Ministry for the Environment (New Zealand)

Last updated

Ministry for the Environment
Manatū Mō Te Taiao
MinistryForEnvironmentNZ-logo.svg
Agency overview
Formed1986
JurisdictionNew Zealand
Headquarters8 Willis St,
Wellington 6011
Annual budgetVote Environment
Total budget for 2019/20
Decrease2.svg$994,991,000 [1]
Ministers responsible
Agency executive
  • Vicky Robertson, Chief Executive and Secretary for the Environment
Website environment.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 New Zealand Government on policies and issues affecting the environment, in addition to the relevant environmental laws and standards. The Environment Act 1986 is the statute that establishes the Ministry.

Contents

Description

Functions assigned by Section 31 of the Environment Act 1986 include advising the Minister for the Environment on all aspects of environmental administration, obtaining and disseminating information, and generally providing advice on environmental matters. Since 1988, the Ministry of the Environment has coordinated New Zealand's interdepartmental policy response to climate change. [3]

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.

The Ministry for the Environment administer a number of environmental funds: [4]

It runs the Green Ribbon Awards, which have been given out by the Minister for the Environment since 1990. [5]

The Ministry owns the Environmental Choice New Zealand ecolabel, [6] but it is administered independently by the New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust. [7]

In 1997 the Ministry released New Zealand's first State of the Environment report. [8] This was followed up in 2008 by a second report titled Environment New Zealand 2007. [9] Chapter 13 of this report was removed before final publication but was leaked to the Green Party. After news media reported the existence of the omitted chapter, the Ministry placed the contents on its website. [10]

Ministers

The Ministry serves two portfolios and four ministers. [11]

OFFICEHOLDERPORTFOLIO(S)OTHER RESPONSIBILITY(IES)
Hon David Parker Lead Minister (Ministry for the Environment)
Minister for the Environment
Hon James Shaw Minister for Climate ChangeAssociate Minister for the Environment (Biodiversity)
Hon Peeni Henare Associate Minister for the Environment

List of Ministers for the Environment

Key

   National    Labour

No.NamePortraitTerm of OfficePrime Minister
1 Duncan MacIntyre Duncan MacIntyre Greg Tate (crop).jpg 9 February 19728 December 1972 Marshall
2 Joe Walding Joe Walding portrait.jpg 8 December 197210 September 1974 Kirk
3 Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan.jpg 10 September 197412 December 1975 Rowling
4 Venn Young No image.png 12 December 197512 February 1981 Muldoon
5 Ian Shearer No image.png 12 February 198126 July 1984
6 Russell Marshall Russell Marshall.jpg 26 July 198417 February 1986 Lange
7 Phil Goff Phil Goff, 2003.jpg 17 February 198624 August 1987
8 Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer.jpg 24 August 19872 November 1990
Palmer
Moore
9 Simon Upton Simon Upton 01 crop.jpg 2 November 19903 October 1991 Bolger
10 Rob Storey No image.png 3 October 199129 November 1993
(9) Simon Upton Simon Upton 01 crop.jpg 29 November 199310 December 1999
Shipley
11 Marian Hobbs Marian Hobbs.jpg 10 December 199919 October 2005 Clark
12 David Benson-Pope David Benson-Pope.jpg 19 October 200527 July 2007
- David Parker
(acting)
Hon David Parker.jpg 27 July 200731 October 2007
13 Trevor Mallard Trevor Mallard 2 (cropped).jpg 31 October 200719 November 2008
14 Nick Smith Nick Smith at Lincoln University, 2016.jpg 19 November 200821 March 2012 Key
- Chris Finlayson
(acting)
Chris Finlayson-Net Hui 2011.jpg 21 March 20122 April 2012
15 Amy Adams Amy Adams politician (cropped).jpg 3 April 20126 October 2014
(14) Nick Smith Nick Smith at Lincoln University, 2016.jpg 8 October 201426 October 2017
English
16 David Parker Hon David Parker.jpg 26 October 2017present Ardern
Hipkins


See also

Notes

  1. "Total Appropriations for Each Vote". Budget 2019. The Treasury.
  2. 1 2 "Ministerial List". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  3. Ratnasiri; et al. (12 June 1996). "Report on the in-depth review of the national communication of New Zealand". UNFCCC. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  4. "Sources of funding for projects and participation". Ministry for the Environment. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  5. "The Green Ribbon Awards". Ministry for the Environment. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  6. "About Environmental Choice New Zealand". Environmental Choice New Zealand. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  7. "The New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust". Sustainable Business Council. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  8. 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.
  9. "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.
  10. "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.
  11. "Summary of Ministers and Cabinet portfolios". Ministry for the Environment. Retrieved 16 November 2020.

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References