Hon John Key, Prime Minister
Minister of Tourism
MP for Helensville

John Key was born in Auckland in 1961. His twin ambitions as a small boy were to be a successful businessman and to one day be Prime Minister of New Zealand. As he said later, “I wanted to make sure that other kids who were like me, who grew up without advantages, would get the same kind of opportunities to succeed that I got”.

The founding president of ACT upon its establishment in 1994, Hon Hide has been instrumental in the establishment and evolution of ACT as New Zealand’s liberal party.

Widely acknowledged as one of the country's most effective politicians, Rodney Hide is a tireless promoter for a free and prosperous New Zealand where the role of government is limited to protecting the rights and freedoms of its citizens.

Hon Hide first gained a degree in Zoology and Botany from the University of Canterbury, before travelling overseas and eventually finding himself in Scotland and worked for some time on oil rigs in the North Sea.  After further travel, Mr Hide returned to New Zealand gaining a degree in resource management from Lincoln University. He then took up a teaching position at Lincoln, first in resource management and later in economics. He also completed his master's degree in economics from Montana State University in record time.

Hon Hide entered Parliament in 1996 as an ACT list MP, and worked his way up to become the Leader of ACT in 2004. In 2005 he won the Electorate Seat of Epsom, and in 2008 held the seat with a 56% majority (12,882 votes).

In the National-led Government, Mr Hide is a Minister outside Cabinet, under the terms of a supply and confidence agreement.

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Padraig McNamara, partner, Simpson Grierson
Padraig is a partner in Simpson Grierson's Auckland office, specialising in resource management, local government, administrative law, and public policy issues. He is currently advising Auckland Council on planning and governance issues in particular, and before that was one of the key external legal advisors to the Auckland Transition Agency on the Auckland Council legislation, CCOs, delegations, local boards, meetings, charging powers, and development contributions.

Presentation synopsis
Our two largest metropolitan centres are now confronting new realities - one resulting from local government reform, the other from devastating earthquakes. Simpson Grierson partners, Padraig McNamara and Jonathan Salter, have been close to the developments and will discuss implications for the future of local government with particular emphasis on governance and planning.

Ultra-fast broadband – considering the role of councils

Graham Mitchell, chief executive, Crown Fibre Holdings 

Graham Mitchell is CEO of Crown Fibre Holdings , established to manage the Government's $1.5 billion investment in ultra-fast broadband infrastructure over the next ten years. Prior to this , Graham  was the CEO of Cogent Communications, part of the OneSource Group. Before then, he headed US telecommunications company, Optical WDM OEM.  During ten years spent at Telecom New Zealand he held senior positions including group GM of Business, Wholesale and Network Services and GM of the Internet and Directories Division, both in Australia.   

Graham’s considerable corporate finance experience is derived from roles with Brierley Investments, Electricity Corporation and Transpower.

Presentation synopsis
Graham Mitchell will discuss the ultra-fast broadband initiative and the opportunities it creates for councils. He’ll outline the status of the programme to form local fibre companies and deploy UFB fibre in thirty-three towns and cities. Many councils are taking a leadership role, creating Digital Leadership Forums with local stakeholders to leverage the benefits of the investment. Graham will explain what such a forum looks like.  With councils as potential anchor tenants, he’ll outline the opportunity to act as exemplar users, showing the community how they’re making best use of this new technology. Graham will describe how councils can put UFB to advantage, with a full suite of online applications at their fingertips, building relationships with connected local citizens. Following completion of a pilot to investigate innovations in micro and mini-trenching deployment, he’ll summarise progress in the best practice deployment techniques and update on the development of associated standards.  Finally Graham will indicate some of the UFB products available and consider what councils might expect to pay for telecommunications in a fibre world.

Digital strategy - focus on business engagement

Speakers:

Dunedin digital strategy - taking our community into the digital world

Speakers:
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull
Dave was born and raised in Invercargill.  He attended Otago University and attained his BA and Post Grad Diploma in political studies.  Dave has worked as self-employed contractor and free-lance writer/broadcaster for some 25 years. 

Between 2007 – 2010, Dave was elected to the Dunedin City Council.  He served as deputy chair of the Economic Development Committee, chair of the Harbour Cone Steering Group, chair Digital Strategy Steering Group, chair Economic Re-use Heritage Buildings Steering Group, member of the Sustainability Panel, member of the Rates Funding Working Party, member of the Ocean Beach Working Party and member of the Hearings Panel.

Dunedin councillor Chris Staynes
Chris is a second term Dunedin City Councillor and is currently Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Dunedin Digital Strategy Steering Group.  He is a Director serving on a number of boards including Scott Technology Limited and Cargill Enterprises Limited for which he is Chairman.  Before turning to local body politics Chris was General Manager, Fisher & Paykel Range & Dishwasher Division a role he had held for 20 years until his retirement in late 2006.  He has extensive experience in product design, production engineering and management.

Local population trends - using and understanding population statistics

Kim Dunstan
Kim is a Senior Demographer with the Population Statistics Unit of Statistics New Zealand. He joined Statistics NZ in 1989 and since then has also worked at the Australian Bureau of Statistics and United Kingdom Office of National Statistics. He has particular expertise in demographic projections, life tables and ethnic statistics.

He first entered parliament in 1981, and has held numerous high-profile ministerial portfolios including Foreign Affairs and Trade, Justice, Education, Environment, Defence and Housing.

Mr Goff, 55, grew up in Mt Roskill and South Auckland. He is married with three children and lives on a small farm near Ardmore in Manukau, where he runs sheep and cattle, enjoying physical work as a break from the demands of Parliament. He has a passion for motorbikes, horse-riding, gardening, watching rugby and league, and international affairs.

Since becoming Labour Party Leader, Mr Goff has begun a series of regional visits throughout New Zealand. The visits are an ideal opportunity to learn first-hand from people in cities and provinces about the issues that are most important to them, including, of course, issues affecting local government. Phil Goff says he is determined that while in Opposition Labour will use its time productively to reconnect with New Zealanders as it develops new policy.

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Presentation synopsis
Deputy Mayor of Christchurch Ngaire Button shares her story.

Ngaire experienced something most of us never experience in our lifetimes, not once but many times.  She will share her experience with you not just as a mayor but as a wife and a mother. 

Ngaire experienced both major quakes in two completely different settings - at home and at work.  On the morning of September 4 she was shocked awake by the quake and got up to discover a kitchen covered in broken glass.  On February 22 Ngaire was at work on the sixth floor of the Civic Building.  This time it was different.  She had to juggle her civic responsibilities to her concern for the safety of friends and family.

How did she juggle her priorities?  What did she do to help herself cope, making sure her family were safe while having to fulfil her responsibilities as Deputy Mayor.

Ngaire will share this very personal story with you.  Talking from the heart, she'll also talk about her practical considerations and offer advice.  Her takeout message will be;  never think it can't happen to you.  It can.  And you need to be prepared, professionally and personally.