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Kōrero: Crown entities

Government Life poster

Image
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.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

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.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Rob Laking, Crown entities – Why were Crown entities created?, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/ephemera/32661/government-life-poster (accessed 5 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Rob Laking, i tāngia i te 23 March 2012, updated 1 June 2015.