# Secretary of the Cabinet (New Zealand)

The secretary of the Cabinet (or Cabinet secretary) is a senior public servant in New Zealand. The Cabinet secretary usually serves concurrently as the clerk of the Executive Council. The secretary is responsible for the impartial recording of Cabinet decisions, and as clerk of the Executive Council they are also a liaison between the Cabinet and the governor-general. The secretary is also responsible to Cabinet as a collective for ensuring the confidentiality of Cabinet proceedings, and the impartial and effective operation of the Cabinet system. The current Cabinet Secretary and Clerk of the Executive Council is Rachel Hayward.

## Responsibilities and powers

The Cabinet secretary is a public servant who heads the Cabinet Office, which while a part of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, it is autonomous. The Cabinet secretary is formally appointed by the Governor-General by warrant under the Letters Patent Act, on the advice of the prime minister. The post has two principal roles that are designed to ensure continuity of constitutional government and provide support to administer the operations of the New Zealand Government.
As the clerk of the Executive Council, they act on behalf of the governor-general by providing a channel of communication and liaison between the government and the governor-general, providing advice to the governor-general, and administering the New Zealand royal honours system.
The Cabinet secretary is the steward of the Cabinet Manual. This document sets out clear descriptions of the key constitutional conventions observed in New Zealand, and describes the underlying structures, principles and values of government. The Cabinet Manual is endorsed at the first Cabinet meeting of a new government, to provide for the orderly re-commencement of the business of government.
While similar to its British equivalent, the role has some key differences. For example, authority over the civil service is held by the State Services Commissioner, a separate official. The Cabinet secretary is highly influential in determining the Government decisions on public law and through their constitutional advice to Cabinet.

## History

After the separation of New Zealand as a distinct Crown Colony from New South Wales New Zealand formed its first responsible government in 1856. By 1863 Cabinet had largely taken over the function of the Colonial Executive Council. This led to the establishment of the secretary to the Cabinet in 1864 with future colonial secretary William Gisborne being appointed.
The role required extensive knowledge of the colony and its constitutional underpinnings. In 1889 the role of clerk of the Executive Council was also assumed by then Cabinet Secretary Alexander Willis. This protocol has been largely abided by since, with an only exception occurring at the conclusion of Cecil Jeffery's tenure in 1945 for a period of 24 years when Foss Shanahan assumed the role of Cabinet secretary and held the position until 1955. During this time, the role of clerk of the Executive Council was held briefly by William Harvey and then Thomas Sherrard. The roles would not be combined again until the departure of Cabinet Secretary Albert Perry in 1969 when the then Clerk of the Executive Council, Peter Brooks, assumed the role of Cabinet Secretary. In 1979 Cabinet Secretary Patrick Millen collated and published the first Cabinet Manual, which centralised the practise and procedures of Cabinet into a single document.
When the Prime Minister's Department was established in 1926 then Cabinet Secretary Frank Thomson initially was appointed as its head. Eventually the Head of the Prime Minister's Department would become a separate role, although until the 1960s the roles were interchangeable.
Despite the name, it was not initially a codified practice to have the secretary present at Cabinet meetings, and this was usually at the discretion of the prime minister. During the first 84 years, if the secretary was not present, minutes were rarely taken and the prime minister or another senior minister noted Cabinet's decisions on a Schedule for subsequent recording and distribution by the secretary. Starting in 1946, Foss Shanahan sought to make a number of significant administrative changes to the way Cabinet operated which initially saw him joining Cabinet informally in 1948 and the presence of the secretary was formally adopted in December 1949. The Cabinet secretariat was set up by Shanahan for the purpose of co-ordination, continuity of action, and review, and to enable the smooth functioning of the work of Cabinet. As Cabinet deliberations are often investigatory or preliminary to action in other organs of Government, they are often informal. While ministers may remain anonymous in their advocacy or opposition to issues discussed, the Cabinet secretariat would record the agreed action.
Recent holders of the post have gone on to have successful public service careers. Marie Shroff served in the role from 1987 until 2003 and went on to be the Privacy Commissioner. and then chair the New Zealand Electoral Commission. Rebecca Kitteridge served in the role from 2008 until 2013 and went on to be the director of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service.

## List of Cabinet secretaries

| | Name | Took office | Left office | Notes |
| 1 | William Gisborne | 1 January 1864 | 2 July 1869 | Forster Goring was Clerk of the Executive Council from 18 August 1862 |
| 2 | Edward Wakefield | June 1869 | 1869 | Forster Goring was Clerk of the Executive Council |
| 3 | William Robert Edward Brown | 1870 | 1872 | Forster Goring was Clerk of the Executive Council |
| (2) | Edward Wakefield | 1 July 1872 | 1 November 1872 | Forster Goring was Clerk of the Executive Council |
| (3) | William Robert Edward Brown | 1873 | 1873 | Forster Goring was Clerk of the Executive Council |
| 4 | George Sisson Cooper | 1874 | 1876 | Forster Goring was Clerk of the Executive Council |
| 5 | Ebenezer Fox | 1877 | April 1884 | Forster Goring was Clerk of the Executive Council until 30 May 1889 |
| 6 | Alexander James Willis | 1885 | 30 June 1909 | Also Clerk of the Executive Council from 1 June 1889 |
| 7 | James Frank Andrews | 1 July 1909 | 31 March 1919 | Also Clerk of the Executive Council |
| 8 | Frank David Thomson | 17 February 1920 | 14 December 1934 | Also Clerk of the Executive Council |
| 9 | Cecil Jeffery | 15 January 1935 | 31 March 1946 | Also Clerk of the Executive Council |
| 10 | Foss Shanahan | December 1945 | 1955 | William Osborne Harvey was Clerk of the Executive Council from 1 April 1946 until 31 December 1947 and then Thomas James Sherrard was Clerk of the Executive Council from 1 January 1948 |
| 11 | Richard Hutchens | 1955 | 1959 | Thomas James Sherrard was Clerk of the Executive Council |
| 12 | Alfred Raymond Perry | 1959 | 1969 | Thomas James Sherrard was Clerk of the Executive Council until 30 June 1967 |
| 13 | Peter John Brooks | 1969 | February 1973 | Also Clerk of the Executive Council from 1 July 1967 |
| 14 | Patrick Millen | 12 February 1973 | 21 September 1987 | Also Clerk of the Executive Council |
| 15 | Marie Shroff | 6 October 1987 | 2003 | Also Clerk of the Executive Council |
| 16 | Diane Morcom | 2003 | 2008 | Also Clerk of the Executive Council |
| 17 | Rebecca Kitteridge | 26 March 2008 | 2013 | Also Clerk of the Executive Council |
| 18 | Michael Webster | 18 March 2014 | 2022 | Also Clerk of the Executive Council |
| 19 | Rachel Hayward | 2 November 2022 | Incumbent | Also Clerk of the Executive Council |

## List of Clerks of the Executive Council Prior to 1862

| | Name | Took office | Left office |
| 1 | James Coates | 1841 | 1853 |
| 2 | Andrew James Richmond | 1853 | 1855 |
| 3 | Frederick Gordon Steward | 13 September 1855 | 1861 |
| 4 | James Holt | 15 October 1861 | 8 February 1862 |