Local Advisory Committee
Minutes
Wellington Local Advisory Committee Meeting
Date:
7 October 2025
Time:
10.00am – 2.30pm
Venue:
Remutaka Station, 35-37 Park Street, Kingsley Heights, Upper Hutt 5018
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LAC members:
Adrienne Staples (Chair)
Asher Wilson-Goldman (online until 1pm)
Shamia Love-Shariff (DC)
Andrew Brown
Sara Williams
Maleeha Ahmad
In Attendance:
Daniel Tulloch (1- 2.30pm)
Fire and Emergency NZ Board Member
David Utumapu
Acting Region Manager – Te Ūpoko
Gareth Hughes
District Manager – Te Ūpoko
Philip Soal
Community Risk Manager – Te Ūpoko
Aidan Crawford
Pou Takawaenga - Te Ūpoko
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Megan McPherson (online 1.45-
Otago LAC chair
2pm)
Michelle Bartlett
Senior Advisor, Local Advisory Committees
Apologies:
Bruce Stubbs
Region Manager – Te Ūpoko
Maria Mitimeti
LAC member
Lucy Chamberlain
Manager, National Advisory Committee
team
Welcome The meeting was opened with a karakia from the District Manager (DM) and a round of
introductions.
Committee Operations
The Member Interest Register was reviewed, and updates have been added for two members.
Correspondence register was reviewed.
Apologies were noted from the Regional Manager, Manager National Advisory Committee team and
LAC member Maria Mitimeti.
District Update
The DM shared the District priority “Keeping our people safe, by identifying challenges and explaining
the “why” and the values that underpin this are Manaakitanga, Whanaungatanga, Auahatanaga and Ki
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tika as these are the values that allow FENZ to always be ready.
An overview of the new National Strategic Direction was shared with slides on each of the five focus
areas Safe, Effective and resilient operations, Effective Regulator, Strong Relationships, Supporting our
people and Strong business foundations.
Recent significant events for the Wellington District team include participation of a number of staff in
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court trials over the Loafers Lodge Wellington and Wards Line Wairarapa, these combined have
involved approximately 35 Fire fighters. A positive from these distressing events is that through the
Court processes FENZ relationships with Police have been strengthened.
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Industrial action This is ongoing
and is highly visible through writing
on the trucks and through social
media campaigns. Negotiations are ongoing around not only pay but also the age and reliability of fleet
and equipment. The DM said that currently he is receiving 2-3 complaints a day from the public about
the ‘defacing of the trucks’.
Community Risk Management update
The CRM team is actively planning for the 2025-6 fire season which is anticipated to be a La Nina
weather pattern (warmer but wetter conditions) which would be good from a fire risk perspective. New
fire season status signs are being rolled out as old signage is being replaced. New signage is simplified
to only include Open, Restricted and Prohibited and will refer people to the ‘check its alright’ tool on
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our website.
New Fire season zones have been implemented and Wellington Beach zones have been removed. The
Long Gulley Weather Station has been moved to a new location to better reflect fire weather conditions
for the Wellington zone. Voluntary restrictions on high-risk activities continue to be rolled out with
industries and uptake has been good.
An elder person campaign will be running in Wellington over the next six months in response to the 8
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fire related fatalities in the Wellington region. Over the last 5 year period all fire fatalities have involved
over 65 European females who live alone.
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Stakeholder Engagement Plan workshopping
The Senior Advisor presented an Engagement planning overview explaining the importance of careful
planning of the Engagement plan. That it must include the Board’s three focus areas of Sustainable
volunteerism, Community risks and opportunities and Culture change alongside the District priorities
because all of the LAC mahi should align with this plan.
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The committee then workshopped their focus areas and engagement priorities and discussed on how
they could approach this engagement.
The priorities for the District team are the safety of their people, particularly in unsafe built
environments and they have a focus on preventable fire deaths.
The committee collated their existing connections and networks which is vast and spans Iwi, Faith
communities as well as numerous ethnicities alongside sectors such as Local Government, Health,
Education, Transport, Infrastructure, Veterans, Social Sector, Disability, Farming and Forestry, Schools
and Community networks.
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The LAC explored how they could work best as a team to carry out engagement that used their
strengths but also supported succession and growth in relationships. The committee agreed on a
Kotahitanga model of engagement, where they will work as a team with dedicated leads in both
geographical areas of the Wellington region and also by calling on fellow members with strengths in
certain portfolios.
The first draft of the Wellington LAC Engagement Plan was developed during the session.
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Pou Takawaenga
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The Pou Takawaenga shared one of four mauri stones that had recently returned from the Canada
deployment with the last of the contingents.
The video shared can be viewed
here https://portal.fireandemergency.nz/notices-news-and-
events/news/mauri-stones-bring-a-piece-of-aotearoa-to-canada/
Board member Daniel Tulloch joined the meeting at 1pm
Daniel shared that he is Wellington based so was keen to visit the Wellington LAC, Daniel has a
background in sustainable finance, carbon markets and climate change. Daniel has recently been
touring career and volunteers stations.
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Guest speaker – Otago LAC chair
The chair of the Otago committee shared lessons learnt from her five years of experience with the
Otago LAC, four of those years as chair. An important thing to be aware of is the difference between
Governance vs Advisory committees being that Governance committees have the power to make
decisions whereas Advisory committees have the power to make recommendations. The chair shared
that the FENZ board is like the driver of the vehicle and the Advisory committee is like a GPS system. An
Advisory committee can have 100% influence but 0% control.
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Sometimes the best engagements happen serendipitously – sometimes the best insights come
unexpectedly.
LAC members bring expert community knowledge, but high performing LAC include the following
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• Turning up
• Keep everyone accountable
• Everyone doing their homework
• Committee are highly connected with their community
• Everyone contributes
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• Outcome focused
• Strong relationships with District team
• Good vibes
The Otago LAC chair shared that good LAC’s can have an impact but need to ensure they hand over
operational issues onto the District team and gather evidence based insights.
General Business
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SharePoint Access: National LAC team working to provide all members with SharePoint access in
preparation for new Board Management application. New login guidance has been distributed.
Members experiencing access issues should contact IT Support on 0800 374 843.
Community Perceptions Report (Verian): The report included in LAC meeting packs highlight four
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engagement types, challenges, and six principles for effective engagement.
Previous Insights Report Follow-up:
•
2024/25 Insight - Operational Review Learnings: Link to operational reviews provided in
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meeting pack (not previously visible to LACs)
•
2023/24 Insight - Carbon Forestry Fire Risk: Link to information and research on carbon
forestry fire risk provided in meeting pack
Next Meeting
The next meeting Tuesday 10th of March 2026 will be held at Wellington City Station (RCC room)
Close
The meeting closed with a karakia by the DM at 2:30pm
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Action Register
Date
Action
Responsible
Due
Status
7 October 2025 If members are wanting to visit
Members
Next meeting
their local station contact Gareth to
be connected with the relevant
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Group Manager to arrange
7 October 2025 Provide gaps analysis of existing
District Manager Next meeting
relationships/networks in
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Wellington region and any gaps that
the LAC may be able to support with
7 October 2025 Share stakeholders contact list with
CRM/BSC
17 November
LAC members
2025
7 October 2025 Add Volunteerism team and Risk
Senior Advisor
Post meeting Complete
Reduction team to forward agenda
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to consider attending next meeting
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Local Advisory Committee
Minutes
Wellington Local Advisory Committee Meeting
Date:
10 March 2026
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Time:
09.30am – 2.30pm
Venue:
Wairarapa Room, Te Ūpoko HQ, Level M, 2 Oriental Parade, Wellington.
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LAC members:
Adrienne Staples (Chair)
Asher Wilson-Goldman
Shamia Love-Shariff (DC)
Andrew Brown
Maria Mitimeti
Maleeha Ahmad
In Attendance:
Gareth Hughes
Acting District Manager – Te Ūpoko
Philip Soal
Community Risk Manager – Te Ūpoko
Aidan Crawford
Pou Takawaenga - Te Ūpoko
Lucy Chamberlain
National Manager, Local Advisory Committees
Kate Adams
Coordinator, Local Advisory Committees
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Apologies:
Bruce Stubbs
Region Manager – Te Ūpoko
Welcome
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The meeting was opened with a karakia, followed by a Health and Safety briefing.
Committee Operations
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Apologies: none noted
The Interest Register was reviewed andupdated.
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved by the committee.
Correspondence: none noted
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Updated LAC Terms of Reference
The LAC Chair led the presentation and discussion on the updated Terms of Reference.
The district spoke about Volunteer leadership meetings and noted LAC members are welcome to attend
these.
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District Update
The District Manager and Community Risk Manager shared a district update including District Plans and
priorities.
the Pou Takawaenga gave an update on engagement and support marae in the rohe.
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The district team noted that operationally they work and support the Chatham Islands.
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Engagement Plans and Reports
There was discussion on the LAC Engagement Plan and working with the district on this. A key focus is
for committee members to be visible in their communities.
This Engagement Plan reflects the committee’s establishment phase and is subject to further revision.
The LAC noted they were lacking geographical support in the Porirua region however this can be filled
from other angles.
General Business
The updated claims process was discussed, outlining the new process and timeframes. Members are
encouraged to contact the secretariat if they have any questions.
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The Pou Takawaenga invited the LAC to the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Matariki celebration on
Wellington waterfront.
The committee delayed taking of the photograph due to some committee members attending virtually.
Next Meeting
The next meeting date has been changed to Wednesday 10 June 2026 at Waikanae Volunteer Fire
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Brigade
Close
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The meeting closed with a karakia by the District Manager at 2:35pm. The committee then received a
museum tour.
Action Register
Date
Action
Responsible
Due
Status
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10 March
Committee photo taken on next
LAC Chair
10 June 2026
2026
meeting
10 March
Provide district station plans so
District
10 April 2026
2026
they are accessible
Manager/Secretariat
10 March
Copy of updated stakeholder list
Secretariat
10 April 2026
2026
provided
10 March
Invite LAC members to Volunteer
District Manager
10 April 2026 –
2026
leadership meetings
Ongoing
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10 March
Set up a regular meeting with
District Manager
10 April 2026
2026
District Manager and LAC
10 March
Provide information on
Secretariat to work
10 June 2026
2026
Memorandum of Understandings
with District
with Department of Conservation,
Manager
New Zealand Defence Force, and
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Ministry of Education relevant to
the local area.
10 March
Share last years reporting
Secretariat
24 March 2026
2026
ACT
10 March
Update Guidance around Terms of
Secretariat
10 April 2026
2026
Reference in Members Guide
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Document Outline
