It's often a thankless task but the finance minister’s influence and power can sometimes rival that of the prime minister.
Since the turn of the 20th century, New Zealand has had 29 ministers of finance and while each played a role in the country’s financial success - or, in some cases, its shortcomings - not all of their impacts have been the same.
Wellington-based freelance journalist and former RNZ reporter Eric Frykberg ranked our best and worst in consultation with historians, economists and insiders in a piece for the Listener, published last month.
He joins Emile Donovan in our Wellington studio.
National Party leader Rob Muldoon at the party's annual conference, 1975. Evening Post newspaper [Alexander Turnbull Library] Photo:
