Climate change minister says nearly $1m salary for head of defunct Crown-owned fund ‘hard to justify’
Thursday, 26 March 2026
The head of an investment fund which is being shut down by the Government has been on an annual salary of nearly $1 million paid by the public purse, which the climate change minister says is “hard to justify”.
Green Investment Finance was established under the previous government to support investments in emissions-reducing ventures, but in April last year it was announced it would be wound up in April last yearafter anger among ministers over the fund’s failed investment in rooftop solar installer SolarZero.
SolarZero was put into liquidation in November 2024 after its directors admitted it had incurred unsustainable operating losses, but not before it had drawn about $115m in loans from Green Investment Finance (NZGIF).
Annual report documents released by Treasury show NZGIF chief executive Sarah Minhinnick, who started in the fund’s top job just three months prior to the SolarZero liquidation, was on $949,645 annually.
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Climate Change Minister Simon Watts told The Post while boards set chief executive salaries there was a clear expectation they fairly balanced attracting talent with value for money to taxpayers.
“At a time where many Kiwis are struggling with the cost of living, it is hard to justify this cost.”
Watts said since cabinet agreed to wind down the fund it had been returning capital to the Crown on a quarterly basis.
“With the March return, the total capital recovered will reach $216m.”
NZGIF board chair David Woods told The Post the fund’s chief executive remuneration was in line with market benchmarks and was below that of chief executives of comparable financial institutions.
“The remuneration framework, including salary settings, was approved through established government processes, including Treasury oversight.”
Woods said the chief executive was responsible for leading the complex task of divesting assets in a way that protected value and achieved the best possible outcome for the Crown.
As of June 2023, NZGIF had 28 fulltime employees, with the latest annual plan not specifying staff numbers for 2024-25.
By comparison, the chief executive for the New Zealand Growth Capital partners was paid $459,000 annually, with a staff of 17.
The head of The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation (the entity responsible for the NZ Super Fund) was paid $1,359,341 in the 2024-25 financial year but that organisation was significantly larger with 200 employees.
When compared against the salaries of head roles in large ministries, the Ministry of Defence’s chief executive Brook Barrington earned $590,000, Ministry of Social Development chief executive Debbie Power $648,000 and Ministry of Justice secretary Andrew Kibblewhite, was at last count was on a salary of $649,000.
*CLARIFICATION: Simon Watts made his comments in this article in his role as climate change minister. An earlier version of this story had used his energy minister title. (Amended March 26, 2026. 10.46pm)