Appointments to the National Infrastructure Advisory Board

5 May 2014

MEDIA STATEMENT
Immediate Release

Appointments to the National Infrastructure Advisory Board

National Infrastructure Advisory Board Chair Lindsay Crossen has announced the reappointment of John Rae, Margaret Devlin and Edward Guy to the Board and the new appointment of Carl Hansen to replace departing member and former chair Dr Rod Carr. Mr Rae’s appointment is for a two year term and the others are for a three year term.

“With the on-going commitment and priority the government is placing on infrastructure and the focus of the National Infrastructure Unit on responding to the challenges identified in the recently released national infrastructure evidence base, we welcome the reappointment of John Rae, Margaret Devlin and Edward Guy to the Board and the appointment of Carl Hansen,” says Lindsay Crossen.

“The first ten-year capital intentions plan has identified over $92 billion of infrastructure expenditure, making it more important than ever that a planned, coordinated and long term approach is taken to infrastructure from a national perspective. The evidence base has shown that traditional approaches will not suffice for the infrastructure challenges ahead, and the risk of misaligning our response to our needs could result in a huge opportunity cost. All this makes the role of the Board and the Plan critical going forward.

“The 2011 National Infrastructure Plan sets out a bold vision that ‘By 2030 New Zealand’s infrastructure is resilient and coordinated and contributes to economic growth and increased quality of life.’

“The National Infrastructure Advisory Board has a role in helping to achieve this vision and providing advice to both the Minister of Finance and the National Infrastructure Unit within the Treasury. A key role for the Board is to engage with the private sector, local government and other stakeholders.

“The appointment of Carl Hansen to the Board brings a range of both private and public sector expertise along with advanced qualifications in economics. Carl has been Chief Executive of the Electricity Authority since it was established in November 2010. He has chaired electricity sector technical and advisory groups and acted as principal adviser to a number of industry bodies. Carl has been involved in the evolution of the New Zealand electricity market as a senior executive and director, independent adviser and economist. He spent almost a decade with market services company M-co, originally as chief economist and then as chief executive. Carl has worked for the Law and Economics Consulting Group, providing strategic and regulatory advice to utility and infrastructure clients, and has held a wide range of policy development and operations roles at the New Zealand Treasury and Reserve Bank.

“John Rae was a founding member of the Board and we are pleased to continue to benefit from his input, particularly regarding Auckland infrastructure issues. John has been involved in banking in New Zealand and London in various treasury and capital market roles and has a background in private equity, venture capital and corporate finance transactions. He is currently Chairman of the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development.

“Margaret Devlin has brought to the Board her expertise in regulation and the telecommunications sector, and has particular involvement with issues relating to water. Margaret is Chair of Equity Partners Infrastructure Company Ltd, Chair of the Institute of Directors (Waikato Branch), Deputy Chair of WEL Networks Ltd, and director of City Care Ltd.

“Edward Guy’s 16 years' experience working with a wide range of Crown, local government, private and jointly-owned infrastructure assets has made him a valuable member of the Board, and we are pleased to have his continued input. Edward is the founder of Rationale Ltd, an infrastructure consultancy business based in Arrowtown.

“The Board would also like to acknowledge the end of Rod Carr’s term on the Board and thank him for the valuable contribution he has made over the past five years, particularly during his period as Chair,” says Mr Crossen.

The full list of Board members is Lindsay Crossen (Chair), Matthew Birch, Margaret Devlin, Kathryn Edmonds, Edward Guy, Carl Hansen, Dr Terence Heiler and John Rae.

Further information
The National Infrastructure Advisory Board was established to advise the National Infrastructure Unit (NIU) and the Minister of Finance. It is made up of members from the private sector and outside central government.

The Board provides both the Minister and the NIU with advice and perspectives on infrastructure project appraisal, capital asset management issues, and the development and implementation of the National Infrastructure Plan. A key role for the Board is to engage with the private sector, local government and other stakeholders.

The Board meets three to five times a year. Members also facilitated the recent series of seven regional workshops run by the NIU in March/April 2014 to progress the thinking on how we should respond to the challenges identified in the recently released national infrastructure evidence base.

Further information on the Board, including profiles of the members is available here on the NIU website (profile for Carl Hansen to be added soon).

Further information on the National Infrastructure Plan is available here on the NIU website.

ENDS

© Scoop Media