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Portrait of Todd McClay
Photo via Wikipedia
MP · #52

Todd McClay

Rotorua · New Zealand National Party
Pecuniary interests
21 items
Directorships
1 declared
Recent meetings
11 logged

Bg Background Methodology →

Research run #24 · 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.

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, 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.
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 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 — Agriculture, Forestry, Trade and Investment
  • Associate Minister — Foreign Affairs

03 Pecuniary interests (2025) Methodology →

as of 2026-05-27 02:21
Beneficial interests in, and trusteeships of, trusts
McClay Family Trust (trustee and beneficiary) — McClay Family Trust (Trustee)
Debts owed by you
Westpac Bank – mortgage — Westpac Bank
Gifts
Attendance at Australian Open tennis – ANZ Leadership Forum — ANZ Leadership Forum
Donation to The Daily Charitable Trust, Te Puke – The Hugo Group — The Daily Charitable Trust
Honey for gifts – Manawa — Manawa
Lounge Membership – Qantas — 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
Speaking fee (donated to The Daily Charitable Trust, Te Puke) – The Hugo Group. — 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

04 Directorships Methodology →

as of 2026-05-27 02:21
None recorded.

06 Trusteeships & beneficial trust interests

08 Recent meetings (as minister) Methodology →

as of 2026-06-30 16:43
2026-01-29 Thu
2 entries
SPEAK: Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee (FADTC) briefing on India Free Trade Agreement
MEET
SPEAK: Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee (FADTC) briefing on India Free Trade Agreement
MEET
2026-01-28 Wed
4 entries
Hon Simon Watts, Hon Tama Potaka, Hon Chris Penk, Hon James Meager, and Hon Nicola Grigg
MEET: Hon Simon Watts, Hon Tama Potaka, Hon Chris Penk, Hon James Meager, and Hon Nicola Grigg
with: Hon Simon Watts, Hon Tama Potaka, Hon Chris Penk, Hon James Meager, Hon Nicola Grigg
MEET
MEET: Ministerial Pillar Group – Promoting Global Trade and Investment
with: Officials
MEET
ATTEND: India's National Day Reception
with: H.E Neeta Bhushan, High Commissioner of India
MEET
ATTEND: ECO Cabinet Committee
with: ECO Cabinet Ministers
MEET
2026-01-27 Tue
4 entries
ATTEND: U.S. Mission - Parliament Welcome Back Event
MEET
MPI
MEET: MPI
with: Officials
MEET
MEET: MFAT
with: Officials
MEET
MEET
2026-01-20 Tue
1 entry
ATTEND: World Economic Forum
MEET

09 Recent Hansard speeches

10 Recent press releases

From Beehive.govt.nz. Most recent 10.

11 Recent ministerial speeches

From Beehive.govt.nz — conference keynotes and ministerial addresses (distinct from Hansard floor debates).

  • The National-led Government is unequivocally committed to the success of New Zealand’s primary industries as a core governing priority. We will continue delivering workable regulations, practical environmental solutions, strong trade access, and investment in innovation and people.
    2026-06-24
  • Good evening, everyone. Thank you to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs for the invitation to deliver this year's annual lecture. It’s a pleasure to be here.
    2026-05-13
  • I am pleased to be among so many of New Zealand’s business leaders – people who are driving innovation, creating jobs, and shaping the future of our economy.
    2025-12-02
  • Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests, representatives from across the European Union and New Zealand - good morning and welcome to Auckland. Can I begin by acknowledging our co-hosts and the remarkable efforts that have brought us together today.
    2025-10-23

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.

RNZ 28
1News 7
NZ Herald 5
Stuff 5
Otago Daily Times 3
  • Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was at Auckland airport to greet Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, last night. Photo: RNZ/Blessen Tom RNZ IndoNZ reporters India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in New Zealand for a whirlwind…
    2026-07-10
  • 2026-07-09
  • Narendra Modi with Christopher Luxon in New Delhi. Photo: RNZ Russell Palmer of RNZ The government has confirmed India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit New Zealand next week.
    2026-07-03
Newsroom 2

13 OIA disclosures Methodology →

1 release

Strict-mode Official Information Act responses from FYI.org.nz that name this MP. Tenure-checked: each row represents a request whose subject period overlapped a role this MP held. Click through to read the full release on FYI.

12.5 Heard on radio

12 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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