2016 Council elections
Election results
Successful candidates were:
- Amber Craig (3-year term)
- Keith Davidson (3-year term)
- Richard Wood (3-year term)
- Kelly Buehler (3-year term)
The full results of that election can be found in the PDF here:
Background
Council elections in 2016 were for the election of four Council members for a three year term (ending at the AGM in 2019).
InternetNZ members were eligible to stand for Council. All nominees must have been a financial member of InternetNZ for at least three months before the date of their nomination to be eligible to stand for Council.
When did the voting take place?
Online voting commenced at 5pm on Friday 15 July 2016 and closed on Wednesday 27 July 2016.
List of confirmed nominees are as follow:
Amber Craig
Naku te rourou nau te rourou ka ora ai te iwi
Ko Kurahaupō te waka
Ko Tara tōku tīpuna
Ko Te Whanganui-a-Tara te moana
Ko Muaūpoko tōku iwi i te taha o tōku kuia
No Pōneke ahau
Ko John rāua ko Maryanne ōku mātua
Ko Amber tōku ingoa
Tēnā koutou, Tēnā koutou, Tēnā koutou katoa
I have had the privilege of being an InternetNZ Councillor for the past three years and would like to return for another term to help complete some of the projects I have started on the Council. I believe InternetNZ is moving into a new framework of engagement and inclusiveness which is exciting, and I want to continue providing a unique perspective adding value to the group.
I believe the Internet is for everyone, not just the privileged. That morally we have an obligation to consider the impacts of the decisions we make, on the diverse Internet community we serve. A good example of this is the right to privacy, someone's privacy is the difference between their safety - and even life or death.
I feel strongly that we should be listening to the voices of those who might not be heard and of the people who we want to be members in the future. The people who might not yet understand who or what Internet NZ is, but in time will understand and recognise the value we as an organisation provide.
Some of my highlights on Council include being instrumental in the establishment of the Māori Engagement committee, a governance group set up to explore how we internally look at Māori culture within our organisation. We are currently looking at how we build a strategy to provide a mutually beneficial relationship between InternetNZ and the Māori community. This important journey has only just begun and I would like to see this piece of work through to completion.
As a Councillor I have committed many extra hours to the cause by taking active roles in the Membership Engagement Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee. These are both important areas as we work through what is our member value proposition and how do we get non members signed up and interested in InternetNZ? My contribution to the Audit & Risk committee has included setting up processes to help reduce risk as well as ensuring our audits & policies are regularly tested and/or reviewed.
In all committee work I have been involved with I have advocated for yearly plans to be developed to ensure that Committee members have a manageable workload throughout the year. The benefit is to be realistic in what we can accomplish. In addition I have come up with solutions for more efficient means of communications around committees. Creating a summary page of minutes to highlight key points is vital for staff, councillors and members to understand what is happening, reducing the need for more time spent reading.
It’s been great to see InternetNZ mature over the past three years. I believe we have made steps towards being a more collaborative, efficient team across the entire group. I don’t think we are perfect and we have a lot of work to continue on with but I feel like we have made great progress. I would like to continue this journey and apply the best of my experience, knowledge and skills to the next three years.
Hemi Bennet
Hiria Te Rangi
Kia ora tatou katoa,
My name is Hiria Te Rangi and this is the first time I have been nominated to run for council.
I want to be on the InternetNZ Council as I believe that the Internet should be accessible by and inclusive of everyone because, the Internet enables education. For me seeing the work InternetNZ has done with 20/20 trust and Nethui pushed me to be more involved with my community and to give back. With these programmes InternetNZ was able to incorporate the community, enable those that wouldn't otherwise have the skills or technology to participate and give them the space to have a voice. I find this inspiring and I want to be involved.
In my last role, I was the product owner for beta.data.govt.nz. We pushed hard for two things. Quality for our data users and automation for our Agency suppliers. We came to these two points by talking, listening and trying to find the best solution and business process that would meet these two needs. The Beta.data.govt.nz MVP went live in June, and although not perfect (like all MVPs), the work we have done is a solid step in the right direction.
While working on beta.data.govt.nz I founded, Diversify.nz, a photostock website for New Zealand and her diverse peoples. I built this to raise the profile of diverse New Zealanders going about their everyday lives. I did this for two reasons, so that images of diverse New Zealand peoples will permeate throughout the internet and thus allow youth to see their future selves and, so that those with a good eye can make money without any of the traditional barriers to finding work. I don't believe for a second that this will solve many of the social and economic problems New Zealand has, but as above it's a good first step and I'll be adding at least another 2 in the next 12 months.
In order to be completely transparent, one of those next steps is www.wharehauora.nz where we create affordable WhareSensors to measure the healthiness of homes. The Whare Hauora core team is made up of Amber Craig, Brenda Wallace and myself, with many fantastic volunteers. Amber and Brenda are current InternetNZ councillors, with Amber seeking re-election this term.
Prior to Beta.data.govt.nz I worked for NZRS as their project manager/business analyst. The projects that I was in charge of were the .NZ domain release, NZ Broadband Map, and the Registrar Portal. I also had a hand in moving the NZRS critical internet infrastructure in-house. These were fantastic projects where I learnt a lot about internet infrastructure, and to deeply appreciate our system administrators, who also made sure that I became very infosec conscious. I thoroughly enjoyed working for NZRS, I have never met a more "on to it" team, that I really enjoyed working with, but truly, I am a digital native and it shows in what I have achieved since then.
I have a strong technical background, but what I have learnt in my time is that technology is only part of the solution. You must engage, and work with the people affected, in order to have a well thought out solution that meets their needs. I believe I can help InternetNZ by supporting new ways thinking and doing, by not being afraid of risk or transparency and by helping to guide diverse community engagement.
If elected I will bring new blood and a fresh perspective to the InternetNZ Council with a bias towards doing rather than talking. If you have any questions or would like to check out my internet pedigree you can find me via the links below.
Thank you for your consideration.
Keith Davidson
Brief Bio:
- Became interested in Internet technology in the early 1980's
- Owned and managed a regional ISP in rural NZ from 1995 to 2004
- Elected to InternetNZ Council, and appointed Treasurer from 1998 to 2001
- Elected President / Chair of InternetNZ Council from 2001 to 2005
- Served as a director of Domainz (NZ Internet Registry Ltd) from 2002 to 2004
- Member of .nz Oversight Committee from 2003 to 2005
- Appointed as Executive Director of InternetNZ 2005 to 2009
- Contracted part time, as International Director from 2009 to March 2016
- Appointed a Fellow of InternetNZ in 2011
- Chartered Member of NZ Institute of Directors since 2007
- Served as a director on the APTLD Board from 2006 to 2013, including 2 years as Chair and 3 years as Vice Chair
- Elected to the ccNSO Council in ICANN from 2010 to 2016, including 5 years as Vice-Chair
- Elected by Organisational Members as a director of the ISOC (The Internet Society) board for a term from 2012 to 2015
- Participated and chaired many working groups, study groups, committees etc. in the broader Internet governance arena, over the past 2 decades
- Seconded to NZ Government delegations to various UN and ITU events (such as the ITU Plenipotentiary meetings) to assist on Internet issues
- Been a director of many NZ companies from very small, to publicly listed companies
- Has been elected and appointed to many local community committees and working groups such as school committees, sports club administration etc.
- Former member of the NZ Society of Accountants from 1977 to 1995
- Former General Manager of a regional daily newspaper, with over 25 years experience in newspaper printing and publishing
Election Statement
As my bio reflects, I have a long and deep history within InternetNZ, and representing InternetNZ's interests in the international arena. I am now mostly retired, and am keen to hand over as much knowledge and people connections as I can before full retirement, and would like to continue to "give back" to the Internet generally, and InternetNZ specifically.
My only other current Internet related role is continuing to serve on the IANA Stewardship Transition Group (ICG), the group of 30 individuals selected to develop the plan to migrate IANA services from the US Government to ICANN.
I wish to offer myself for election to Council for one final term, for the express purposes of being available to assist, advise and interconnect between InternetNZ and my broad network in the global Internet community, most particularly focussed on the IANA transition, and the post-transition application of policies on delegation, transfer and revocation of ccTLDs by ICANN.
Of course I remain interested in the broader issues confronting InternetNZ's ambition of an open and uncaptureable Internet and am looking forward to perhaps being granted this opportunity to serve Council and to connect InternetNZ folks with international peers on these wide-ranging topics.
I am delighted with the steady progress of InternetNZ Council, CEO and staff, and look forward to the opportunity to support this progress and to add value where possible, and to assist in the development of strategy and guiding principles to strengthen our future Internet. I cherish the tenet of multistakeholderism and believe the experiment in Internet Governance needs to be a success as the foundation for broader development of global public policy in areas outside the Internet.
Kelly Behler
Hi! My name is Kelly Buehler, and I'm honoured to be standing for the InternetNZ Council for the second time. Last year I was elected to fill out the final year of a resigning Councillor's term. A long-time member of InternetNZ, I have a strong admiration for the work InternetNZ does. To me, there is little as important to New Zealand as an "open and uncapturable" internet, and that vision has never been under such threat.
My year as a councillor has been amazing and I'm keen to return to council for a three-year term so that I can continue with this important work. One year is not enough- the learning curve is steep, there is a lot of study to be done by any new councillor and now that I have done that work, I'm eager to use that knowledge to support and improve InternetNZ.
I've been extremely active this year and have done my best to contribute, work hard for Internet NZ, and devote a lot of focus in ensuring we do our best by our members. As Chair of the Member Engagement Committee, I oversaw the process of defining the role of members and began the work of improving engagement so all New Zealanders understand what is in it for them in joining InternetNZ, and members know what they can do to be more engaged.
As Chair of the International Travel Policy Working Group, I led the production of a new International Travel Policy across all three organisations (InternetNZ, DNC, RSNZ) that is appropriate to the type of travel our staff do and strongly supports their Health and Safety. I was also on the committee to appoint subsidiary Board Members.
If re-elected, I will continue working hard to improve InternetNZ's strategy regarding communications, engagement, and responsiveness to all members. This is at the very core of what InternetNZ stands for and my strong feelings on this led me to accept my previous nomination.
Professionally, I've spent over 20 years working in strategy, innovation, technology and governance. As a technologist, I'm quite excited to support the Open Internet and dedicate myself to our technical future by leveraging my professional capabilities.
In addition to a deep awareness of the policy issues facing InternetNZ- and us all- today, my "paper" qualifications include the Institute of Directors' Strategy and Governance Courses, an MBA from Victoria University, and a qualification in Enterprise Architecture. My studies, hobbies, and career have given me a deep understanding of ICT, Public Policy and how to communicate technical ideas to non-technical thinkers.
My interests have long been at the intersection of government and business. My MBA work focussed on this, both in my thesis on IT in the public sector and in my coursework including policy development and advising from the Victoria School of Government. As an activist, many years of my life have been spent on public policy, how public engagement models work, and being an active member of the Open Source and larger technology communities.
In my "spare" time, I have participated in tonnes of events including: The Future with High Speed Broadband Conference, the Australian Digital Alliance (ADA) Copyright forum, attended Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations in both NZ & Australia as an independent stakeholder, Public ACTA, and the International Association for Public Participation conference (IAP2) which provided insight on public engagement. I've been on the teams that helped create unconferences at GOVIS and Net Hui, and - back in the day - was one of the team behind the Section 92A Protest at Parliament.
InternetNZ brings a truly impressive amount of input to world level internet policy and governance. It is my belief that in bringing my IT understanding, passion for policy, and skill in applying the tools of governance to the InternetNZ council, I've become a useful collaborator in a team that can make a positive difference to the very future of NZ, as well as to internet freedom and accessibility, worldwide.
This stuff really does excite me! It matters.
Please re-elect me. As your returning councillor, I'll continue to work hard to help members feel fully engaged and consulted as InternetNZ moves forward in building a better, more accessible, more open technical future for all New Zealanders.
Thank you for your consideration.
Keitha Booth
I am an independent advisor and commentator, living in Wellington. I’ve had a very successful career working in the private and public sectors at the intersection between technology, information and policy. My previous employers include the Beca Group, Ministry of Economic Development, National Library of New Zealand, State Services Commission and Land Information New Zealand.
My involvement with the incipient Internet started way back in 1979 when, as a Beca Group researcher, I dialled up through the then NZ Post and the DSIR (via NASA) to access online content. The importance of an open and uncaptureable Internet was very clear then. Today, even more so, as it is an essential structure for happy and flourishing societies.
I want all New Zealanders to be confident they can use the Internet safely now and in the future. InternetNZ’s current priorities resonate strongly with me, particularly, ensuring the openness of the Internet, copyright review and work which enables a world without mass surveillance.
My work has relied on the Internet, its resilience and smooth operation and I’ve been privileged to contribute fully to government’s work in this area for many years. I established and led the NZ Open Government Information and Data Programme, now at Land Information New Zealand, and I have managed the govt.nz Registrar. I developed and implemented the 2010 NZ Government Open Access and Licensing (NZGOAL) framework, and the 2011 Declaration on Open and Transparent Government. I’ve also worked with the OECD, the Open Government Partnership, and many governments have been keen to learn from me about New Zealand’s open information and data achievements. Recently I was accepted as an Associate of the UK Open Data Institute.
I am experienced in the governance of cross-government programmes as a member of the Digital New Zealand Advisory Board and the Creative Commons Aotearoa New Zealand Advisory Panel.
I also have governance experience at the community level, having chaired a primary school board for six years, a sports committee for several years and as a member of the Standing Committee of the former Society for Research on Women in New Zealand. For me, governance groups work best when they are actively in tune with their communities and they work together to address complex issues and make difficult decisions.
I believe that my experience in the government sector and my broad understanding and use of the Internet ecosystem would bring much of value to the Council. I would work hard to accomplish InternetNZ’s vision, principles and priorities.
Kevin Prince
After a couple of years as a freelancer focusing on web accessibility I've recently returned to fulltime employment as a Test Analyst responsible for the Christchurch Council website and intranet. Over the years I've worked in military telecoms (including the early days of packet-switched C3I systems), digital broadcasting, accessibility and helping wrangle the community for 3 NetHui.
I have appreciated access to the open internet for everything from work, hobbies and education through to the transformative power it has in connecting people. I believe that access should be available to all who wish to take advantage so support the work of INZ to achieve this. Technical governance is important but also the leadership that INZ displays toward that ideal. I feel that INZ has a role to play in ensuring that others will also enjoy that freedom whether accessibility, skill, policy or malicious intent is the potential block. I'd also like to see us strongly make the case for, and build that understanding that, the internet as more than Facebook or a set of walled-garden applications on a phone.
During my time in New Zealand I have been part of the drive to greater accessibility on the internet; in particular, through the process that created the Government Web Standards but also in advocating for their adoption in the wider public domain as a base standard. Open standards form a key component to accessibility enabling systems and people to connect. There is a great opportunity to see more use of open standards in government and the wider public domain.
I have an associated interest in the International Association of Accessibility Professionals as a member of the web access certification committee.
I have governance experience in the community, currently serving as President of the Ferrymead Railway and recently appointed a trustee to the Deafblind Association, a new trust looking to provide services and advocacy for the deafblind.
I'm a member of the IITP and TechCommNZ. I believe that my broad technical experience, combined with an understanding of the user and my governance experience in other spheres would be an asset to InternetNZ. In closing I wish all the prospective candidates well.
Potaua Biasiny-Tule
Richard Wood
My platform for this election revolves around access and security. Simply put, we need to boost our capability in these areas - all the way from how we build our membership through to where we apply our resources.
I believe fundamentally in equality of opportunity.
Every New Zealander should have the opportunity to use high-speed Internet, to learn on high-speed Internet, to create on high-speed Internet, to receive public and private services that everyone else gets through high speed Internet.
Bringing the Internet to impoverished communities is not rocket science. Access and accessibility blocks are well understood. With limited funding we have to be smart, and persuasive with business and government.
We need to build strongly on partnerships such as 2020 and work closely with disadvantaged and disabled groups. We could do with an influx of members from these organisations and communities to drive the discussion.
The Internet is being undermined.
The security and privacy situation seems to get worse by the day. It used to be a cliché to assume nothing on the Internet is private. You could add that nothing is secure.
We must fight to retain and build the utility of the Internet. For that we depend on access to the knowledge and understanding that security and networking experts have.
We can rave on about how privacy is important but we need to understand what is actually possible and what is required to get there. Politicians need educating. We all need educating.
We need a boost to technical networking and security numbers in our membership so we can continue building a large specialist technical base that is actively participating. Then we'll get more of that powerful crossover between the technical and the social policy in our discussions.
Who am I?
I've been on InternetNZ Council for the past three years and currently chair the grants committee. This activity exposes us to a lot of fantastic ideas around New Zealand to progress internet related research and community projects. With limited funds we make sure the process is solid and every applicant is treated fairly.
My background is solidly in the crossover between technical and communications. Starting in programming and technical support I then applied my knowledge as a technology journalist and editor of magazines such as Computerworld and Telecommunications Review. I won the Qantas media award for ICT reporting twice - during stints at the New Zealand Herald and the Dominion Post.
When I joined InternetNZ in 2006 for a comms and research role I was also made secretariat for the ISP association and then the IPv6 Task Force. I organised the first two NetHui multi-stakeholder conferences. During that time I completed a qualification in Internet Communications with Distinction from Curtin University. I then became the comms manager at Xero before leaping back into technical work through Dev Academy. I am now a software developer at TradeMe.
I seek your support for another three years at the InternetNZ Council table. I have a clear focus and will really appreciate your vote.
I live in Wellington with my partner Meg and we have three children.
Robyn Kamira
Te Rarawa, Board member IITP (Institute of IT Professionals), BSocSci (Computer Science, Maori), PGDip (Information Systems), Managing Director Paua Interface Ltd.
My contribution to a “better world through a better Internet” can be summed up as building bridges (and if you've seen the photo, by playing unusual music and getting it online). Successful Internet projects can be measured by people knowing that they've achieved something worthwhile.
I've managed an IT consulting company www.pauainterface.nz for 26 years. It has provided a strategic and technical insight that helps me to help others navigate through what many believe is a formidable sector. I've also been fortunate to be able to use the foundation of a formal computer science degree and my community linkages to help people find ways to leverage the Internet.
I'm in a rare position to volunteer IT skills and mentoring to groups that would otherwise not have access. Most recently, I initiated and project managed 'Mitimiti on the Grid' (http://thedownload.co.nz/our-stories/catching-up-with-the-rest-of-the-world-at-high-speed/).
Mitimiti on the Grid was driven by the belief that once a community is "fibred up", economic growth can be measured at the two year point. This collaboration brought fibre and mobile capability to a community that is six hours north of Auckland, and that was destined to be a telecommunications 'blackspot'. I asked, “What would it take to curb decades of population decline and to achieve economic growth in Mitimiti - and who will help?”
The location is so remote and the terrain and coastal conditions so challenging, that the sponsors and technical volunteers claim that "if you can do this in Mitimiti, you can do it anywhere!" The sponsors have gone 'above and beyond' and tech volunteers remain in service to the community making regular trips to fix, install and train the locals.
The community now use their fast Internet to live stream and connect with hapu members around the world, improve fundraising efforts, record important events, create more transparent engagement, manage their facilities off site, and much more. Next year we'll be measuring electricity consumption to find out what being 'on the grid' has meant economically.
Those of us in the IT sector are in positions to influence substantial changes in people's lives. While I've worked at the coalface, I've also served in governance roles including the National Health IT Board, National Maori Broadband Working Group, Digital Strategy Advisory Group and others. I have also recently been elected to the IITP's National Board (Institute of Information Technology Professionals).
I believe that the Board of InternetNZ requires us to contribute meaningfully to society and to do so with the utmost professionality, confidence and intent. I strive to exhibit a professional ethic that is informed not only by my work, but also by the communities being served. If InternetNZ's membership believes that diversity coupled with a professional IT background can bring a breadth of untapped experiences that will have an impact, then I can offer to help extend the Board's reach.