Product Code Database
Steven Leonard Joyce (born 7 April 1963) is a New Zealand former politician, who entered the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2008 as a member of the New Zealand National Party. As a broadcasting entrepreneur with RadioWorks, he was a millionaire before he entered politics. In 2008 he became Minister of Transport and Minister for Communications and Information Technology. He later became Minister of Science and Innovation, and then served as Minister of Finance and Minister for Infrastructure.
On 6 March 2018, he announced his resignation from politics, after losing his bid for the leadership of the party. Joyce subsequently established a consultancy firm called Joyce Advisory, which developed close ties with the National Party. In 2023, Joyce Advisory was rumoured to have played a role in influencing the National Party's support for the University of Waikato to host New Zealand's proposed third medical school, but the university said that Joyce had not provided government relations or lobbying support. In June 2025, Joyce was appointed as the chairman of media company New Zealand Media and Entertainment, which owns The New Zealand Herald newspaper and the radio station Newstalk ZB.
/ref> at Massey from 1982 to 1986, withdrew or did not complete seven of them and failed one through insufficient grade.
After RadioWorks he joined the New Zealand National Party, working as their campaign manager in both the 2005 and the 2008 general elections. He was announced as a list only candidate for the party in the 2002 general election, but did not appear on the final list. He also served as CEO of Jasons Travel Media for two years until 2008.
In 2010 while Minister of Transport, Joyce admitted to two prior driving convictions, careless driving resulting in a fine in 1988, and careless driving causing injury resulting in a fine and loss of licence in 1989.
As a first term member of parliament, Joyce was appointed to the office of the Minister of Transport and the office of the Communications and Information Technology."Appointment of Ministers" (21 November 2008), 179 New Zealand Gazette, pg. 4635. Joyce was also appointed as a member of the Executive Council"Members of Executive Council Appointed" (21 November 2008), 179 New Zealand Gazette, pg. 4634. and was titled as The Honourable Steven Leonard Joyce, MP. During his tenure as Minister of Transport a number of changes were introduced. In November 2009 a ban on using cellphones while driving came into effect.
In 2010, New Zealand's unique right-hand rule at intersections was reversed. The minimum driving age was also raised from 15 to 16. Both measures were subject to cabinet approval and public consultation, and eventually passed into law.
This minimum driving age proposal was criticised by the editorial board of The New Zealand Herald for being too hesitant after experts and the public had favoured raising the driving age as high as 18 and in the opinion of the newspaper, Joyce "had not shown the resolve to follow the recommendations".
He helped create Auckland Transport as a council-controlled organisation for Auckland Council. Joyce stated that "Auckland will need a good agency focused on delivering the projects that have been agreed by council" and noting that Council had a number of ways of ensuring that the entity was accountable.
Joyce was also appointed to the Office of Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment"Appointment of Ministers" (27 January 2010) 5 New Zealand Gazette, pg. 221. replacing Anne Tolley, effective 27 January 2010.
In May 2013, he signed a deal with casino Skycity Auckland, allowing it to install an additional 230 pokie machines and 40 new gambling tables, in exchange for building a $402 million convention centre.
In August 2013, he was given responsibility to investigate both the Novopay debacle and the 2013 Fonterra recall.
On 20 December 2016, Joyce was appointed as Minister of Finance and Infrastructure. During the lead-up to the 2017 general election, Joyce alleged that there was an NZ$11 billion hole in the opposition Labour Party's fiscal plan. These charges were disputed by Labour politicians including Opposition Leader Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Leader Kelvin Davis.
During the 2017 election, Joyce stood on the National Party list and was re-elected. National won 44% of the popular vote and 56 seats; maintaining its plurality in the New Zealand House of Representatives. However, National fell short of the majority needed to govern alone. Following post-election negotiations, Labour formed a coalition government with the opposition New Zealand First and Green parties.
In June 2023, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported that the University of Waikato had paid nearly NZ$1 million in consultancy fees to Joyce Advisory. In July 2023, National pledged to establish a third medical school at Waikato University while campaigning for the 2023 New Zealand general election. Waikato University then hired Joyce's former press secretary and political advisor Anna Lillis to promote the school. However the university said that Joyce had no involvement in conducting government relations or lobbying work for the institution. In response, Tertiary Education Union's Waikato University organiser Shane Vugler criticised the university leadership for compromising its political independence. In early May 2024, the Auditor-General John Ryan criticised Waikato University for not engaging in a competitive procurement process when contracting the services of Joyce Advisory. The University paid NZ$1.1 million in public funds to Joyce Advisory between 2019 and 2023.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Profile, national.org.nz; accessed 26 January 2017.
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|
|
