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Elections / 2017 / [165] / Todd McClay
Portrait of Todd McClay
Photo via Wikipedia
2017 general election Sitting MP
Standing for [165]

Todd McClay

Kind
Electorate & list
Source
elections-wikipedia
As of
4 May 2026

Background

Research run #24 · 26 Apr 2026
Every claim below traces to a verbatim quote in the cited source. Click any footnote [1] in the prose, or expand the citation index below, to see where the fact came from.

Todd McClay is a New Zealand politician [3] and member of the National Party [57], serving as the Member of Parliament for Rotorua [40], a seat he has held since 2008 [39].

According to a single reputable secondary source, McClay attended Tauhara College and Wesley College for his secondary education [26][27], before going on to study at a polytech in New Zealand [28] and later completing a politics degree at a university in Britain [29]. Early in his working life, he held a variety of roles, including cleaning cars at a car yard [7], delivering furniture for Smith and Brown [10], and working at a sawmill in Taupo [13]. He also worked as a primary school teacher [12] and, according to a single reputable secondary source, as a school principal [14].

McClay subsequently pursued an international career, working in European Union institutions in Belgium [17] and undertaking government and public relations work internationally [11]. According to a single reputable secondary source, he served as Cook Islands Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the European Communities from 15 April 2002 [37], and held the role of Cook Islands and Niue Ambassador to the European Union [38]. In 2005, he was reportedly awarded honorary Cook Islands nationality [56].

He was first elected to Parliament as the Rotorua electorate MP in 2008 [55]. Sources differ on the precise start date of his parliamentary service — some place his entry as 2008 [40], while others cite 10 December 2008 [40]. During his parliamentary career, McClay has served on a number of select committees, including as Chair of the Commerce Committee [18], Chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee [19], and as a member of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee [22], the Primary Industries Committee [24], and the Law and Order Committee [23].

McClay has held several ministerial offices. He has served as Minister of Revenue [47], Minister of Agriculture [45], Minister of Forestry [46], Minister for Trade and Investment [44], Minister for Hunting and Fishing [42], and Associate Minister of Health [33]. Sources differ on his tenure as Minister of Trade — one variant notes this role from 2023 [51]. According to single reputable secondary sources, he has also held the roles of Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs [32], Associate Minister of Tourism [34], and Minister of State-Owned Enterprises [49]. On 8 December 2016, according to a single reputable secondary source, he endorsed Bill English in the National Party leadership election [25].

Generated 30 Apr 2026 · model claude-sonnet-4-6
AI-generated biography. Assembled by an LLM from public sources (Wikipedia, parliament register, Beehive, news archives). Every claim is backed by a verbatim quote in one of the cited sources below and tagged confirmed, unverified, or disputed by corroboration. Use as a starting reference, not a final source — cross-check anything load-bearing.
9 confirmed 49 unverified 1 disputed
Verify the bio — expand the citation index 59 sourced claims

Education

Career

Political offices

Party affiliation

Civic roles & honours

Looked for, not found

  • No specific dates confirmed for Todd McClay's tenure as Cook Islands and Niue Ambassador to the EU (appointment announced 2002, end date not confirmed from fetched sources).
  • Wellington Polytechnic qualification/degree type not confirmed from fetched sources (Wikipedia mentions it but the page's verbatim extraction was incomplete).

The agent checked these topics across the allowed public sources but could not find verbatim-quotable evidence. Absence doesn't rule the fact out — it just means no journalist-accessible source covered it at run time.

Pecuniary interests

2025 register · as of 27 May 2026

As a sitting MP, this candidate files an annual Register of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests. Items below are the most recent declarations from the Register.

Beneficial interests in, and trusteeships of, trusts
McClay Family Trust McClay Family Trust (trustee and beneficiary)
Debts owed by you
Westpac Bank Westpac Bank – mortgage
Gifts
ANZ Leadership Forum Attendance at Australian Open tennis – ANZ Leadership Forum
The Daily Charitable Trust Donation to The Daily Charitable Trust, Te Puke – The Hugo Group
Manawa Honey for gifts – Manawa
Qantas Lounge Membership – Qantas
Vase – United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Trade
Overseas travel costs
Australia – Closer Economic Relations and Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum meetings. Contributor to domestic travel: Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum.
Brazil – G20 trade Ministers meeting. Contributor to domestic travel: Brazilian Government.
China – Ministerial meetings. Contributor to domestic travel: Chinese Government.
India – Bilateral visit. Contributor to domestic travel: Indian Government.
Italy – G7 trade Ministers meeting. Contributor to domestic travel: Italian Government.
Peru – Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Contributor to domestic travel: Peruvian Government.
United Arab Emirates – New Zealand - United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signing. Contributor to domestic travel: United Arab Emirates Government. Contributor to accommodation: United Arab Emirates Government.
United Arab Emirates – World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference. Contributor to domestic travel: United Arab Emirates Government.
Payment for activities
The Hugo Group Speaking fee (donated to The Daily Charitable Trust, Te Puke) – The Hugo Group.
Real property
Home – Belgium
Private home – Pukehina
Private home – Rotorua
Retirement schemes
ANZ KiwiSaver ANZ KiwiSaver
T&N McClay Superannuation Scheme T&N McClay Superannuation Scheme

Companies Office links

as of 27 May 2026

Directorships, shareholdings, and trusteeships filed against this person in the Companies Office register.

Trusteeships

Recent press

50 articles across 7 outlets
RNZ 19
NZ Herald 7
1News 7
Otago Daily Times 5
Stuff 5
The Spinoff 4
Newsroom 3