Attorney-General (New Zealand)

The Attorney-General is a political office in New Zealand. It is simultaneously a ministerial position and an administrative office, and has responsibility for supervising New Zealand law and advising the government on legal matters.

Responsibilities and powers

The Attorney-General has two main areas of official responsibility. Firstly, the Attorney-General has ministerial jurisdiction over the Crown Law Office, the Parliamentary Counsel Office, and the Serious Fraud Office. Secondly, 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. In the latter role (but strictly not in the former), the Attorney-General is assisted by the Solicitor-General, a non-partisan official. This is to reduce 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.

A more complete description of the Attorney-General's powers can be found in the 2004 ministerial briefing prepared by the Crown Law Office, which the Attorney-General supervises.

The position of Attorney-General is distinct from that of Minister of Justice, although the two posts are sometimes held by the same person, eg Martyn Finlay 1972-75.

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.

The Attorney-General usually has a legal background, and Michael Cullen is only the second minister without a legal background to have held the position.

History

The post of Attorney-General has existed since the separation of New Zealand as a distinct Crown Colony from New South Wales. Because of the dual nature of the role, however, it has sometimes been filled by politicians and sometimes by jurists — not all Attorney-Generals have been cabinet ministers.

The table below is an incomplete listing of New Zealand politicians who have sat in Cabinet 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.

Name	Premier / Prime Minister Served	Took Office	Left Office	Party
Frederick Whitaker	Sewell	7 May 1856	20 May 1856	None
William Fox	(himself)	20 May 1856	2 Jun 1856	None
Frederick Whitaker, 2nd time	Stafford	2 Jun 1856	12 Jul 1861	None
William Fox, 2nd time	(himself)	12 Jul 1961	2 Aug 1861	None
Thomas Gillies	Domett	2 Aug 1861	23 Aug 1862	None
Henry Sewell	Domett	23 Aug 1862	1 Jul 1863	None
Frederick Whitaker, 3rd time	Domett, (himself)	1 Jul 1863	24 Nov 1864	None
Henry Sewell, 2nd time	Weld	24 Nov 1864	16 Oct 1865	None
James Prendergast	Edward Stafford	16 Oct 1865	1 Sep 1876	None
Frederick Whitaker, 4th time	Atkinson	1 Sep 1876	13 Oct 1877	None
Robert Stout	Grey	13 Mar 1878	25 June 1879	None
Frederick Whitaker, 5th time	(himself)	21 Apr 1882	25 Sep 1883	None
Edward Connolly	Atkinson, Harry	25 Sep 1883	16 Aug 1884	None
Robert Stout, 2nd time	(himself)	16 Aug 1884	28 Aug 1884	None
Robert Stout, 3rd time	(himself)	3 Sep 1884	8 Oct 1887	None
Frederick Whitaker, 6th time	Atkinson	11 Oct 1887	24 Jan 1891	None
Patrick Alphonsus Buckley	Ballance, Seddon	24 Jan 1891	20 Dec 1895	Liberal
Albert Pitt	Seddon, Hall-Jones, Ward	22 Jun 1903	18 Nov 1906	Liberal
John Findlay	Ward	23 Nov 1906	26 Dec 1911	Liberal
Alexander Herdman	Massey	10 Jul 1912	4 Feb 1918	Reform
Francis Bell	Massey, (himself), Coates	4 Feb 1918	18 Jan 1926	Reform
William Downie Stewart	Coates	18 Jan 1926	24 May 1926	Reform
Francis Rolleston	Coates	24 May 1926	26 Nov 1928	Reform
Thomas Sidey	Ward, Forbes	10 Dec 1928	22 Sep 1931	United
William Downie Stewart, 2nd time	Forbes	22 Sep 1931	28 Jan 1933	Reform
George Forbes	(himself)	28 Jan 1933	6 Dec 1935	United
Rex Mason	Savage, Fraser	6 Dec 1935	13 Dec 1949	Labour
Clifton Webb	Holland	13 Dec 1949	26 Nov 1954	National
Jack Marshall	Holland, Holyoake	26 Nov 1954	12 Dec 1957	National
Rex Mason, 2nd time	Nash	12 Dec 1957	12 Dec 1960	Labour
Ralph Hanan	Holyoake	12 Dec 1960	24 Jul 1969	National
Jack Marshall, 2nd time	Holyoake	22 Dec 1969	2 Feb 1971	National
Dan Riddiford	Holyoake	2 Feb 1971	9 Feb 1972	None
Roy Jack	Marshall	9 Feb 1972	8 Dec 1972	National
Martyn Finlay	Kirk, Rowling	8 Dec 1972	12 Dec 1975	Labour
Peter Wilkinson	Muldoon	12 Dec 1975	13 Dec 1978	National
Jim McLay	Muldoon	13 Dec 1978	26 Jul 1984	National
Geoffrey Palmer	Lange	26 Jul 1984	4 Aug 1989	Labour
David Lange	Palmer, Moore	4 Aug 1989	2 Nov 1990	Labour
Paul East	Bolger	2 Nov 1990	5 Dec? 1997	National
Doug Graham	Bolger, Shipley	5 Dec? 1997	5 Dec 1999	National
Margaret Wilson	Clark	5 Dec 1999	28 Feb 2005	Labour
Michael Cullen	Clark	28 Feb 2005	19 Oct 2005	Labour
David Parker	Clark	19 Oct 2005	20 Mar 2006	Labour
Michael Cullen, 2nd time	Clark	21 Mar 2006	incumbent	Labour

External links

• Ministerial Briefing describing the role of the Attorney-General