New Zealand order of precedence

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The Order of precedence in New Zealand is a guide to the relative seniority of constitutional office holders and certain others, to be followed, as appropriate at State and official functions. The previous order of precedence (approved^[1] and amended^[2]) is revoked and Her Majesty The Queen approved the following Order of Precedence in New Zealand effective 2 May 2017:

1. The Queen of New Zealand.^[3][4]
2. The Governor-General or, while acting in the place of the Governor-General, the officer administering the Government^[5]
   • Her Excellency The Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy GNZM QSO DStJ
3. The Prime Minister.
   • The Rt Hon. Jacinda Ardern MP
4. The Speaker of the House of Representatives
   • The Rt Hon. Trevor Mallard MP
5. The Chief Justice
   • The Rt Hon. Dame Sian Elias GNZM PC QC
6. The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps
   • His Excellency Leasi Papalii Tommy Scanlan of Samoa (12 January 2017)^[6]
7. The Deputy Prime Minister
   • The Rt Hon. Winston Peters MP PC
8. Ministers of the Crown (ordered by ministerial rank; list as of 26 October 2017)^[7][8]
   • The Hon. Kelvin Davis MP
   • The Hon. Grant Robertson MP
   • The Hon. Phil Twyford MP
   • The Hon. Dr Megan Woods MP
   • The Hon. Chris Hipkins MP
   • The Hon. Andrew Little MP
   • The Hon. Carmel Sepuloni MP
   • The Hon. Dr David Clark MP
   • The Hon. David Parker MP
   • The Hon. Nanaia Mahuta MP
   • The Hon. Stuart Nash MP
   • The Hon. Iain Lees-Galloway MP
   • The Hon. Jenny Salesa MP
   • The Hon. Damien O'Connor MP
   • The Hon. Ron Mark MP
   • The Hon. Tracey Martin MP
   • The Hon. Shane Jones MP

   Ministers Outside of Cabinet

   • The Hon. Kris Faafoi MP
   • The Hon. Peeni Henare MP
   • The Hon. Willie Jackson MP
   • The Hon. Aupito William Sio MP
   • The Hon. Meka Whaitiri MP

   Support Party Ministers

   • The Hon. James Shaw MP
   • The Hon. Julie Anne Genter MP
   • The Hon. Eugenie Sage MP
9. Former Governors-General
   • The Hon. Dame Catherine Tizard ONZ GCMG GCVO DBE QSO 1990–1996
   • The Rt Hon. Sir Michael Hardie Boys GNZM GCMG QSO 1996–2001
   • The Hon. Dame Silvia Cartwright PCNZM DBE QSO 2001–2006
   • The Rt Hon. Sir Anand Satyanand GNZM QSO 2006–2011
   • The Rt Hon. Sir Jerry Mateparae GNZM QSO KStJ 2011–2016
10. Ambassadors and High Commissioners in New Zealand and Chargés d’Affaires accredited to New Zealand.^[9]
11. The Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of New Zealand
    • The Hon. Simon Bridges MP
12. Leaders, including co-leaders and joint leaders, of political parties represented in the House of Representatives, other than Ministers of the Crown.
    • David Seymour MP – Leader, ACT New Zealand (4 October 2014)
13. Members of the House of Representatives. There is no established order of precedence over members of parliament in general, although each party has its internal ranking.
14. Judges of the Supreme Court of New Zealand,^[10] the Court of Appeal^[11] and the High Court of New Zealand.^[12][13]
15. Former Prime Ministers, former Speakers of the House of Representatives, former Chief Justices, and members of the Privy Council.

    Until 1999 it was traditional for the Prime Minister, senior and long-serving Ministers of the Crown, the Chief Justice and Judges of the Court of Appeal to be appointed to the Privy Council. No appointments were made from 2000, and in 2010 steps were taken to discontinue such appointments.^[14]

    Former Prime Ministers

    • The Rt Hon. Sir Geoffrey Palmer KCMG (8 August 1989 – 4 September 1990)
    • The Rt Hon. Mike Moore ONZ (4 September 1990 – 2 November 1990)
    • The Rt Hon. Jim Bolger ONZ (2 November 1990 – 8 December 1997)
    • The Rt Hon. Dame Jenny Shipley DNZM (8 December 1997 – 10 December 1999)
    • The Rt Hon. Helen Clark ONZ SSI (10 December 1999 – 19 November 2008)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir John Key GNZM AC (19 November 2008 – 12 December 2016)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir Bill English KNZM (12 December 2016 – 26 October 2017)

    Former Speakers of the House of Representatives

    • The Rt Hon. Sir Kerry Burke (15 August 1987 – 27 October 1990)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir Robin Gray (27 October 1990 – 6 November 1993)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir Doug Kidd KNZM (12 October 1996 – 5 December 1999)
    • The Rt Hon. Jonathan Hunt ONZ (5 December 1999 – 3 March 2005)
    • The Hon. Margaret Wilson DCNZM (3 March 2005 – 8 November 2008)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir Lockwood Smith KNZM (8 November 2008 – 1 February 2013)
    • The Rt Hon. David Carter MP (1 February 2013 - 7 November 2017)

    Former Chief Justices

    • The Rt Hon. Sir Thomas Eichelbaum GBE QC (1 November 1989 – 17 May 1999)

    Members of the Privy Council

    • The Rt Hon. Jonathan Hunt ONZ (1 November 1989) (former Speaker of the House of Representatives, see above)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir Michael Hardie Boys (1 November 1989) (former Governor-General, see above)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir Don McKinnon ONZ GCVO (8 April 1992)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir Bill Birch GNZM (8 April 1992)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir John Henry KNZM QC (19 November 1996)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir Ted Thomas KNZM (19 November 1996)
    • The Rt Hon. Winston Peters (24 June 1998) (Current Deputy Prime Minister, see above)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir Doug Graham KNZM (24 June 1998)
    • The Rt Hon. Paul East CNZM QC (24 June 1998)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir Kenneth Keith ONZ KBE QC (24 June 1998)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir Peter Blanchard KNZM (24 June 1998)
    • The Rt Hon. Sir Andrew Tipping (24 June 1998)
    • The Rt Hon. Wyatt Creech CNZM (24 November 1999)
    • The Rt Hon. Dame Sian Elias (24 November 1999) (Current Chief Justice, see above)
    • The Rt Hon. Simon Upton (14 December 1999)
16. Mayors of territorial authorities and chairpersons of regional councils, while in their own cities, districts and regions. In 1989, boroughs and counties were amalgamated into district councils. District mayors, and the Chatham Islands mayor could expect to be accorded this same precedence.
17. The State Services Commissioner, Chief of Defence Force, Commissioner of Police, and Officers of Parliament (The Controller and Auditor-General, Chief Ombudsman, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment).
    • The State Services Commissioner – Iain Rennie (1 July 2008)^[15]
    • Chief of Defence Force – Lieutenant General Tim Keating MNZM (31 January 2014)
    • Commissioner of Police – Mike Bush MNZM (3 April 2014)
    • Officers of Parliament

      Controller and Auditor-General – John Ryan 2 July 2018^[16][17]

      Chief Ombudsman – Dame Beverley Wakem DNZM CBE (23 April 2008)^[18]

      The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment – Rt Hon. Simon Upton (16 October 2017)

18. The Solicitor-General, Clerk of the House of Representatives, and Clerk of the Executive Council when attending a function involving the exercise of the position’s specific responsibilities.
    • The Solicitor-General – Michael Heron QC (24 July 2012)
    • The Clerk of the Parliament of New Zealand – Mary Harris (13 December 2007)^[19]
    • The Clerk of the Executive Council – Michael Webster (18 March 2014)^[20]
19. Chief executives of public service and non-public service departments.^[21]
20. The Vice Chief of Defence Force, and Chiefs of Navy, Army and Air Force, and other statutory office holders.
    • Vice Chief of Defence Force Air Vice Marshal Kevin Short (31 March 2014)
    • Chief of Navy – Rear Admiral John Martin ONZM (30 November 2015)
    • Chief of Army – Major General Peter Kelly MNZM (10 September 2015)
    • Chief of Air Force – Air Vice Marshal Tony Davies MNZM (23 March 2016)
21. Consuls-General and Consuls of countries without diplomatic representation in New Zealand.
22. Members of New Zealand and British orders, and holders of decorations and medals in accordance with the Order of Wear in New Zealand.^[22]

References