Our ministers and governance

On this page:

Our Ministers

Our governance board

Our ministers

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) comes under the Government’s transport portfolio. Our ministers are:

Hon Simeon Brown – Minister of Transport

Hon Matt Doocey – Associate Minister of Transport

The Associate Minister is delegated responsibilities for the maritime sector and oversight of Maritime NZ.

Briefings list

As part of our ongoing commitment to openness and transparency, on a monthly basis we proactively release titles of briefing papers that we have provided to either the Minister of Transport or the Associate Minister of Transport.

See all briefings

Our governance board

We are governed by a six-member board, appointed by the Minister of Transport under the Maritime Transport Act 1994.

Our Board determines the overall organisation’ strategy and appoints our Director – who is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations.

Chair, Dame Jo Brosnahan QSO

Jo is an experienced Chair and Director who is also Chair of Harrison Grierson Ltd. She was previously Chair or director of a variety of entities, including Northpower Fibre, Landcare Research and Housing NZ.

She develops and facilitates leadership and governance programmes, including for the Institute of Directors. Founder and founding Chair of Leadership New Zealand, she is now Chair of the Leadership NZ Ambassadors. She was also founding Chair of the Taitokerau Education Trust in Northland, supporting digital learning in low decile schools.

Beginning her career with railways and with the port industry, Jo was also CEO of the Northland and Auckland Regional Councils. She has experience in the port and maritime sectors, infrastructure, housing and urban development, transport, and environmental management. She is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, of which she was national President. As a Harkness Fellow and Aspen Scholar, Jo researched leadership in the US.

Jo was appointed to the Maritime NZ Board in July 2018 and was appointed Chair in December 2018.

Lesley Haines

Lesley has an extensive public sector background, including leadership of advisory and regulatory functions in the Treasury, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

As a director she serves on the board of BRANZ (Building Research Association of New Zealand), and as a trustee of Motu, New Zealand’s premier economic research organisation. Lesley holds a Masters in Economics from Australian National University.

Danny Tuato’o

Danny is a Partner with MWIS Lawyers in Whangarei.

He has a particular interest in water safety and was the Chair of Water Safety New Zealand for five years until 2021. He has significant experience as a Chairperson, Director and trustee and is currently a Board member with Fire and Emergency New Zealand and an independent advisor to the Northland Regional Council Audit and Risk subcommittee.

Danny is a Member of the Institute of Directors and was appointed to the Maritime New Zealand Board in August 2020.

Roy Weaver

Roy brings to the Board table extensive port and maritime experience. During his 18 years as Chief Executive, at Port Timaru and Port Taranaki, he chaired the Boards of a number of industry-related organisations including the New Zealand Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

A Chartered Director since 2015, Roy’s expertise includes governance, commerce, strategy, business development, leadership, health and safety, infrastructure, energy, transport and logistics, ports and shipping, contracts, Iwi liaison, industrial relations and public relations.

Roy was appointed by the NZ Port Company CEO Forum as a representative for developing and implementing the New Zealand Port and Harbour Safety Code (2003 – 04). This was later extended to include the review of the Code and port company compliance (2013 – 2015). Roy was also part of the Port and Harbour Marine Safety Code review team that assessed the port Safety Management Systems (SMS) for Lyttelton and Timaru Ports in 2015.

Roy was appointed to the Maritime NZ Board in February 2019.

Ross Wilson

Ngāi Tahu and Scottish descent. Ross is a former union leader, lawyer and president of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. His governance experience includes Chair of the Accident Compensation Corporation and Worksafe New Zealand and  director of CentrePort Limited Wellington and  KiwiRail. He is currently Chair of the Unions Aotearoa International Development Trust and the Major Arc Media Trust, and a Trustee of iti Kōpara – Public Governance Aotearoa.

Parke Pittar

Parke Pittar has over 40 years’ experience in ports and logistics throughout New Zealand.

He is a Chartered Accountant and has held senior positions in various port related entities such as Chief Executive of C3 (NZ on port logistics and stevedoring service provider), Chief Commercial Officer at Port Nelson and most recently Chief Executive of AVA Timber, one of New Zealand’s largest exporters. The experience of being at the most senior levels of a port company, on port service provider and exporter, provides a broad insight into the practical considerations of undertaking business and operations on port in New Zealand and the importance of well functioning health and safety systems and cultures.

Parke has a Bachelor and Diplomas in Business Studies from Massey University, is a Fellow of Governance New Zealand and a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Lara Ariell

Lara has enjoyed broad range of senior leadership, finance, strategy, planning, business support and change management roles in a variety of organisations across the public service.

Lara was previously the CFO of Inland Revenue, leading their Enterprise Support Services transformation workstream. She is currently the Chief Executive of Education Payroll Limited.

Her public service career includes CFO and corporate services roles with the Ministry of Social Development, Callaghan Innovation, the Tertiary Education Commission, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education and Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand. Prior to joining the public sector, Lara worked in receivership and insolvency with accountancy firm Price Waterhouse and then McCallum Petterson and Co.

Lara has a Bachelor of Business Studies from Massey University and is a Chartered Accountant Fellow (FCA).