Clayton Cosgrove,

Clayton Cosgrove is the Minister for Statistics in the current New Zealand Government, as well as Minister for Building and Construction, Associate Minister of Finance, Associate Minister of Justice and Associate Minister of Immigration.  Mr Cosgrove was educated at St Bedes College, Christchurch and the University of Canterbury where he gained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree (triple major) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.  He joined the Labour Party at age 14 and held a number of positions at a local, regional and national level, including Senior Advisor to the then Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Mike Moore.  Mr Cosgrove was elected to Parliament in 1999 representing the Waimakariri constituency, a mixed urban and rural Electorate in and around Christchurch, and was re-elected in 2002 and 2005.  Before being elected to the Cabinet in 2005, he was the Chairman of Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Select Com mittee, and before entering Parliament worked as a public affairs manager and a corporate affairs manager in the private sector, as well as running his own business providing strategic advice to companies regarding government, communication and public relations.