New Council gears up for busy term

The newly elected Taranaki Regional Council has settled on its committee make-up for the next three years, with experienced hands at the helm.



The Council has grown by one member and has four new faces after the October local body elections. At their first ordinary meeting today, councillors approved new Chairman David MacLeod’s proposed committee chairs, deputy chairs and members.



The Policy and Planning Committee and the Consents and Regulatory Committee retain their previous chairs, Neil Walker and David Lean respectively. Mr Lean is also the new Council Deputy Chair.



Tom Cloke is the new deputy chair of the Policy and Planning Committee while Moira Irving is the deputy for Consents and Regulatory.



The Regional Land Transport Committee also keeps its previous chair, Roger Maxwell, with former Stratford mayor and new regional councillor Brian Jeffares as his deputy.



Mr Jeffares is also the new chair of the Taranaki Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, whose other members are the region’s three District Mayors.



The Executive Committee will be chaired by Mr MacLeod, with Mr Lean his deputy.



Mr MacLeod says the major committees face busy workloads over the coming three years – Consents and Regulatory with some major resource consent hearings, Policy and Planning with important policy reviews and Regional Land Transport with the Government introducing far-reaching changes for the sector.



Committee memberships:



Policy and Planning: Neil Walker (Chair), Tom Cloke (Deputy Chair), Mike Davey, Peter Horton, Moira Irving, Michael Joyce. Ex officio: David MacLeod, David Lean. This committee will also have external representatives from District Councils, Federated Farmers and Te Puni Kokiri.



Consents and Regulatory: David Lean (Chair), Moira Irving (Deputy Chair), Tom Cloke, Mike Davey, Brian Jeffares, Michael Joyce, Barry Marsh, Roger Maxwell, Neil Walker. Ex officio: David MacLeod.



Regional Land Transport: Roger Maxwell (Chair), Brian Jeffares (Deputy Chair), Tom Cloke, Peter Horton, Barry Marsh. Ex officio: David MacLeod, David Lean. This committee also includes external representatives from District Council, Government agencies and the transport sector.



Executive Committee: David MacLeod (Chair), David Lean (Deputy Chair), Roger Maxwell, Neil Walker.