He has been chair of Major Electricity Users’ Group, executive director of NZ Shipping Federation
Simeon Brown, energy minister, has announced the appointment of John Harbord – a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand and an executive and governance professional – to a three-year term as chair of the Electricity Authority’s board, effective immediately.
To assume his new role, Harbord has stepped down as chair of the Major Electricity Users’ Group in Wellington, which he joined in August 2015.
“I expect John Harbord to strengthen the critical role the Electricity Authority plays in regulating the electricity market to ensure it is delivering for all New Zealanders,” Brown said in the government’s news release.
Brown stressed that the Electricity Authority should proactively ensure that the electricity system provides all New Zealanders with abundant, affordable, and reliable electricity.
“Electricity should be an enabler of economic growth, not an inhibitor of it,” Brown said. “The Government expects the Electricity Authority to use its tools to enable a competitive market which delivers abundant, affordable and reliable electricity for households and businesses.”
Brown expressed gratitude to Erik Westergaard, who served as the Electricity Authority’s acting chair, for consenting to his new position as deputy chair.
The government’s news release and Harbord’s LinkedIn profile provided more information on his professional experience.
For more than two decades, he has engaged with senior public sector leaders on complex policy and regulatory issues. He currently serves as executive director of the New Zealand Shipping Federation in Wellington, which he joined in August 2021.
Harbord worked as acting engagement manager at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s COVID-19 Group from February 2021 to April 2021.
At SenateSHJ in Wellington, he served as a partner from December 2016 to July 2020 and as an associate partner from February 2015 to November 2016.
Harbord worked as chief Crown negotiator at the Office of Treaty Settlements from September 2013 to September 2018 and as a consultant at Franks & Ogilvie in Wellington from July 2013 to January 2015.
He served as a senior advisor at the Office of the Prime Minister from July 2011 to July 2013, as a ministerial advisor at the New Zealand government from November 2008 to July 2011, and as a researcher at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition from March 2006 to November 2008.
Harbord earned his LLB, as well as his MA and BA in political studies, from the University of Otago.
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