Prime Minister.
The current Minister of Finance is Steven Joyce. There are also two Associate Minister roles. They are currently held by Amy Adams and Simon Bridges.
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.
The office of Minister of Finance has existed since 1841. 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.
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