Appointments to the Commission are made by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the House of Representatives.
Minister of Justice Andrew Little today announced that former Cabinet secretary and Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff has been appointed as the next chair of the Electoral Commission, replacing Sir Hugh Williams.
The Electoral Commission is the agency responsible for all areas of electoral administration in New Zealand including the running of parliamentary elections and referendums, promoting compliance with electoral laws, servicing the work of the Representation Commission and providing advice, reports and public education on all electoral matters.
Shroff is primarily associated with her role as secretary to the Cabinet, a post she held from 1987 to 2003. She also served as the Privacy Commissioner from 2003 to 2014. Currently, she chairs the Privacy Foundation NZ, is a member of the Consumer Foundation NZ, on the board of Consumer NZ and on the Press Council. Other recent positions include chair, Kapiti Coast District Council Community Groups; member, IT Governance Taskforce for IITP; chair of Officials Group on State Owned Enterprises Reform 1986/7. Shroff holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Art, Hons. from Auckland University.
The Justice Minister also announced the appointment of Wellington barrister Jane Meares to the position of deputy chair of the Commission. This position has been vacant following the resignation of Kristy McDonald QC in April 2019.
Meares has been in practice as a barrister at Clifton Chambers since 2012 and was the Treasury solicitor from November 2007 until she resigned in March 2011. She is currently the chair of an independent Crown entity, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission; a not-for-profit, FSCL; and a charity, the Ballet Foundation of New Zealand. She is also a board member on several committees.
This is supplied content and not commissioned or paid for by NBR.
