The Minister of Health, formerly styled Minister of Public Health, is a
minister in the
New Zealand Government
The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...
with responsibility for the
New Zealand Ministry of Health and
Te Whatu Ora—Health New Zealand.
The current Minister of Health is
National Party MP
Simeon Brown.
History
The first Minister of Public Health was appointed in 1900, during the premiership of
Richard Seddon. The word "Public" was dropped from the title when Sir
Māui Pōmare took over the portfolio from 27 June 1923, as simply "Minister of Health".
In the health system reforms of the 1980s, the Department of Health lost responsibility for both the provision and funding of healthcare – these roles were transferred to separate Crown Health Enterprises (the precursors to today's
District Health Boards) and the
Health Funding Authority, respectively. The only function remaining was policy-making (resulting in the department being renamed a Ministry). For a time, there was a separate Minister in Charge of Crown Health Enterprises, who was not necessarily the same as the Minister of Health. Further reforms have changed this, however – the Health Funding Authority has been re-absorbed into the Ministry of Health, and the modern
District Health Boards, while not part of the Ministry, are considered a responsibility of the Minister of Health.
In July 2022, on the passing of the
Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, District Health Boards were disestablished and the provision and funding of healthcare was centralised under Health New Zealand.
List of Health Ministers
;Key
References
External links
New Zealand Ministry of Health
{{NZ ministerial portfolios
1900 establishments in New Zealand
Health
Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...
Health
Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...
Health
Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...