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Minister of Labour (New Zealand)

New Zealand minister of the Crown

Summary

New Zealand minister of the Crown

The Minister of Labour is a former ministerial position in the New Zealand Government, responsible for labour market regulation and workplace health and safety. It was established in 1892 and was replaced with the new position of Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety in 2014.

Responsibilities

A briefing to the incoming Minister of Labour in 2008 describes the portfolio's primary concern as "the effective operation of New Zealand workplaces." The minister held responsibility for employment relations law (including bargaining, mediation and dispute resolution), setting and enforcing minimum standards for health and safety and employment conditions, and managing the government's relationships with sector bodies such as the Council of Trade Unions and Business New Zealand.

The minister was the responsible minister for the Department of Labour, which was established one year before the first appointment was made. On 1 July 2012, the department was merged into the new Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

History

The Minister of Labour was responsible for employment law including industrial dispute resolution. The position and the accompanying government department were created in 1892 soon after a large strike of New Zealand maritime workers and miners in support of an Australian maritime dispute. The first minister, William Pember Reeves, developed the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894 which was intended to enable unions to negotiate with employers on a more-equal basis. The act also established the first national arbitration court, which gradually established an award system setting standards for minimum pay and conditions for different industries.

In 1973, the law was modernised but retained a level of central control. Ministers of labour would personally get involved in dispute resolution with unions. This ended in 1987 when compulsory arbitration was abolished. Successive labour ministers under the Fourth National Government and Fifth Labour Government progressed significant employment law reforms, resulting first in the Employment Contracts Act 1991 and later the Employment Relations Act 2000. National's Bill Birch was responsible for labour market deregulation, reducing the statutory role of unions which Labour's Margaret Wilson reinstated.

After the 2014 general election, the portfolio was disestablished and replaced by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety.

Office-holders

The following MPs have held the office of Minister of Labour:

;Key

No.NamePortraitTerm of OfficePrime MinisterNew Zealand Liberal Party}}"1New Zealand Liberal Party}}"New Zealand Liberal Party}};"2New Zealand Liberal Party}}"3New Zealand Liberal Party}}"4New Zealand Liberal Party}}"5New Zealand Liberal Party}}"(4)New Zealand Liberal Party}}"6Reform Party (New Zealand)}}"7Reform Party (New Zealand)}}"8Reform Party (New Zealand)}}"9Reform Party (New Zealand)}}"10United Party (New Zealand)}}"11United Party (New Zealand)}}"12Reform Party (New Zealand)}}"13New Zealand Labour Party}}"14New Zealand Labour Party}}"15New Zealand Labour Party}};"16New Zealand Labour Party}};"17New Zealand National Party}}"18New Zealand National Party}}"19New Zealand National Party}}"New Zealand Labour Party}}"20New Zealand National Party}}"21New Zealand National Party}}"22New Zealand National Party}}"23New Zealand Labour Party}}"24New Zealand Labour Party}}"25New Zealand National Party}}"26New Zealand National Party}}"27New Zealand Labour Party}}"28New Zealand Labour Party}}"29New Zealand National Party}}"30New Zealand National Party}}"31New Zealand National Party}}"32New Zealand National Party}}"33New Zealand National Party}}"New Zealand Labour Party}}"34New Zealand Labour Party}}"35New Zealand Labour Party}}"36New Zealand Labour Party}}"37New Zealand National Party}}"38New Zealand National Party}}"New Zealand National Party}}"39
William Pember Reeves[[File:William Pember Reeves (crop).jpg75px]]31 May 189210 January 1896New Zealand Liberal Party}};"Ballance
New Zealand Liberal Party}};"Seddon
Richard Seddon[[File:Richard Seddon, 1906.jpg75px]]10 January 189610 June 1906New Zealand Liberal Party}};"
William Hall-Jones[[File:William Hall-Jones 2.jpg75px]]21 June 19066 August 1906New Zealand Liberal Party}}"Hall-Jones
John A. Millar[[File:John Andrew Millar.jpg75px]]6 August 19066 January 1909New Zealand Liberal Party}}"Ward
Alexander Hogg[[File:Alexander Wilson Hogg, ca 1901(2).jpg75px]]6 January 190917 June 1909
John A. Millar[[File:John Andrew Millar.jpg75px]]17 June 190928 March 1912
George Laurenson[[File:George Laurenson, 1913.jpg75px]]28 March 191210 July 1912New Zealand Liberal Party}}"Mackenzie
William Massey[[File:William Ferguson Massey 1919.jpg75px]]10 July 191214 May 1920Reform Party (New Zealand)}}"Massey
William Herries[[File:William Herries (crop).jpg75px]]17 May 19207 February 1921
George Anderson[[File:George James Anderson.jpg75px]]1 March 192126 November 1928Reform Party (New Zealand)}}"
Reform Party (New Zealand)}}"Bell
Reform Party (New Zealand)}}"Coates
Robert Wright[[File:Robert Alexander Wright.jpg75px]]28 November 192810 December 1928Reform Party (New Zealand)}}"
Bill Veitch[[File:Bill Veitch.jpg75px]]10 December 192828 May 1930United Party (New Zealand)}}"Ward
Sydney Smith[[File:Sydney George Smith, year unknown.jpg75px]]28 May 193022 September 1931United Party (New Zealand)}}"Forbes
Adam Hamilton[[File:Adam Hamilton (1926).jpg75px]]22 September 19316 December 1935
Tim Armstrong[[File:Tim Armstrong 1935.jpg75px]]6 December 193513 December 1938New Zealand Labour Party}};"Savage
Paddy Webb[[File:Paddy Webb.jpg75px]]13 December 193827 June 1946
New Zealand Labour Party}};"New Zealand Labour Party}};"Fraser
James O'Brien[[File:Jim O'Brien.jpg75px]]27 June 194619 December 1946
Angus McLagan[[File:Angus McLagan.tif75px]]19 December 194612 December 1949
Bill Sullivan[[File:Bill Sullivan.jpg75px]]13 December 194913 February 1957New Zealand National Party}}"Holland
John McAlpine[[File:John McAlpine.jpg75px]]13 February 195712 December 1957
New Zealand National Party}}"Holyoake
Fred Hackett[[File:Fred Hacket, 1958.jpg75px]]12 December 195712 December 1960New Zealand Labour Party}}"Nash
Tom Shand[[File:Tom Shand crop.jpg75px]]12 December 196011 December 1969New Zealand National Party}}"Holyoake
Jack Marshall[[File:Jack Marshall, 1972.jpg75px]]12 December 19697 February 1972
David Thomson[[File:David Spence Thomson.jpg75px]]7 February 19728 December 1972New Zealand National Party}}"Marshall
Hugh Watt[[File:Hugh Watt, 1951 (1).jpg75px]]8 December 197210 September 1974New Zealand Labour Party}}"Kirk
Arthur Faulkner[[File:Arthur Faulkner, 1951 (1).jpg75px]]10 September 197412 December 1975New Zealand Labour Party}}"Rowling
Peter Gordon[[File:No image.png75px]]12 December 197513 December 1978New Zealand National Party}}"Muldoon
Jim Bolger[[File:Bolger, 1992.jpg75px]]13 December 197826 July 1984
Stan Rodger[[File:Stan Rodger, 1970.jpg75px]]26 July 19848 August 1989New Zealand Labour Party}}"Lange
Helen Clark[[File:Helen Clark UNDP 2010.jpg75px]]8 August 19892 November 1990New Zealand Labour Party}}"Palmer
New Zealand Labour Party}}"Moore
Bill Birch[[File:Bill Birch.jpg75px]]2 November 199027 March 1993New Zealand National Party}}"Bolger
Maurice McTigue[[File:No image.png75px]]27 March 199321 December 1993
Doug Kidd[[File:Doug Kidd 2014 (cropped).jpg75px]]21 December 199316 December 1996
Max Bradford[[File:Max Bradford.jpg75px]]16 December 199610 December 1999
New Zealand National Party}}"Shipley
Margaret Wilson[[File:Margaret Wilson crop.jpg75px]]10 December 199926 February 2004New Zealand Labour Party}}"Clark
Paul Swain[[File:Paul Swain (cropped).jpg75px]]26 February 200419 October 2005
Ruth Dyson[[File:Ruth Dyson, 2011.jpg75px]]19 October 20055 November 2007
Trevor Mallard[[File:Trevor Mallard 2 (cropped).jpg75px]]5 November 200719 November 2008
Kate Wilkinson[[File:Kate Wilkinson crop.jpg75px]]19 November 20086 November 2012New Zealand National Party}}"Key
Chris Finlayson
Acting Minister[[File:Chris Finlayson-Net Hui 2011.jpg75px]]6 November 201231 January 2013
Simon Bridges[[File:Simon Bridges 2010 (cropped).jpg75px]]31 January 20136 October 2014

Notes

References

References

  1. Department of Labour. (2008). "Briefing for Incoming Ministers".
  2. Derby, Mark. (12 November 1912). "Strikes and labour disputes".
  3. Evans, Lewis. "Law and the economy".
  4. Olssen, Erik. (21 October 1912). "Unions and employee organisations".
  5. Anderson, Gordon. (1991). "The Employment Contracts Act 1991: an employers' charter?". New Zealand Journal of Industrial Relations.
  6. "The Employment Contracts Act and its economic impact - New Zealand Parliament".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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