Leader of the House (New Zealand)

In the New Zealand Parliament, the leader of the House is the government minister appointed by the prime minister to be responsible for the management of Government business in the House of Representatives. This includes determining the order in which the Government's legislative agenda will be addressed in the House. The leader of the House is also an ex officio member of the Parliamentary Service Commission.

Leader of the House
Incumbent
Grant Robertson
since 1 February 2023
AppointerGovernor-General of New Zealand
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
Inaugural holderDavid Thomson
Formation13 December 1978
DeputyKieran McAnulty

History and functions

The first leader of the House was appointed in 1978, although a similar office had existed in Australia since 1951 and another in the United Kingdom for several centuries. The responsibilities of the leader of the House were previously functions exercised by the prime minister.[1]

The leader of the House serves three main functions:[2]

  • Moving motions for the Government that relate to House and committee procedure
  • Determining the order of Government business in the House
  • The primary responsibility for the Government's lawmaking programme

List of leaders of the House

The following individuals have been appointed as leader of the New Zealand House of Representatives:[3]

Key

  National   Labour

No. Portrait Name
Electorate
(Birth–Death)		 Term of office Party Prime minister
Term start Term end
1 David Thomson
MP for Taranaki
(1915–1999)		 13 December
1978		 26 July
1984		 National Robert Muldoon
2 Geoffrey Palmer
MP for Christchurch Central
(born 1942)		 26 July
1984		 24 August
1987		 Labour David Lange
3 Jonathan Hunt
MP for New Lynn
(born 1938)		 24 August
1987		 2 November
1990		 Labour
Geoffrey Palmer
Mike Moore
4 Paul East
MP for Rotorua
(1946–2023)		 2 November
1990		 27 March
1993		 National Jim Bolger
5 Don McKinnon
MP for Albany
(born 1939)		 27 March
1993		 16 December
1996		 National
6 Wyatt Creech
MP for Wairarapa
(born 1946)		 16 December
1996		 31 August
1998		 National
Jenny Shipley
7 Roger Sowry
Party list MP
(born 1958)		 31 August
1998		 10 December
1999		 National
8 Michael Cullen
Party list MP
(1945–2021)		 10 December
1999		 19 November
2008		 Labour Helen Clark
9 Gerry Brownlee
MP for Ilam
(born 1956)		 19 November
2008		 2 May
2017		 National John Key
Bill English
10 Simon Bridges
MP for Tauranga
(born 1976)		 2 May
2017		 26 October
2017		 National
11 Chris Hipkins
MP for Remutaka
(born 1978)		 26 October
2017		 25 January
2023		 Labour Jacinda Ardern
– Grant Robertson[lower-alpha 1]
MP for Wellington Central
(born 1971)		 25 January
2023		 1 February
2023		 Labour Chris Hipkins
12 1 February
2023		 Incumbent
  1. Acting Leader of the House from 25 January until 1 February 2023.

See also

Notes
  1. G.A. Wood, ed. (1996). Ministers and Members in the New Zealand Parliament (2nd ed.). Dunedin: University of Otago Press. p. 62.
  2. "People in Parliament". New Zealand House of Representatives. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  3. Wilson 1985, p. 124.

References
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
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