He has held a range of ministerial portfolios including Agriculture, Forestry, Rural Affairs, Biosecurity, and Trade Negotiations.

Sutton was appointed as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours List 2007 for public services as a member of parliament and Minister of the Crown.

Most rural electorates in New Zealand traditionally support the National Party, and so Sutton's victory as a Labour candidate was noteworthy.

Sutton's first ministerial role had come in the dying days of the Fourth Labour Government, shortly before he lost the Waitaki electorate.

[4] He remained in parliament as a list MP, but announced his retirement from politics on 10 July 2006, effective from 1 August 2006.