Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust team is made up of 7 full-time and part-time staff who are committed to achieving the vision of establishing the two working water schemes planned for Northland. These roles vary across all aspects of project management, to landholder and stakeholder relations, as well as Maori engagement, communications, finance and administration. You can see a full list of staff and contact details below.
The board is made up of three trustees, all of whom are from, and live in Northland. Hon. Murray McCully (chair) and Hon. Dover Samuels were appointed by the Crown when the Trust was established in mid-2020 and they have since been joined by Kathryn de Bruin.
Right: Hon. Dover Samuels, Middle: Hon: Murray Mc Cully Left: Simon Jones (Former Minister of Forestry of New Zealand)
CNZM CF
I was raised in Dargaville, attending Arapohue Primary School and Dargaville High School. I served as a Member of Parliament for 30 years, retiring in 2017 after serving as New Zealand’s Foreign Minister for eight and a half years. I served a total of sixteen and a half years as a Minister of the Crown, including the Housing, Sport, Tourism, Customs, Rugby World Cup and America’s Cup portfolios.
I was born in Matauri Bay and whakapapa to Ngati Kura. I have given more than 50 years of public service at both a local and national level, where I served as a Member of Parliament for 12 years, three of which as Minister for Māori Affairs.
I am a Chartered Accountant and serve clients who primarily operate in the horticultural and agricultural sector. I am an elected member of the board of Horticulture NZ and also run a horticultural operation along with my husband outside of Dargaville. This gives me an instinctive understanding of rural-based businesses, and the financial acumen associated with governing them. I have a passion for, and belief in, the potential for rural New Zealand.
I have held a number of senior leadership and management roles in both the private and public sector in New Zealand and overseas. While at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade I worked on security and political issues and ran a significant number of international-development projects, in multiple countries. I also attended key climate change and environmental meetings and participated and led in international trade and climate change negotiations. I held senior leadership roles as Ambassador, High Commissioner and Consul General in a number of countries. My role at the Trust as GM and Otawere Project Director is to manage all aspects of the project to ensure a successful delivery of the Trust’s goals. I have been passionately involved in this project since it was first raised in discussions with Kaipara landowners in 2014. Since then I have taken lead roles in each subsequent stage and am currently across all facets of the project. Post completing a Bachelor of Commerce in 2005 Ben has worked in the Irrigation and the Banking sector. Getting involved with the Trust projects in 2021 has provided an opportunity to use these past fields of work and support the project with the task of developing water storage and distribution that enables a shift to higher-value land use. While across many different elements of the projects Bens primary role is to Manage the Finance and Commercial Affairs for the Trust and maintain relationships with the Trust’s primary funder, and other key stakeholders. Alastair brings a wealth of knowledge from a civil design perspective. He has a sound understanding of contract law from an Engineering / Engineers representative, Contractor's and Principals perspective with regards to NZS 3910 and NZ3916. Alastair strives to develop a sound working relationship with all stakeholders of any given project to ensure that projects are delivered safely, on time, to budget and the highest quality with an eye for detail and constructability. Alastair is always pushing innovation through design and construction methodologies with the intention of value add to projects.
Robert Kaiwai
General Manager & Otawere Reservoir Director
Chris Frost
Lead Relationship Manager
I have almost 20 years experience in the design and development of Infrastructure for the rural and wider primary sector in Northland, the South Island and overseas. This includes project management and infrastructure consultant roles for multiple orchard and irrigation developments for a variety of private, iwi, corporate and government entities.
As a born-and-bred Northlander, I am genuinely committed to seeing the region prosper through the outcomes this project is set to deliver.
Ben Craw
Manager Finance & Commercial Affairs
Alastair King
Contracts Manager – Kaipara
Vicki Robson
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Financial Controller
Terisa Turua
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Senior Project and Officer Administrator
