Ministry for the Environment (New Zealand)

Ministry for the Environment
Manatū Mō Te Taiao
Agency overview
Formed 1986
Jurisdiction New Zealand
Headquarters Environment House,
23 Kate Sheppard Place,
Thorndon
Wellington 6011
Annual budget Vote Environment
Total budget for 2017/18
Increase$871,489,000[1]
Ministers responsible
Agency executive
  • Vicky Robertson, Chief Executive and Secretary for the Environment
Website www.mfe.govt.nz

The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) (Māori: Manatū Mō Te Taiao) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on policies and issues affecting the environment, in addition to the relevant environmental laws and standards.

The Environment Act 1986 is the foundation law establishing the Ministry.

Description

According to their website, the Ministry for the Environment is the New Zealand government's "principal adviser on the environment" and "on international environmental matters".[3] Since 1988, the Ministry of the Environment has coordinated New Zealand's interdepartmental policy response to climate change.[4]

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.

In 1997 the Ministry released New Zealand's first State of the Environment report.[5] This was followed up in 2008 by a second report titled Environment New Zealand 2007.[6] Chapter 13 of this report was removed before final publication but was leaked to the Green Party. After the media reported the existence of the omitted chapter the Ministry placed the contents on its website.[7]

The Ministry for the Environment administer a number of environmental funds:[8]

  • Waste Minimisation Fund
  • Environmental Legal Assistance Fund
  • Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund

They also run the Green Ribbon Awards which have been given out by the Minister for the Environment since 1990.[9]

Ministers

The Ministry serves 2 portfolios and 4 ministers.

OFFICEHOLDERPORTFOLIO(S)OTHER RESPONSIBILITY(IES)
Hon David ParkerLead Minister (Ministry for the Environment)
Minister for the Environment
Hon Nanaia MahutaAssociate Minister for the Environment
Hon James ShawMinister for Climate Change
Hon Eugenie SageAssociate Minister for the Environment

List of Ministers for the Environment

Colour key (for political parties)
  Labour     National  
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)		 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)		 21 March 2012 April 2012
14 Amy Adams 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

Notes

  1. ↑ "Total Appropriations for Each Vote". 2017 Budget. The Treasury.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ministerial List". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  3. ↑ "About the Ministry for the Environment". Mfe.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 25 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Ratnasiri; et al. (12 June 1996). "Report on the in-depth review of the national communication of New Zealand". UNFCCC. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "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.
  8. ↑ "Sources of funding for projects and participation". Ministry for the Environment. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  9. ↑ "The Green Ribbon Awards". Ministry for the Environment. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.

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.
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