Attorney-General (New Zealand)

Attorney-General of New Zealand
Attorney-General of New Zealand
Te Rōia Matua o Aotearoa (Māori)
	Coat of arms of New Zealand
	Flag of New Zealand
	Incumbent; Judith Collins; since 27 November 2023
	Crown Law Office; Parliamentary Counsel Office; Serious Fraud Office
Style	The Honourable
Member of	Cabinet of New Zealand; Executive Council;
Reports to	Prime Minister of New Zealand
Seat	Wellington
Nominator	Prime Minister
Appointer	Governor-General of New Zealand; on the advice of the prime minister
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation	7 May 1856
First holder	Frederick Whitaker
Salary	$288,900
Website	www.beehive.govt.nz

The Attorney-General (Māori: Rōia Matua)^[2] is a political and legal officer in New Zealand. The Attorney-General is simultaneously a ministerial position and the chief law officer of the Crown, and has responsibility for supervising New Zealand law and advising the government on legal matters. The Attorney-General serves both a political and apolitical function.^[3] The current Attorney-General is Judith Collins.

Responsibilities and powers

The Attorney-General has two main areas of official responsibility. One, the Attorney-General has ministerial jurisdiction over the Crown Law Office and the Parliamentary Counsel Office.^[4] They also had responsibility for the Serious Fraud Office from its founding in 1990 until 2008, when it was transferred to the Minister of Police.^[5] Two, the Attorney-General is the principal law officer of the Crown, responsible for supervising the state's administration of the law and for providing legal advice to the government.^[4] This includes upholding the rule of law^[6] and advising on compliance with domestic and international obligations.^[7] In the latter role (but strictly not in the former), the Attorney-General is assisted by the Solicitor-General, a non-partisan official.^[8] This reduces the extent to which the Attorney-General's actions on behalf of the state (as opposed to the government) can be influenced by their political allegiance.^[9]

A more complete description of the Attorney-General's powers can be found in the briefings to the incoming Attorney-General prepared by the Crown Law Office (most recently in 2020).

At present, there is no statutory basis which establishes the office of Attorney-General, although the position is referenced by a number of other legal documents, such as the Constitution Act 1986 which allows the Solicitor-General to exercise the functions of the Attorney-General.^[10] The functions of the Attorney-General are also described in the Cabinet Manual.^[11]

There is no constitutional duty on the government to follow the advice of the law officers.^[12] The Cabinet Manual outlines the process by which the legal advice provided by the Attorney-General (and others) may be disclosed.^[13]

The Attorney-General is also responsible for advising the Governor-General on who should be appointed judges of the courts of New Zealand.^[14]

History

The post of Attorney-General has existed since the separation of New Zealand as a distinct Crown Colony from New South Wales. It is a distinct position from that of Minister of Justice, although the two posts are sometimes held by the same person, for example, Martyn Finlay held both positions from 1972 to 1975.

Historically, the post could be held either by a politician or by a senior jurist, but today, it is invariably held by a member of Parliament. The Attorney-General is a member of the Executive Council and is usually appointed as a member of the Cabinet. (An exception is when David Lange was appointed Attorney-General outside Cabinet from 1989 to 1990.)

By tradition, persons appointed Attorney-General have been lawyers. Only two attorneys-general have not been lawyers, most recently Michael Cullen who held the post in 2005 and again from 2006 to 2008. In November 1906, when Albert Pitt died, there was no lawyer in the governing Liberal Party who was free take up the position.^[15] Hence Joseph Ward appointed John Findlay to the Legislative Council on 23 November 1906^[16]^: 153 and appointed him Attorney-General and Colonial Secretary on the same day.^[16]^: 74

The table below is an incomplete listing of New Zealand politicians who have held political appointment as Attorney-General since 1856. It does not show non-political attorneys-general. There were two previous attorneys-general before responsible government was introduced in New Zealand in 1856: Francis Fisher who held office for less than one year in 1841, and William Swainson who held office until 7 May 1856. Peter Wilkinson was the half-brother of his successor, Jim McLay.

List of attorneys-general

Key

Independent Liberal Reform United Labour National

	Name	Term of office
1	Frederick Whitaker	7 May 1856	20 May 1856	Sewell
2	William Fox	20 May 1856	2 June 1856	Fox
(1)	Frederick Whitaker	2 June 1856	12 July 1861	Stafford
(2)	William Fox	12 July 1861	2 August 1861	Fox
3	Henry Sewell	2 August 1861	6 August 1862	Fox
4	Thomas Gillies	6 August 1862	23 August 1862	Domett
(3)	Henry Sewell	23 August 1862	1 January 1863
(1)	Frederick Whitaker	1 January 1863	24 November 1864
(1)	Frederick Whitaker	1 January 1863	24 November 1864	Whitaker
(3)	Henry Sewell	24 November 1864	16 October 1865	Weld
5	James Prendergast	16 October 1865	1 September 1876	Stafford
(1)	Frederick Whitaker	1 September 1876	13 October 1877	Atkinson
6	Robert Stout	13 October 1877	8 October 1879	Grey
(1)	Frederick Whitaker	21 April 1882	25 September 1883	Whitaker
7	Edward Conolly	25 September 1883	16 August 1884	Atkinson
(6)	Robert Stout	16 August 1884	8 October 1887	Stout
(1)	Frederick Whitaker	11 October 1887	24 January 1891	Atkinson
8	Patrick Buckley	24 January 1891	20 December 1895	Ballance
8	Patrick Buckley	24 January 1891	20 December 1895	Seddon
9	Albert Pitt	22 June 1903	18 November 1906	Seddon
				Hall-Jones
				Ward
10	John Findlay	18 November 1906	26 December 1911	Ward
-	Josiah Hanan acting	28 March 1912	10 July 1912	Mackenzie
11	Alexander Herdman	10 July 1912	4 February 1918	Massey
12	Francis Bell	4 February 1918	18 January 1926	Massey
				Bell
				Coates
13	William Downie Stewart Jr	18 January 1926	24 May 1926
14	Frank Rolleston	24 May 1926	10 December 1928
15	Thomas Sidey	10 December 1928	22 September 1931	Ward
15	Thomas Sidey	10 December 1928	22 September 1931	Forbes
(13)	William Downie Stewart Jr	22 September 1931	28 January 1933
16	George Forbes	28 January 1933	6 December 1935
17	Rex Mason	6 December 1935	13 December 1949	Savage
17	Rex Mason	6 December 1935	13 December 1949	Fraser
18	Clifton Webb	13 December 1949	26 November 1954	Holland
19	Jack Marshall	26 November 1954	12 December 1957	Holland
19	Jack Marshall	26 November 1954	12 December 1957	Holyoake
(17)	Rex Mason	12 December 1957	12 December 1960	Nash
20	Ralph Hanan	12 December 1960	22 December 1969	Holyoake
(19)	Jack Marshall	22 December 1969	2 February 1971
21	Dan Riddiford	2 February 1971	9 February 1972
22	Roy Jack	9 February 1972	8 December 1972	Marshall
23	Martyn Finlay	8 December 1972	12 December 1975	Kirk
23	Martyn Finlay	8 December 1972	12 December 1975	Rowling
24	Peter Wilkinson	12 December 1975	13 December 1978	Muldoon
25	Jim McLay	13 December 1978	26 July 1984	Muldoon
26	Geoffrey Palmer	26 July 1984	4 August 1989	Lange
27	David Lange	4 August 1989	2 November 1990	Palmer
27	David Lange	4 August 1989	2 November 1990	Moore
28	Paul East	2 November 1990	5 December 1997	Bolger
29	Doug Graham	5 December 1997	10 December 1999	Bolger
29	Doug Graham	5 December 1997	10 December 1999	Shipley
30	Margaret Wilson	10 December 1999	28 February 2005	Clark
31	Michael Cullen	28 February 2005	19 October 2005
32	David Parker	19 October 2005	21 March 2006
(31)	Michael Cullen	21 March 2006	19 November 2008
33	Chris Finlayson	19 November 2008	26 October 2017	Key
33	Chris Finlayson	19 November 2008	26 October 2017	English
(32)	David Parker	26 October 2017	27 November 2023	Ardern
(32)	David Parker	26 October 2017	27 November 2023	Hipkins
34	Judith Collins	27 November 2023	Incumbent	Luxon

References

^ "Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances Determination 2016" (PDF). www.parliament.nz.
^ "Rōia Matua - te Aka Māori Dictionary".
^ Clayton, CW (1995). Government Lawyers: The Federal Legal Bureaucracy and Presidential Politics. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press. p. 13.
^ ^a ^b "Briefing to the Incoming Attorney-General" (PDF). Crown Law. 2023. p. 5–6. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
^ "Briefing to the Incoming Minister" (PDF). Serious Fraud Office. 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
^ Cabinet Office, Cabinet Manual 2017, at [4.3].
^ "CO (16) 2: Cabinet Directions for the Conduct of Crown Legal Business 2016". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
^ Briefing Paper for the Attorney-General (Crown Law Office, October 2017) at 3.
^ Brookfield (1979). "The Attorney-General". New Zealand Law Journal: 336.
^ Constitution Act 1986, s 9A.
^ Cabinet Office, Cabinet Manual 2017, [4.2]–[4.5].
^ McLachlan, Campbell (2014). Foreign Relations Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. [4.35].
^ Cabinet Office, Cabinet Manual 2017, at [4.63–4.72].
^ "Judicial appointments | The District Court of New Zealand". www.districtcourts.govt.nz. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
^ Paterson, Donald Edgar (1966). "Findlay, the Hon. Sir John George". In McLintock, A. H. (ed.). An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 12 October 2024 – via Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
^ ^a ^b Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

External links

Briefing papers to incoming attorneys-general, Crown Law Office

[1] "Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances Determination 2016" (PDF). www.parliament.nz.

[2] "Rōia Matua - te Aka Māori Dictionary".

[3] Clayton, CW (1995). Government Lawyers: The Federal Legal Bureaucracy and Presidential Politics. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press. p. 13.

[Briefing2023-4] "Briefing to the Incoming Attorney-General" (PDF). Crown Law. 2023. p. 5–6. Retrieved 12 October 2024.

[SFO_2020-5] "Briefing to the Incoming Minister" (PDF). Serious Fraud Office. 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 12 October 2024.

[6] Cabinet Office, Cabinet Manual 2017, at [4.3].

[7] "CO (16) 2: Cabinet Directions for the Conduct of Crown Legal Business 2016". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 2 February 2023.

[Briefing_2017-8] Briefing Paper for the Attorney-General (Crown Law Office, October 2017) at 3.

[9] Brookfield (1979). "The Attorney-General". New Zealand Law Journal: 336.

[10] Constitution Act 1986, s 9A.

[:1-11] Cabinet Office, Cabinet Manual 2017, [4.2]–[4.5].

[12] McLachlan, Campbell (2014). Foreign Relations Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. [4.35].

[13] Cabinet Office, Cabinet Manual 2017, at [4.63–4.72].

[14] "Judicial appointments | The District Court of New Zealand". www.districtcourts.govt.nz. Retrieved 2 February 2023.

[15] Paterson, Donald Edgar (1966). "Findlay, the Hon. Sir John George". In McLintock, A. H. (ed.). An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 12 October 2024 – via Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.

[Wilson-16] 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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Responsibilities and powers

History

List of attorneys-general

References

External links

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