Story: Crown entities

Government Life poster

Government Life poster

This 1950s poster advertises life insurance policies to parents for their children. Public organisations created by their own legislation, at arm’s length from ministers, have existed in New Zealand since the 1860s. One example is the Government Life Insurance Office which was established in 1869. A major reason for setting up public organisations with a degree of autonomy was to prevent political interference by ministers.

Courtesy of TOWER.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: Eph-A-INSURANCE-1950-01-front

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Rob Laking, 'Crown entities - Why were Crown entities created?', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ephemera/32661/government-life-poster (accessed 20 March 2024)

Story by Rob Laking, published 20 Jun 2012, updated 1 Jun 2015