The Hon Steven Joyce

Author, The Joyce Review

The Hon Steven Joyce, the former New Zealand Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, led the recent independent review of Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector which was set up to examine ways to deliver skilled workers for a stronger economy. This final report was delivered to Government in March 2019. 

Mr Joyce was the architect of significant reforms to the apprenticeship and industry training system in New Zealand and will bring a fresh perspective based on the extensive work he led in this area as one of the most senior ministers in John Key’s national government.  Steven Joyce was one of the most senior ministers in the John Key-led National Government in New Zealand.  During a nine year political career he held the portfolios of Transport, ICT, Science and Innovation, Economic Development and Infrastructure, and was Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister for seven years.   He was also associate Minister of Finance to Bill English for eight years, before becoming Minister of Finance in 2016 and delivering the New Zealand Government Budget in 2017.

As a core member of the government’s leadership team, Mr Joyce helped successfully manage New Zealand through the Global Financial Crisis and the Canterbury earthquakes to the point where it was the third fastest growing economy in the OECD with the third highest employment rate.

Mr Joyce was the architect of a number of government initiatives including New Zealand’s ultrafast broadband rollout, a comprehensive programme of microeconomic reform called the Business Growth Agenda, a range of tertiary education reforms, a set of National Science Challenges, the government’s Regional Economic Growth programme and New Zealand’s biggest highway building programme in decades.

Mr Joyce was tasked with managing a number of challenging issues that arose for the Key government.  He led the successful response to the sinking of the MV Rena, the remediation of the Novopay teachers’ pay system, and the government response to the botulism scare that affected New Zealand’s largest company, Fonterra. 

Prior to entering politics Mr Joyce was a successful radio entrepreneur, building a single radio station into an NZX-listed nationwide radio business with four national radio networks, eighteen local radio stations, and 650 staff.  He is also a trained zoologist. 

Steven recently retired from politics and is now running his own advisory firm, Joyce Advisory Limited, from Auckland, New Zealand.

Thanks to our supporters