New appointments to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Board and Māori Heritage Council

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Paul Goldsmith has appointed Annie Dundas and Scott Houston to the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Board; and Rei Kohere (Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tahu) and Rachel Wesley (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe, Waitaha) to the Māori Heritage Council.

The appointments strengthen Heritage New Zealand's strategic leadership across heritage protection, community engagement, and digital innovation.

"Annie and Scott's experience will help Heritage New Zealand reach more communities and ensure heritage sites and taonga are accessible in new and engaging ways, while the appointments of Rei Kohere and Rachel Wesley strengthen the partnership approach with iwi and hapū," says Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae, Secretary for Culture and Heritage.

"I want to acknowledge and thank departing members Puawai Cairns, Mook Hohneck, and Ruth Smith for their service to the Board and Council."

All appointments are to 30 November 2028.

Annie Dundas is an experienced tourism and destination management professional. She is currently Director Destination at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU), leading major events, business events, tourism, and screen teams. Prior to joining TAU, Annie was the General Manager: Tourism for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Rawa, General Manager of Hawke's Bay Tourism, and Regional Manager North America at Tourism New Zealand. She serves on the board of Hawke's Bay Tourism and is a Trustee of Regional Tourism New Zealand.

Scott Houston is an entrepreneur and digital expert in AI, product development, and platform integration. He founded and led GreenButton (acquired by Microsoft), helped build Weta Digital's (now Wētā FX) supercomputing platform, and has held Chief Technology Officer roles at Arcanum AI and ARANZ Geo Ltd (now Seequent).

Rei Kohere has served on the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Board since December 2022 and has held multiple leadership roles within his iwi, Ngāti Porou, including as a member of the Ngāti Porou Treaty Settlement negotiation team, and 10 years as Deputy Chair of Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou. He is a former Senior Māori Heritage Policy Advisor with Historic Places Trust/Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, and has held leadership positions within the health sector, including the Tairawhiti District Health Board.

Rachel Wesley is an archaeologist with over three decades of experience working within iwi/Crown intersections of cultural heritage/cultural resource management and policy. She is the current Manawhenua Director on the board of Tūhura Otago Museum, where she previously served as Curator - Māori, and has extensive governance experience across Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Ngāi Tahu Māori Rock Art Trust, Workforce Central Dunedin, Pukekura Joint Management Trust, Dunedin International Science Festival, alongside multiple iwi trustee roles.