[ad_1]
Stephen Town – the former Te Pūkenga chief executive who went on “special leave” but continued to earn up to $13,000 a week – is now leading the Cyclone Gabrielle recovery in Thames and Coromandel.
Town hit the headlines last year when he stood down from his $688,000 a year role as the head of Te Pūkenga, which now runs the country’s 16 polytechs.
He declined to tell Stuff why he was on “special leave” and the circumstances of his resignation in August 2022 remain unclear.
He has now been hired by Thames-Coromandel District Council as recovery lead “to support our district as we move away from the immediate response from the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle”, said a statement issued by the local authority on Monday.
READ MORE:
* Backlash as academics warned to remain ‘politically neutral’ ahead of general election
* Another Te Pūkenga executive has resigned soon after being appointed
* Whangamatā locals fear ‘big trouble’ if second SH25 under-slip gives way
Town was previously the chief executive of Auckland City Council and regional director for Auckland/Northland at Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
He will start his new role at Thames-Coromandel District Council this week and is contracted to work two days a week until the end of the year.
“Stephen is semi-retired with a home in Whangamatā,” the statement said.
Christel Yardley/Stuff
Cyclone Gabrielle hit Whitianga, in Coromandel, in mid-February.
“He saw the role and with his local government experience, previous work with NZTA/Waka Kotahi and having been through disaster recovery in previous roles wanted to offer his skill-set and support.”
The role “will extend beyond just restoring physical assets or providing welfare services” and Town will engage with stakeholders, iwi and regional and central government agencies.
“We’re extremely fortunate to have someone of Stephen’s calibre and expertise to help us with our recovery, which will involve working with the Government and other agencies,” said Aileen Lawrie, chief executive of Thames-Coromandel District Council.
“I’m personally very pleased to have Stephen join us, and it’s a great opportunity for us to learn as much as we can from him and his experience.”
Thames-Coromandel District Council
A significant slip on SH25 Thames Coast Rd after Cyclone Gabrielle.
The Thames and Coromandel areas were badly damaged when Cyclone Gabrielle struck just over a month ago.
Since then, Thames-Coromandel District Council has been lobbying Waka Kotahi/NZTA for an increase to its roading Funding Assistance Rate (FAR) which is usually set at 51 per cent for district roads.
“Due to the damage experienced so far in 2023 we’re lobbying our FAR increased to 91 per cent with business cases required to see whether we can get to 100 per cent on some aspects of damage,” said a spokesperson.
[ad_2]