Chief Executive, Ministry of Social Development.
Peter Hughes has had a twenty five year career in the New Zealand State Sector,
encompassing policy, operations and organisation development across a range of
Senior Executive roles.
Peter was educated at New Zealand's Victoria and Massey Universities, and has a
Masters Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University completed while
in the United States as a Harkness Fellow of the Commonwealth Fund of New York.
Peter began his career as a clerk with the Department of Social Welfare (DSW).
Over the next ten years he was promoted into senior policy and operations
roles. He later moved into executive management, initially as the Southern
Region Regional Manager for the New Zealand Income Support Service.
In 1995 Peter became Deputy-Director General of Health heading the Ministry of
Health's corporate and information and subsequently policy, funding and
regulatory activities.
In 2000 Peter was appointed Chief Executive of the Health Funding Authority. He
took over managing New Zealand's $7 billion health and disability services
spend and implemented organisation wide change to disestablish the HFA, moving
staff into New Zealand’s Ministry of Health and District Health Boards.
Peter was appointed Secretary for Internal Affairs later in the same year, and
in 2001 was then appointed Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social
Development.
The Ministry of Social Development is New Zealand's largest government
department, with a staff of approximately ten thousand people across
approximately 200 locations. The Ministry has a departmental budget of
approximately $1.1 billion and administers approximately $16.7 billion in
social assistance to New Zealanders