David Ward has been appointed as the new chairperson for the Audit and Risk Committee and chaired his first meeting on 9 September 2025 – the last meeting of the committee for the Council triennium. David takes over from Damian Hogue who held the position for five years.
David comes with 33 years of local government experience at an executive level. He retired during 2023 after 10 years as chief executive at Selwyn District Council. Prior to that he was chief executive at Horowhenua District Council for six years (2007 to 2013) and corporate services manager at Tasman District Council for 17 years (1991 to 2007).
“Unashamedly, I’m happy to tell everybody I’m an accountant by profession, so numbers are my thing”, said David during his introduction to the committee at his first meeting. He went on to say that he was recognised by Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand with a fellowship for financial services to local government (in 2019) and is also a member of the Institute of Directors.
David has been a keynote speaker at conferences for Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) and was part of the Audit and Risk Committee
for LGNZ for 12 years. He was chair of Taituara (New Zealand local government managers) finance working party for 10 years and chair of the Democracy and Governance Committee for five years. He has also introduced leadership programmes, culture reviews and career pathways to strengthen local government teams.
“I’m passionate about simple, effective solutions and building strong relationships with government agencies and communities,” he says.
The Audit and Risk Committee meets four times a year and provides guidance and advice to councillors on matters including financial and performance reporting, risk management, internal controls, and internal and external audit functions.
