OIA23-0619
2 November 2023
John Luke
[FYI request #24330 email]
Dear John Luke
Thank you for your email of 4 October 2023 requesting information relating to ministerial
vacancies. Your request has been considered under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (OIA).
Many ministerial appointments require industry specific technical knowledge and vacancies
are not always listed publicly. Where applicable, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
initiates the recruitment process when an appointee’s term is due to expire. MPI consults
with a wide range of bodies including the Ministry for Women, Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry for
Ethnic Communities and the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, to ensure there is a diverse range
of suitably qualified candidates.
MPI also consults with and sources candidates from appropriate private sector bodies. As
part of the recruitment process, MPI undertakes background checks on candidates to ensure
they are suitably qualified and that conflicts of interest are identified and appropriately
managed. The Minister is then provided with appropriate information on a range of
candidates to inform the decision on the appointment.
You requested:
1) I would like to request a list of vacancy (ministerial appointment only, e.g. board
member, Lay member, Trustee etc) that the nomination period has been closed but
stil under consideration by the MPI or relevant Minister.
The Food Standards Australia New Zealand Board have two vacancies that wil be fil ed by
ministerial appointment. Nominations closed on 30 July 2023 and the nomination panel started
their short listing for the Food Safety Minister in October. A total of 27 nominations were received.
One National Animal Welfare Advisory Commit ee (NAWAC) vacancy has been advertised in 2023
and remains under consideration. Nominations were sought from the New Zealand Veterinary
Council, the New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA), the Department of Conservation,
Manatū Wāhine - the Ministry for Women, Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, Ministry
for Ethnic Communities, the Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People and selected levy bodies. The
vacancy was advertised on the Government Jobs website and the MPI Careers website, opening
on 9 May 2023 and closing on 23 May 2023. Five applications were received. A shortlist of
candidates wil be provided to the Minister of Agriculture for consideration.
Charles Fergusson Building, 34-38 Bowen Street
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140, New Zealand
mpi.govt.nz
2) Also, I would like to know if you have any future opening in 2024. e.g. the position
that wil call for nomination in the year of 2024.
Four NAWAC members and five National Animal Ethics Advisory Commit ee (NAEAC) member’s
terms are due to expire in the second half of 2024. Further information on NAWAC and NAEAC
membership can found on the commit ee’s independent websites
nawac.org.nz and
neaec.org.nz.
MPI wil start the recruitment process for those vacancies in 2024.The Veterinarians Act 2005
provides the composition of the Veterinary Council of New Zealand (VCNZ). This includes three
Ministerial appointments. In 2024, two of those appointments wil expire and wil be open for
nominations. They are 1 veterinarian and 1 layperson.
The next member/chairperson appointment in the Kiwifruit New Zealand Board is not due until 1
October 2024. This appointment wil be processed in accordance with the requirements in
regulation 36(3) of the Kiwifruit Export Regulations 1999 and MPI wil commence the above
process by around March 2024.
New Zealand Horticulture Export Authority next appointments are not due until 31 December
2024. MPI will commence the appointment process by June 2024. Under section 10 of the
New Zealand Horticulture Export Authority Act 1987, the Minister wil make the following
appointments:
• Two members nominated by Horticulture New Zealand
• One member nominated by New Zealand Horticultural Exporters Council
Should you have any concerns with this response, I would encourage you to raise these with
the Ministry for Primary Industries at
[email address]. Alternatively, you
are advised of your right to also raise any concerns with the Office of the Ombudsman.
Contact details are: Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143 or at
[email address].
Yours sincerely
Michelle Morehu
Director, Government Services
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