2 February 2026
DOIA25-123
John Luke
[FYI request #33356 email]
Tēnā koe John
I refer to your request received on 22 December 2025 regarding the appointments of
Annabel (Annie) Dundas and Scott Houston to the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere
Taonga Board (the Board), which has been considered under the Official Information
Act 1982 (OIA). You requested the following information:
•
How public nominations were called for and on what platforms e.g.
govt.jobs website and a copy of any advertisement.
•
The number of applications received from the public and from
nominating agencies such as such as Te Puni Kōkiri or Ministry for
Women.
•
The number of candidates shortlisted and interviewed.
•
A copy of the appointment letter(s), with personal information removed.
Appointments to the Board are made in accordance with section 10 of the Heritage
New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014 and the Crown Entities Act 2004. These
appointments address the term expiries of two board members - Puawai Cairns in
December 2024 and Rei Kohere in November 2025. Scott Houston was appointed to
replace Puawai Cairns and Annie Dundas was appointed to replace Rei Kohere.
As these acts do not require a public call for nominations, no public advertisement
was created and no applications were received.
An initial appointment process to address Ms Cairn’s term expiry was undertaken but
did not result in a successful appointment. As part of that process, we searched the
Manatū Taonga nominations register, which includes members of the public who
have expressed interest in Crown board roles, and sought nominations from caucus
and coalition party colleagues. One candidate was shortlisted and interviewed.
While the Ministry’s usual practice is to seek nominations from our nominating
agencies, this step is not required for every appointment round. For this round,
additional agency nominations were not requested.
For the subsequent appointment process, which addressed both Ms Cairns’ and Mr
Kohere’s term expiries, candidates were selected from a few sources:
• The Manatū Taonga register of nominations, which includes members of the
public who have expressed interest in Crown board roles.
• Government nominating agencies (10 from the Ministry for Women, five from
the Ministry for Disabled People, and one from the Ministry for Pacific
Peoples).
• Caucus and coalition party colleagues (one nomination from New Zealand
First Party).
Four candidates were shortlisted and interviewed for two member positions.
Information being released
Item
Date
Document Description
1
9/12/2025
Annie Dundas - Letter and notice of appointment
2
9/12/2025
Scott Houston - Letter and notice of appointment
As per your request, personal information has been removed from the enclosed
documents under Section 9(2)(a).
If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact
[email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available via
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Brendan Gage
Pou Mataaho o Te Aka - Deputy Secretary, Policy, Performance & Insights
2
Document Outline
