Engineer, former Tararua council boss to head Far North District Council

Former Tararua District Council boss Blair King starts his new job in the Far North in March. Photo / Christine McKay

The former head of Tararua District Council has been appointed to the top job at the Far North District Council.

Kaipara-raised Blair King wrapped up 12 years as council chief executive in Tararua — a rural district of about 19,000 people, with its headquarters in Dannevirke — in October 2020.

Since then he has worked as an interim chief executive at Carterton District Council and as a civil engineer for a Dannevirke company.

A chartered professional engineer, he started his career at Kaipara District Council before he was hired as the general manager of Lakes Engineering, a council-owned company based in Queenstown.

The 53-year-old is also a Justice of the Peace, a volunteer firefighter and an engineer with the New Zealand Urban Search and Rescue Taskforce who aided rescue efforts after earthquakes in Christchurch and Japan.

He was raised on a dairy farm at Tangowahine, northeast of Dargaville.

King told the Advocate he applied for the job because he believed the district had significant opportunities.

He was looking forward to working with the council to put in place infrastructure and services that would lift economic prospects and help the Far North thrive.

He was currently looking for a place to live and had yet to decide where that would be, though he would mainly be working out of the council headquarters in Kaikohe.

Firefighter Blair King (right) directs a crash rescue exercise in Dannevirke. Photo / Christine McKay

King will replace Shaun Clarke, a former defence attache and Air Force Group Captain, who was appointed Far North District Council chief executive in 2017 on a three-year contract.

Clarke's contract was extended by two years but councillors declined to extend it by another two, instead opting to advertise the role. His tenure ends in March 2022.

Deputy Mayor Ann Court said many experienced, high-calibre candidates applied for the job.

However, the selection panel couldn't ignore King's considerable local government experience, particularly with a council that shared similar challenges to those experienced by the Far North.

"Like the Far North, Tararua is reliant on its rural economy, has a small ratepayer base and must maintain spatially dispersed core assets and services to keep its remote communities connected. Blair is familiar with Northland and I believe his extensive local government experience will prove to be a great asset," Court said.

She thanked Clarke, who she said was an inspirational leader and a great communicator who was focused on helping people with opposing views find common ground.

He had transformed council operations and helped elected members steer the organisation through significant challenges including a major drought, the Covid-19 pandemic and uncertainty over the Government's planned changes to local government.