Commissioners

The Local Government Minister, Hon. Nanaia Mahuta, has appointed a four-member commission to act in place of the council’s elected members.

Anne Tolley

Commission Chair

Anne Tolley has had a wide experience in local and national politics over the last 30 years.
Elected to the Napier City Council in 1986, she was quickly appointed a Standing Committee Chair, and was then Deputy Mayor for six years. She was also elected to the inaugural Hawkes Bay Regional Council for one term.

In 1999, Anne was elected to Parliament as a National Party List MP based in Napier. She then moved to Gisborne and successfully contested the election for the East Coast Electorate in 2005. She held the seat until her retirement from national politics in 2020, moving to Ōhope as the growing electorate’s boundary reached the edge of Te Puke. During that time, she has been a vocal advocate for the development of both Kawerau and Ōpōtiki.

Anne served for nine years as a Government minister, holding the portfolios of Education, Police, Corrections, MSD, Children and Local Government. From 2017 to 2020, she served as Deputy Speaker and as part of that role, chaired the committee which developed a Code of Conduct that covered everybody working in the NZ. She was also the Parliamentary representative to the International Parliamentarians Union.

She is married to Allan and has three adult children and four grandchildren.

Email: anne.tolley@tauranga.govt.nz

Bill Wasley

Commissioner

Bill Wasley has more than 40 years’ experience in resource management and senior management positions in local government and the private sector. He comes from a professional planning background and before founding his own consultancy business, Wasley Consultants Ltd in 1996, he was Company Secretary for the Port of Tauranga Ltd and held directorships of its subsidiary companies. 

A previous Director of Planning & Environment with Tauranga City Council, Bill was responsible for planning, building services, environmental health, and land information.  He was also the Council’s Acting Chief Executive in 1994/95.

Bill has held commissioner or chairperson roles within a range of New Zealand organisations, with a substantial focus on integrated growth management (strategy, funding, and implementation) strategies and spatial plans. He also has a strong interest in governance and collaborative approaches which achieve integration between spatial planning, economic development, and social/ community outcomes.

Amongst his many current and past governance roles, Bill was the Independent Chair of the western Bay of Plenty’s SmartGrowth partnership from 2001 until his appointment as a Tauranga City Council Commissioner. He is currently chair of the FutureProof Growth Management Partnership in the Waikato and finishes his role as the Independent Chair of the Greater Christchurch Partnership in March. 

Email: bill.wasley@tauranga.govt.nz

Stephen Selwood

Stephen Selwood is a professional director and an expert in infrastructure vision, strategy and policy.

In addition to his role as a Commissioner for Tauranga City Council, he currently serves as a member of the Board of the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission – Te Waihanga; provides public policy advice to the infrastructure sector, as a director of Selwood Infrastructure Advisory; and is managing director of Rapt Ltd an online and bricks and mortar retail gift, decor and fashion business based in Auckland.

In his former role as founding Chief Executive of Infrastructure New Zealand, Stephen had a proven record of leading and influencing policy at both a Government and industry level. This included galvanising support from disparate public and private sector parties into a common vision centred on national benefit. In 2019, he received the Infrastructure New Zealand leadership award for his contribution to the industry in New Zealand.

Stephen describes himself as a thought-leader and an agent for positive change, who will bring a deep understanding of integrated urban development and infrastructure planning, funding and delivery to his city governance role.

Email: stephen.selwood@tauranga.govt.nz

Shadrach Rolleston

Commissioner

Shadrach Rolleston is a consultant planner and policy advisor with expertise in resource management and Māori relationship management and engagement.  He is of Māori descent with tribal connections to Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pukenga and affiliations to Te Arawa.

His public service career spans more than 20 years at a national, regional and local level.  He has worked as a policy advisor and planner for both central and local government, having been involved in transport and environmental reforms.  He spent some time in the private sector as an academic researcher, then as a consultant planner contracted to assist clients with a range of complex and challenging problems, from marine casualties to power generation, and water and waste.  Relationship management, engagement and mediation are his core strengths.

Shad supported his iwi Treaty of Waitangi claims settlement research and negotiations with the Crown, having served on the Ngāti Ranginui Post Settlement Governance Entity as a board member, and iwi property leasing company as a Director.  He is a former SmartGrowth Tū Pakari Advisor and co-chair of the Combined Tāngata Whenua Forum, is the current Chair of Arā Rau Tāngata, and is a board member of the Abundant Life Community Trust. 

Email: shadrach.rolleston@tauranga.govt.nz

The Commission's role

The Commission has been appointed to make good decisions on behalf of the city and its residents and to ensure that a process is in place to restore full local democracy at the 2022 local government elections.

Each commissioner brings particular skills in the fields of governance, infrastructure and strategic and financial planning. Together, we will be seeking to:

• Deliver a robust 2021-31 Long-term Plan which addresses Tauranga’s current infrastructure and funding challenges and sets a platform to create the liveable city of the future;
• Create a spirit of partnership between the council, tangata whenua and the community and work to restore trust and confidence;
• Engage with the community openly and honestly. Some tough decisions will need to be made and we are committed to doing this with integrity and transparency. Collaborate with our regional partners to implement solutions which address the Western Bay of Plenty’s high-growth issues.

We have a big job ahead of us, but we are individually and jointly committed to getting that job done, working with and for the people of Tauranga Moana and in partnership with the council team.

Commissioner clinics

Commissioner clinics are held once a month – an opportunity to speak to a commissioner directly with any questions or concerns you may have.

If you would like to book in a 20min clinic time please contact Executive Assistant Maree King on Maree.King@tauranga.govt.nz

The next clinics are:

• Tuesday 30 March
• Tuesday 20 April

Latest news

Tauranga's commissioners confirmed - 2 February 2021 media release

Additional information

Briefing for incoming commissioners (1.5mb pdf)
Terms of reference (181kb pdf)
Gazette notice - Appointment of Commission to Tauranga City Council