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Portrait of James Meager
Photo via Wikipedia
MP · #54

James Meager

Rangitata · New Zealand National Party
Pecuniary interests
6 items
Directorships
0 declared
Recent meetings
50 logged

Bg Background Methodology →

Research run #9 · 26 Apr 2026
Every claim below links to its source. Click any footnote [1] in the text, or expand the citation index after the bio, to see the verbatim quote and the page it came from.

Hon James Meager is a National Party [22] Member of Parliament, according to a single reputable secondary source representing him as the MP for the Rangitata electorate [16].

Meager was educated at the University of Otago [11]. According to a single reputable secondary source, his early roles there included working as a student coordinator and later as strategic projects manager for the university's Māori health workforce development programme [7][8].

Before entering politics, Meager held a range of professional positions. According to a single reputable secondary source, he worked as a pest and predator control worker in the central South Island [3] and later as a public law litigator, and more specifically as a senior solicitor in the public law litigation team, at Simpson Grierson [5][6]. He also served in several parliamentary support roles, including as press secretary and parliamentary staffer for then-Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett [4][10], as an advisor to National MP Chris Bishop [9], and as an advisor to opposition leaders Bill English and Simon Bridges [2].

Meager currently holds the ministerial portfolios of Minister for Youth [20], Minister for Hunting and Fishing [18], and Minister for the South Island [21], all confirmed by multiple sources. He also holds the role of Associate Minister of Transport [12]. According to a single reputable secondary source, he additionally served as Chair of the committee considering the Treaty Principles Bill from 2024 [14].

Generated 27 Apr 2026 · model claude-sonnet-4-6
AI-generated biography. Assembled by an LLM from public sources (Wikipedia, Hansard, Beehive, Parliament register, news archives). Every claim is backed by a verbatim quote in one of the cited sources below and tagged confirmed, unverified, or disputed based on corroboration. Use as a starting reference, not a final source — cross-check anything load-bearing.
6 confirmed 16 unverified 0 disputed
Verify the bio — expand the citation index 22 sourced claims

Education

Career

  • [1]
    Prior career: Member of Parliament. unverified
  • [2]
    Prior career: advisor to opposition leaders Bill English and Simon Bridges. unverified
  • [3]
    Prior career: pest and predator control worker in the central South Island. unverified
  • [4]
    Prior career: press secretary for then-Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett. unverified
  • [5]
    Prior career: public law litigator at Simpson Grierson. unverified
  • [6]
    Prior career: senior solicitor in the public law litigation team at Simpson Grierson. unverified
  • [7]
    Prior career: strategic projects manager for Otago University's Māori health workforce development programme. unverified
  • [8]
    Prior career: student coordinator at Otago University. unverified

Political offices

Party affiliation

Civic roles & honours

Looked for, not found

  • Unable to access full text of NZ Herald maiden speech article (paywalled), The Post maiden speech article (paywalled), and Stuff profile article (content blocked by Firecrawl). Substack interview also not extractable.
  • No public record found of James Meager's secondary school education (pre-University of Otago).

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

01 Positions

  • Cabinet Minister — Hunting and Fishing, Youth, South Island
  • Associate Minister — Transport

03 Pecuniary interests (2025) Methodology →

as of 2026-05-27 02:21
Gifts
Black Clash T20 match (x4 Pavillion tickets) – NZ Cricket Players Association — NZ Cricket Players Association
Game bird shooting weekend – NZ Fish & Game — NZ Fish & Game
Parking coupons – Avis Timaru — Avis Timaru
Parliamentary Hunt accommodation and guiding – New Zealand Game Animal Council — New Zealand Game Animal Council
Managed investment schemes
ASB Investments Funds – ASB — ASB Investments Funds
Retirement schemes
ASB KiwiSaver — ASB KiwiSaver

04 Directorships Methodology →

None recorded.

08 Recent meetings (as minister) Methodology →

as of 2026-06-30 16:39
2026-04-30 Thu
3 entries
MEET: CAA Board
MEET
Cabinet Committee
MEET: Cabinet Committee
MEET
MEET: Maritime NZ CE & Chair
MEET
2026-04-29 Wed
6 entries
MEET: Ministerial
MEET
Associate Transport officials
MEET: Associate Transport officials
MEET
MEET: NZTA
MEET
MEET: Mental Health & Wellbeing Commission
MEET
Cabinet Committee
MEET: Cabinet Committee
MEET
MEDIA: Newstalk ZB
MEET
2026-04-28 Tue
3 entries
MEET: Ministerial
MEET
MEET: Starboard Maritime Intelligence Caucus Briefing
MEET
Cabinet Committee
MEET: Cabinet Committee
MEET
2026-04-27 Mon
1 entry
MEDIA: Chris Lynch Friday Political Panel
MEET
2026-04-25 Sat
4 entries
SPEAK: Rangitata Island ANZAC Day Service SR
MEET
ATTEND: South Canterbury RSA ANZAC Day Civic Service SR
MEET
ATTEND: Pleasant Point ANZAC Day Service SR
MEET
ATTEND: Temuka RSA ANZAC Day Service SR
MEET
2026-04-24 Fri
6 entries
SPEAK: Convergence Consulting Business Leaders Lunch
MEET
ATTEND: Crusaders vs Waratahs - First game at One NZ Stadium
MEET
MEET: Broadcasting school
MEET
SPEAK: Convergence Consulting Business Leaders Lunch
MEET
MEDIA: Whanganui Chronicle
MEET
MEDIA: Te Ora Hou YDPIF Announcement
MEET
2026-04-23 Thu
1 entry
Cabinet Committee
MEET: Cabinet Committee
MEET
2026-04-22 Wed
6 entries
SPEAK: Iron Duke Partners' Young Policy Professionals Networking Event
MEET
MEET: Ministerial
MEET
SPEAK: Iron Duke Partners' Young Policy Professionals Networking Event
MEET
MEET: Public Service Assistant Commissioners
MEET
MEET: Kotahi & Fonterra
MEET
Cabinet Committee
MEET: Cabinet Committee
MEET
2026-04-21 Tue
3 entries
Associate Transport officials
MEET: Associate Transport officials
MEET
Hunting & Fishing officials
MEET: Hunting & Fishing officials
MEET
MEET: US Embassy Agricultural Specialist
with: Hon Butterick
MEET
2026-04-18 Sat
1 entry
ATTEND: Ploughing Championships
MEET
2026-04-17 Fri
6 entries
SPEAK: Transporting NZ Industry Update
MEET
SPEAK: Lions NZ Convention
MEET
SPEAK: Transporting NZ Industry Update
MEET
ATTEND: Claybird Shoot with NZ Transporting
MEET
MEET: MATES in Construction
MEET
Luke Howden
MEDIA: Luke Howden
MEET
2026-04-16 Thu
3 entries
MEDIA: Mediaworks
MEET
MEDIA: Stuff
MEET
MEDIA: TVNZ
MEET
2026-04-15 Wed
2 entries
MEDIA: Stuff
MEET
MEDIA: Mata
MEET
2026-04-14 Tue
1 entry
MEET: Associate Transport
MEET
2026-04-13 Mon
4 entries
VISIT: Aorangi Stadium
MEET
MEET: South Island Regional Transport Committee Chairs Group
MEET
VISIT: Juice Products NZ
with: Hon Brewer
MEET
VISIT: Heartland Chips
with: Hon Brewer
MEET

09 Recent Hansard speeches

10 Recent press releases

From Beehive.govt.nz. Most recent 10.

  • Associate Transport Minister James Meager has confirmed a new Commissioner to the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has been appointed.
    2026-06-30
  • Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager is welcoming the passing of legislation to clarify how a Herd of Special Interest (HOSI) operates in a national park.
    2026-06-25
  • The exceptional skill, teamwork and dedication of Kiwi search and rescuers have been on full display at the New Zealand Search and Rescue (NZSAR) Awards, Associate Transport Minister James Meager says.
    2026-06-23
  • Critical underwater infrastructure (CUI) such as the telecommunications cables that connect the country to the world will be better protected through breakthrough technology launched today.
    2026-06-18
  • Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager has confirmed four new appointments to the Game Animal Council, including a new Chair.
    2026-06-11
  • Taupō District’s trout bag limits will increase for the new fishing season, improving stock quality and creating more opportunities for anglers and local businesses, Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager says.
    2026-06-10
  • Taupō District’s trout bag limits will increase for the new fishing season, improving stock quality and creating more opportunities for anglers and local businesses, Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager says.
    2026-06-10
  • Associate Transport Minister James Meager has confirmed two new appointments to the board of Maritime New Zealand, including a new Chair and Deputy Chair. Kevin Short has been elevated to the Chair’s role, starting from 1 July 2026. He has held the Deputy Chair role since April 2025.
    2026-05-26
  • More than 80 Wairoa youth will be supported to re-engage with education or embark on the pathway to employment, through a joint Government and community funding initiative.
    2026-05-21
  • Youth Minister James Meager has confirmed at least 300 at-risk young Kiwis will be supported to re-engage in education or transition into the workforce, through new joint Government and community funding initiatives.
    2026-05-18

12 In the news Methodology →

50 articles

Coverage from RNZ, Stuff, NZ Herald, ODT, 1News, Newsroom and The Spinoff that mentions this person. Click any source to expand. Article body markdown is captured separately and used for AI summarisation downstream.

Otago Daily Times 16
RNZ 10
1News 10
Stuff 9
The Spinoff 3
Newsroom 1
NZ Herald 1

12.5 Heard on radio

6 segments

Verbatim segments from podcasts and radio where this person was the speaker, attributed via the voice-reference library. Click play to stream the original audio from the publisher, pre-seeked to the moment the segment starts. Transcriptions are automated and attributions are manually reviewed, but cannot be guaranteed to be absolutely accurate — the seek point or speaker label may occasionally drift; the linked episode is the source of truth.

13 Commentary topics Methodology →

6 topics · 12 weeks

Topics where op-eds, blogs and press releases have mentioned this person, week-by-week. Each row links through to the topic detail in the discourse lens.

14 Press topics Methodology →

6 topics · 12 weeks

Topics where major news outlets have reported on this person. Each row links through to the topic detail in the press lens. Compare to the discourse rows above to see where reporting and commentary converge or diverge.

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