Maggie Barry's first close encounter as Minister

Incoming Conservation Minister Maggie Barry and current Minister Nick Smith with the kakapo Sirocco at Parliament today. Photo / Isaac Davison

Maggie Barry's first official act after being named the new Conservation Minister was to be pecked in the face by a world-famous bird.

The National MP this afternoon had an encounter with over-eager kakapo Sirocco, the cheeky parrot which first gained notoriety for attempting to copulate on a British zoologist during filming for a BBC series.

Ms Barry was not subjected to the same treatment, but almost immediately lost an earring to the large, flightless bird.

"Not the face," she told Sirocco as it pecked at her ear and chin.

The bird was being hosted at Parliament to mark the 25-year sponsorship of the kakapo recovery programme by New Zealand Aluminium Smelters.

In a speech to an audience in the Grand Hall, Ms Barry said the company had created a blueprint for other private sponsorships of conservation programmes.

The Department of Conservation is increasingly looking to corporate backers to assist with its work, and has signed deals with Air New Zealand and Dulux in recent years.

The occasion also marked Nick Smith's farewell as Conservation Minister.

He will tomorrow be sworn in as Environment Minister and given part of the housing portfolio.

"Politicians rightly get quite nervous about being closely associated with endangered species," Dr Smith told the audience.

But his most special moment as minister was releasing three kakapo chicks on Stewart Island in July.

"It was one of those 'Is this for real?' moments in one's life," he said.

The Department of Conservation had stepped in to prevent the kakapo's extinction in the 1970s, translocating them to predator-free islands and isolated spots around New Zealand.

Their population had since doubled to 126.

New Zealand Aluminium Smelter funds around $200,000 of the $1 million annual cost of the recovery programme.